Australia’s peak law body is reviving its campaign for a national professional indemnity scheme after large firms threatened to withdraw from state law councils.

The Law Council of Australia has begun work on a new standard policy for lawyers, following the failure of previous attempts to synchronise state schemes.

A committee set up to examine lawyers’ PI met in January, its first meeting in 18 months, after several law firms threatened to pull out of their state bodies.

The Large Law Firm Group (LLFG), a recently incorporated company involving nine of Australia’s biggest law firms, is pursuing its own agenda on PI and aims to use the Law Council to lobby the Federal Government. The LLFG wants insurance and trust accounts for lawyers alongside one system of admission and registration.

Expected hurdles to a national scheme include defining “ legal practitioner” and any exemptions that may be required.