The Commissioner can audit any incorporated legal practice, whether or not anyone has complained (Legal Profession Act 2007 s 130). There were 1,964 of them at 30 June 2025, two thirds of Queensland's solicitor practices.
In 2019-20 the Commission wrote: "The Commission has not had an active compliance audit program for some years. This will be remedied in the near future." The same report said a full program "has not been in operation for some five years". In 2021-22: "No compliance audits were conducted last year." In 2023-24 it conducted one, on a practice that had been "the subject of a significant number of complaints". The Commission reports none have been received since.
In 2024-25 it started four. Then, "Due to the high service demand and need to address a backlog of matters, as well as a key member of the Commission's Compliance team being on extended leave, remaining team members were required to pivot into other core business areas. This staff movement meant that further progress was not able to be made on these audits."
Sources: Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld) s 130; LSC Annual Report 2019-20, PDF pp 6, 27; Annual Report 2021-22, PDF p 14; Annual Report 2023-24, p 16; Annual Report 2024-25, pp 15, 19.