Are you a solicitor looking to start, or deepen, your involvement in pro bono work? As part of Law Week, join Queensland Law Society and the Australian Pro Bono Centre for a panel discussion on 20 May 2026, exploring the role solicitors play in supporting access to justice, and how pro bono work fits into real-world legal practice. 

Find out more and register here. 

The Centre is delighted to welcome Garth Tinsley to the team. Garth joins the Centre as a Senior Pro Bono Consultant. He is a senior lawyer with expertise in the areas of pro bono and social impact. His experience spans dedicated pro bono legal practice, the community legal sector and commercial legal practice focused on litigation and dispute resolution.

Read more about Garth here.

Today marks an important milestone for the Australian Pro Bono Centre as we release our new Strategic Plan, charting our direction for the next four years. 

The legal profession’s deeply rooted culture of giving is unique, and this Strategic Plan reflects our commitment to honouring that legacy while shaping a future defined by quality, impact and evidence. 

Learn more and read the full Strategic Plan here. 

We are pleased to share the 14th edition of the Australian Pro Bono Centre’s online magazine, Pro Bono Voco!

Pro Bono Voco is a biannual publication for the private, public and community sectors with inspiration and insights to grow impactful pro bono legal work.

Read the issue here.

Last week in Melbourne, the Australian Pro Bono Centre, Law Council of Australia and Law Institute of Victoria joined forces to host the Ninth National Access to Justice and Pro Bono Conference. The topic of this year’s conference was ‘Transforming Systems, Empowering Communities’. More than 500 legal professionals united with a shared purpose: to communicate, collaborate and innovate to ensure practical, safe and impactful approaches to delivering justice.

Registrations are now open for the 2025 Q4 Asia Pro Bono Roundtable, which will be held in conjunction with this year’s Asia Pro Bono Conference, on 4 October 2025. The roundtable will highlight how a Pro Bono Week or Day can be used to honour pro bono work, encourage legal professionals to volunteer, and facilitate meaningful discussions on advancing access to justice. Find out more about this event and how to register here.

Registrations are open for the 2025 Q3 Asia Pro Bono Roundtable!

The third Asia Pro Bono Roundtable of 2025 will take place on 28 August 2025. This session will focus on ‘Bridging Disciplines: Strengthening Pro Bono Legal Network for a Holistic Approach to Justice’. Find out more about this event and how to register here.

We’re excited to connect with law students from across Australia at the Australian Law Students’​ Association National Careers Fair next week on 30 July 2025, as part of their National Conference! Come say hello to our Centre representative from the Attorney-General’s Department, Andrew Cameron, and discover how you can get involved in pro bono legal work.

The second Asia Pro Bono Roundtable of 2025 will take place on 19 June. This session will address the challenges being faced by pro bono and public interest lawyering across Asia, as recent funding cuts create an urgent need for sustainable financial models. 

Register here.

Registrations for the ninth National Access to Justice and Pro Bono Conference are now open! The Conference is coming to Melbourne on
29 – 31 October 2025. We invite you to mark your calendar and register here. Use code APBCJUSTICE30 for 30% off. 

Last week, pro bono lawyers in Western Australia gathered at Norton Rose Fulbright Perth for an event co-hosted by LawAccessWA, Norton Rose Fulbright and the Australian Pro Bono Centre. We look forward to continuing our collaboration!  

The Centre is delighted to welcome Dr Jane Parkin to the team! Jane joins the Centre as Senior Policy & Project Officer (maternity leave cover). She was admitted to legal practice in Victoria in 2009. Prior to joining the Centre, Jane held the position of Manager – Policy and Projects at the Law Institute of Victoria. Read more about Jane here.

The first Asia Pro Bono Roundtable of 2025 will take place on 27 March. In this session, TrustLaw, the Centre, and A4ID will explore the latest research findings and trends in law firm pro bono access.

Register here.

The Centre is delighted to welcome Andrew Cameron to the team! Andrew joins the Centre on secondment from the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department. Andrew has worked for the Attorney-General’s Department for over 5 years in various roles. Most recently Andrew was involved in delivering international development assistance in the Pacific in support of law and justice capacity building. Read more about Andrew here.

We wish to express our gratitude and appreciation to our outgoing Chair, Phillip Cornwell, for his service and leadership over the past nine years. Phillip’s contributions have left a significant legacy and it has been a privilege to work alongside him. With Phillip retiring from the Board, we are delighted to announce that Dr Tessa Boyd-Caine will succeed as Chair. Tessa is CEO of ANROWS, Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety. We look forward to working with Tessa and warmly welcome her to the Centre’s Board.

