Legal services expenditure
Release date and time
02/10/2026 10:00am AEST
Section 109 (1)(d) of the Legal Services Directions 2025 (Issued by the Attorney-General under section 55ZF of the Judiciary Act 1903) requires the Australian Bureau of Statistics to make publicly available records of its legal services expenditure for the previous financial year.
The following table outlines legal services expenditure by the Australian Bureau of Statistics for the past five financial years.
| 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Legal Services Expenditure | $347,602 | $830,388 | $1,257,993 | $1,011,386 | $1,428,933 |
| Total Internal Legal Services Expenditure | $195,170 | $413,875 | $447,726 | $675,561 | $1,143,224 |
| Total External Legal Services Expenditure | $152,432 | $416,513 | $810,267 | $335,825 | $285,709 |
| Total Value of Briefs to Counsel | $0 | $10,278 | $7,957 | $0 | $0 |
| Total Value of Disbursements (excluding Counsel) | $0 | $1,726 | $1,209 | $0 | $0 |
| Total Value of Professional Fees | $152,432 | $404,509 | $801,101 | $335,825 | $285,709 |
| Total Number of Briefs to Counsel | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Total Number of Direct Briefs to Counsel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total Number of Indirect Briefs to Counsel | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |