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Legal profession demographics

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Legal profession diversity information

During the annual practising certificate renewal process we asked lawyers to tell us about their ancestry, country of birth and the languages they speak. Information was provided on a voluntary basis and 86% of lawyers answered one or more of the diversity or language questions.

Many lawyers have elected to display the languages they speak on our register of lawyers. By including this information, as well as the areas of practice a lawyer specialises in, consumers will be able to make more informed choices about the right lawyer to support them.

Below you will find the de-identified diversity information for the legal profession in Victoria. 

Country of birth

78% of lawyers who responded to this question were born in Australia. This was followed by the United Kingdom, Malaysia, New Zealand and China.

Ancestry

The majority of lawyers report either Australian or Western European ancestry. The top reported ancestries are:

  • 48% Australian
  • 22% English
  • 11% Irish
  • 8% Scottish
  • 8% Italian
  • 7% Chinese
  • 5% Greek
  • 3% Indian
  • <1% Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander

Languages spoken

31% of lawyers report speaking languages other than English. Lawyers report speak 145 different languages. The top languages spoken are:

  • Mandarin
  • Italian
  • Greek
  • Cantonese
  • French
  • Spanish
  • Hindi
  • Arabic
  • German
  • Vietnamese
     
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