We are delighted to share our 2023-2024 Annual Impact Report, which captures the key achievements of the Centre over the past year. We are continuing to build on the Centre’s 22-year legacy of driving the growth of pro bono legal services in Australia. 

Read the full report here.

It’s been a record-breaking year for pro bono. Our latest Target Report reveals that Australian lawyers reported 781,596 hours of pro bono work in FY24. On average, Target signatories completed 39.6 pro bono hours per lawyer with a record number of 19,724 lawyers covered by the Target – an exceptional result demonstrating the significant contribution of pro bono legal services to the broader access to justice landscape in Australia. 

Read the Target Report here and our Media Release here.  

Are you a pro bono lawyer passionate about the environment? Join the Centre’s CEO, Gabriela Christian-Hare, at PILnet’s virtual Marketplace on 5 September 2024 at 2.30pm. The marketplace will be a platform for pro bono lawyers to learn more about the legal needs of key climate and environment organisations operating in Asia, and forge partnerships to combat climate change. Register here to attend.

The third 2024 Asia Pro Bono Quarterly Roundtable on ‘Access to Justice in South Asia and Pro Bono: Spotlight on Key Legal Intervention’ is held via webinar on 29 August, at 6pm AEST. Find out more about this event and register here.

We are pleased to share the eleventh edition of the Australian Pro Bono Centre’s online magazine, Pro Bono Voco.

Pro Bono Voco is a biannual publication for the private, public and community sectors with inspiration and insights to grow impactful pro bono legal work.

Read the issue here.

Join us and Queensland Law Society on Monday, 27 May, for a complimentary session on ‘Pro Bono: What, Why When & How’ and earn 1.5 CPD points. The session will take place from 12-2pm at Law Society House in Brisbane. Click here to register. 

Through the Global Pro Bono Hub, DLA Piper and the Australian Pro Bono Centre have collaborated on the release of a new joint publication, A Guide to Recruiting, Retaining and Remunerating Pro Bono Roles in Large Law Firms. Read the publication here.

We are pleased to invite you to the Australian Pro Bono Centre’s 2024 In-house Pro Bono Roundtable. The Roundtable is an online event for in-house corporate lawyers undertaking or interested in undertaking pro bono work. It will be held on Tuesday 5 March 2024 at 12.00pm – 1.30pm (AEDT). Please send an e-mail to info@probonocentre.org.au if you would like to participate.

The Centre is pleased to release new research into the role of pro bono in response to natural disasters. The Centre’s report, Pro Bono Response to Natural Disasters, synthesises insights from over 34 organisations across Australia, including legal aid commissions, community legal centres, referral schemes and law firms into 27 key national recommendations on pro bono best practice in this context. Read the full report here.

The Australian Pro Bono Centre is proud to share a joint statement by law firm and in-house legal team representatives of the National Pro Bono Target signatory community in support of a Voice to Parliament and a “yes” vote in the upcoming Referendum on 14 October 2023. Read the Statement here.

The Australian Pro Bono Centre is thrilled to announce the launch of the Global Pro Bono Hub – a world-first international pro bono platform focused on increasing the scale and impact of pro bono work globally. At the time of launch, the Hub is linking to over 400 resources, recent news items, a range of upcoming pro bono events and current job opportunities. It has been developed by the Australian Pro Bono Centre and DLA Piper with support from Herbert Smith Freehills and Ashurst.

The Centre is delighted to announce that an updated program for the 8th National Access to Justice and Pro Bono Conference has been released. The Conference will be held on Wednesday 21 June to Friday 23 June in Brisbane. Speakers include Chief Justice Susan Kiefel AC, Attorney-General Hon Mark Dreyfus KC and journalist Peter Greste. You can find further details and purchase tickets here.

The Australian Pro Bono Centre is pleased to release the results of the 8^th National Law Firm Pro Bono Survey (the Survey), which demonstrate that the Australian legal pro bono community has continued to mature and grow in the last two years. The Survey has revealed that FY22 recorded highest number of pro bono hours, more dedicated pro bono staff than ever before, and increased recognition of the positive impacts of pro bono work. Read the full report here.

The Australian Pro Bono Centre has released new guidance for students and early career lawyers interested in volunteering while at university and participating in pro bono work as they embark on legal careers.

