By Tenielle Hagland, Research Program Manager
Subjective wellbeing is how a person feels about their general quality of life. We measured this in the 2026 Victorian Lawyer Census. This new short report compares lawyers’ subjective wellbeing to the wider Australian population, and highlights where specific challenges lie. This allows for more targeted intervention to drive positive change that would benefit the profession and consequently, the quality of legal services the public receives.
Below are the findings from the census, and what they mean.
Personal Wellbeing Index scores
Deakin University’s Personal Wellbeing Index scale measures the Australian population’s satisfaction with 7 life domains: standard of living, health, achieving in life, personal relationships, personal safety, community connectedness and future security. Given the occupational focus of the census, an item on satisfaction for work was also included.
Measured on a comparable basis, Victorian lawyers reported subjective wellbeing slightly above Australian adults as a whole, with a Personal Wellbeing Index score of 70.6 – 2.7 points above the national mean of 67.9. This indicates a slightly better overall subjective wellbeing, although this difference is below the threshold the national survey treats as meaningful.
Domain scores
Across the domains the profession’s profile was similar to the national profile, with the exception of personal safety, which was considerably higher for lawyers. The lowest (and most variable) scoring domain was satisfaction with work.
What does this mean?
The Personal Wellbeing Index is a stable and broad measure, looking at an individual’s overall quality of life, much of which is beyond work. An average near the national level is not surprising and should not be interpreted to mean there is an absence of problems. It is a useful baseline whole-of-life measure that can be tracked across future census waves, allowing insight into how specific domains may impact overall scores.
The findings of low satisfaction with work reinforce findings from last year’s census, which highlighted the need to address negative workplace cultures and experiences. Read the report.