Competition Denied for NSW Solicitors

6 August 2025

The apparent longstanding partnership between NSW Government policy makers and the Law Society of NSW to continue the Law Society’s insurance monopoly (via its wholly owned and controlled subsidiary, Lawcover Insurance), has been confirmed for the next twelve months for law practices which do not have interstate offices – estimated to affect approximately 70% of solicitors in private practice.

ABC Insurance received a letter from the Attorney General of NSW on 10 July 2025, despite the insurance cover being required to incept by 1 July, confirming that he decided to maintain the monopoly, and to maintain the Law Society as the monopolist, for the 2025-26 practising year. As a result, ABC Insurance’s application for approval has been refused. A copy of the Attorney General’s letter is available here.

Prior to receiving the Attorney General’s letter on 10 July 2025, ABC Insurance was encouraged to believe that its application for approval was being given active consideration.

ABC Insurance received a significant number of enquiries during the renewal period for the 2025-26 practising year, demonstrating strong interest in choice. The enquiries also demonstrated that ABC Insurance’s premiums would have been at least in the range of 35% to 45% lower than Lawcover Insurance’s premiums for the majority of those inquiring. (This is consistent with the substantially lower premiums available in the established part of the market which has been open to competition for many years, generally only available to larger law practices.) In addition, ABC Insurance’s policy provides a more extensive range of cover than that provided by Lawcover Insurance.

The NSW Court of Appeal (accepting submissions made on behalf of the Attorney General while rejecting the submissions of the Law Society) found that there are two pathways for prospective insurers to achieve approval to provide the compulsory level of professional indemnity insurance to law practices. A copy of the Court of Appeal’s judgment is available here.

Despite already having an approved policy, the Law Society and Lawcover Insurance chose to make an application to the Attorney General, thereby involving the Attorney General and ensuring that choice and competition could not be achieved automatically.

The Attorney General also could have allowed competition to take effect automatically by leaving the approval of ABC Insurance’s and Lawcover Insurance’s policies in force via the objective criteria in the Uniform Law. Instead, the Attorney General appears to have accepted the submissions of the Law Society in 2023 and 2025 which advocated strongly for the retention of its monopoly. Copies of submissions of the Law Society are available here (2023) and here (2025).

In any event, ABC Insurance has received advice from Bret Walker SC that questions of policy such as maintaining the monopoly are outside the scope of the Attorney General’s power. That advice includes the following:

“It should go without saying that this scheme of legislation gives no support whatever to consideration by the Attorney General of the question whether Lawcover should be maintained as a monopoly, with its obvious anti-competitive policy implication.”

ABC Insurance is unaware of any attempt by the Law Society to explain to its members the basis for its strident opposition to choice and competition; or to seek the views of its members on that issue; or to seek approval for the expenditure of members’ funds in pursuit of the maintenance of its monopoly.

Reference to a partnership between NSW Government policy makers and the Law Society in respect of the maintenance of the monopoly was highlighted in evidence given by the current Secretary of the Department of Communities and Justice during a former longstanding role as the CEO of the Law Society (and a Director of Lawcover Insurance) to the Productivity Commission in 2014. The transcript of this evidence is available here.

It is difficult to understand, particularly in a well (federally) regulated insurance market, why the Law Society (which represents the interests of its members) and the Attorney General (relying on considerations which we are advised are ultra vires) would not support the obvious benefits of choice and competition including the opportunity for a significant reduction in the cost of providing legal services, greater fairness as between smaller and larger law practices, and greater fairness between solicitors operating exclusively in NSW and those that have access to insurance in other jurisdictions.

We are very appreciative of the tremendous support we have been receiving from solicitors and we remain committed to introducing choice.

ABC Insurance is exploring further action to address the situation, including in respect of the 2026-27 practising year. We will continue to keep the NSW legal profession informed.