Read the Guide here.

The Australian Pro Bono Centre is pleased to announce the publication of the 4th edition of the Australian Pro Bono Manual.

In the 4th edition of the Manual, there are a number of new sections that reflect the changing face of pro bono work today, in addition to a new Foreword written by the Honourable Michael Kirby AC CMG.

View the updated Edition here.

Are you a WA lawyer interested in pro bono work, but don’t have PI insurance? Now you can access the Centre’s Pro Bono PI Insurance Scheme! The LPBWA has approved our Scheme, making it available to all WA lawyers (regardless of PC type). More details here.

The Centre is excited to launch a set of five Student Pro Bono Questions. When asked during an interview for a clerkship or graduate role, these questions will help law students learn more about the pro bono opportunities offered by prospective employers and better distinguish between the pro bono programs of different organisations.

To make an informed decision this clerkship season, while demonstrating an active interest in a prospective employer’s work, use the Student Pro Bono Questions found here.

The Australian Pro Bono Centre is marking 20 years of operation in 2022. To celebrate this occasion, we have gathered here 20 stories from the Australian pro bono community, illustrating the power of pro bono to transform lives.

To read the stories of change, click here.

17 May 2022 is National Pro Bono Day! On this day, a number of Walks for Justice will be held across Australia to raise funds for local pro bono referral organisations.

Details of this year’s Walks for Justice can be found here.

Most South Australian lawyers love a bit of interstate rivalry, particularly when it comes to comparing our commute times and the quality of our wines with those on offer in the eastern states. However, when it comes to our collective pro bono contribution, we are falling well behind, writes Alice Rolls. Full article here.

We have released the sixth edition of the Centre’s online magazine, Pro Bono Voco. This biannual publication is for the private, public and community sectors, offering inspiration and insights to grow impactful pro bono legal work. It features pro bono projects, profiles leaders within the community, and provides updates on key developments. Click here to read the latest issue.

Nicolas Patrick, Partner, Responsible Business at DLA Piper has recently published a paper on diversity in pro bono. It reflects on the issues of diversity and under-representation amongst the current cohort of professional pro bono lawyers in the UK. It helps identify issues and challenges, raise the level of consciousness, start a conversation, engage with stakeholders and promote good practices and new ideas. Read more here.

The Centre is delighted to share our FY21 Annual Impact Report.

The report reflects the important role of the Centre in continuing to grow participation and excellence in pro bono. It is also a testament to the generosity of the legal profession during FY2021 in providing a record number of pro bono hours for the benefit of the most vulnerable in our communities.

You can find the report here.

In conjunction with PwC, Atlassian recently released their second ‘Return on Action’ report. The research shows 80% of workers say companies should be taking action to address society’s problems and that workplace expectations have shifted significantly in the last year. A copy of the Australian report can be found here.

Tuesday 18 May was National Pro Bono Day. It is a great opportunity to celebrate and reflect on the pro bono work undertaken by the Australian legal profession. The Centre asked nine young pro bono leaders across Australia to share their most rewarding moments and explain why they dedicate their time to pro bono. Click here to read each inspiring story.

Justice Connect is accepting EOIs from law firms who can provide free legal help to people, small businesses and community organisations affected by the recent NSW floods if demand exceeds its current capacity.

See more here.

We’ll be at the NSW Law Careers Fair this Friday 26 March! Pop in to see us at the Australian Pro Bono Centre stall to learn more about social justice and pro bono opportunities for students + grads.

You can register for the event here.

The Centre’s CEO was interviewed by Dan Creasey on KWM’s People & Purpose Podcast, involving conversations with leaders in the social impact sector who are working to create positive social change and thinking about global justice challenges. The interview is entitled, ‘What does 2021 have in store for the pro bono sector?‘. Listen here.

The Centre opened the National Pro Bono Target to in-house legal teams and lawyers in July 2020, and we are delighted to report we’ve had an impressive 16 signatories join in that short period of time. The inaugural roundtable meeting for this group was held on Wednesday 10 February 2021. Learn more about becoming an In-house Target Signatory here.

Scaling pro bono will be critical to ensuring the private sector fulfils its role in creating a more equitable and sustainable world post-COVID.

Read more here.

On Friday 13 March 2020, the Centre appeared before the Committee in relation to its Inquiry into Australia’s Family Law System. It was an excellent opportunity for the Centre to advocate for more funding for legal assistance services.

You can read more here.