Industry figures have expressed concern over what they believe to be a serious shortage of solicitors in Western Australia’s community legal centres, which is curtailing their ability to deliver services.
Industry figures have expressed concern over what they believe to be a serious shortage of solicitors in Western Australia’s community legal centres, which is curtailing their ability to deliver services.
Community Legal Centres Association WA chair Karen Merrin said the sector’s inability to pay professional staff at an equal rate to the government or private sector was a major issue.
“It’s really difficult to be able to offer a five-year out solicitor less than $55,000 or $60,000, when they can go to the government or private sector and get $100,000,” she said.
“People earn, on average, about 30 per cent less than their counterparts in government or the private sector. We’ve always had a problem, but it’s particularly acute now, because of the shortage of skilled labour.”
Although metropolitan centres struggle to find managers and principal solicitors, the biggest skills shortages are in regional and remote areas such as Kununurra, Geraldton, the Pilbara and Kalgoorlie.
“There have been centres going for nine to 12 months without staff,” Ms Merrin said.
Albany Community Legal Centre is currently advertising for a solicitor, while the Kalgoorlie centre recently appointed a new solicitor after the role had been vacant for nearly a year.
In the metropolitan area, Gosnells Community Legal Centre has recruited a centre manager after two rounds of advertising produced just three applicants.
The centre is also currently seeking a financial counsellor, but to date has been unsuccessful.
Geraldton Resource Centre coordinator Chris Gabblish said lifestyle factors partly explained the difficulty in obtaining regional staff.
“In Karratha, where a three-bedroom house costs $1,200 a week to rent, people can’t afford to live there, let alone practice there,” he said.
Mr Gabblish said Geraldton had tried to address the situation by employing primarily paralegals, with just one solicitor on the staff of 25.
Ms Merrin, who is based at the Northern Suburbs Community Legal Centre, said the pressures created by skills shortages were compounded by significant increases in workload, particularly in the area of tenancy.
“There’s been a huge influx of people seeking advice on how to avoid getting evicted from their rental,” she said.
“I would say, unlike 12 months or two years ago, that most property calls in the last few weeks were people with multiple properties, mortgaged to the hilt, whose relationships are breaking down,” she said.
Ms Merrin said it was also difficult to recruit administrative staff, given low salary budgets.
“We can’t even compete in our own sector, when it comes to bigger not-for-profit organisations,” she said.
