The Attorney-General of Australia established the International Pro Bono Advisory Group in July 2009 to promote international pro bono work by Australia’s legal profession, build effective partnerships in overseas legal capacity building and access to justice work, and identify linkages with the Government’s international development assistance programs. The Centre is a member of this group.
The International Pro Bono Advisory Group has developed its own website which contains key documents such as Strategy Paper, Advisory Group Goals and a Statement of Principles.
For more information on the increase in international pro bono loegal work performed by law firms in Australia and around the world please see a paper presented by John Corker at the Meeting of Senior Officials of Commonwealth Law Ministries in London, October 2010:
Access to Justice - International Pro Bono Legal Assistance
— June 2010 (PDF 164KB)
Centre for Asia Pacific Pro Bono
This Centre was launched in July 2012 and is administered by the Law Council of Australia. It seeks to match requests for pro bono assistance from organisations (including governments) in the Asia-Pacific region with appropriate international pro bono legal service providers in Australia. For details see the CAPBB website.
International Pro Bono Disbursement Fund
This fund was made available through a one-off grant to the Centre of $100,000 by the Australian Government through the Grants to Australian Organisations Program of the Attorney-General’s Department in the 2010-2011 year. It is now closed.
From 1 July 2010, law firms and barristers could apply to the Centre for preliminary approval for the reimbursement of anticipated costs associated with international pro bono legal work, or reimbursement at a time after the costs have been incurred. Reimbursement of costs incurred was not to exceed $20,000 per project and must be for work undertaken after 1 July 2010.
