Australian National Pro Bono Target

Published on 1 February 2023 The National Pro Bono Target is a voluntary and aspirational target of at least 35 hours of pro bono legal services per lawyer per year in Australia

The Target amount of 35 hours for law firms, incorporated legal practices, individual solicitors, individual barristers and barristers’ chambers was chosen in consultation with the legal profession. It reflects what many lawyers in these practices are already doing and represents the minimum number of hours of pro bono legal services that all lawyers should aspire to undertake.

The Centre opened the Target on 1 July 2020 to in-house legal signatories who will be committing to using their best endeavours to achieve at least 20 hours of pro bono legal services per in-house lawyer per year. The Centre, in consultation with the In-house Pro Bono Steering Committee, has decided to take a staged approach and will review whether this hourly target should be raised to be aligned with other legal professionals in the future. The 20-hour benchmark reflects what many in-house lawyers are already doing and takes into consideration the unique context for in-house legal professionals.