Appendix 4: Legal services expenditure
In 2020–21, our total legal expenditure reduced by $1.6 million (or 2%) when compared to the previous year.
Our internal legal services costs were $3.7 million higher than 2019–20 due to an increase in casework conducted in-house.
External expenditure reduced by around $5.3 million. Legal costs for addressing disputes generated by the Tax Avoidance Taskforce increased in 2020–21. However natural disasters (fires, floods and cyclones) and the continuing global COVID-19 pandemic contributed to significant reductions in debt legal recovery actions, lower summons and indemnity fees – resulting in an overall reduction of external costs.
Type of expenditure | $ |
|---|---|
Total costs recovered | 3,011,135 |
Briefs to counsel | 17,150,693 |
Briefs for Independent Assurance of Settlements work | 515,432 |
Disbursements (excluding counsel) | 14,862,686 |
Professional fees paid | 23,357,971 |
External legal services expenditure(c) | 55,886,782 |
Internal legal services expenditure(d) | 34,379,035 |
TOTAL (external and internal expenditure) | 90,265,817 |
Notes
(a) Includes Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) and Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) legal costs. Total TPB external legal services expenditure was $600,932. Total internal legal services expenditure for the TPB was $2,877,676. Total ACNC external legal services expenditure was $245,928. Total internal legal services expenditure for the ACNC was $857,732.
(b) External expenditure in this table excludes GST.
(c) Excludes costs awarded against the ATO, costs for settlements, expenditure on compensation and legal costs attributable to the ATO’s test case program.
(d) ATO internal legal officers manage tax litigation (under Part IVC of the Taxation Administration Act 1953), debt litigation, general legal advice and freedom of information. This amount consists of the cost of labour and expenses for those activities. The amount does not include expenditure on other activities that have some of the characteristics of legal work, but which are not performed by staff in a legal capacity (for example, preparation of writs, statutory demands and bankruptcy notices or providing ATO’s interpretation of tax and superannuation law).
Type of brief | New briefs | Total briefs | Value $ |
|---|---|---|---|
Briefs to senior counsel | |||
Direct briefs to male senior counsel | 101 | 154 | 1,881,752 |
Direct briefs to female senior counsel | 43 | 83 | 1,305,790 |
Indirect briefs to male senior counsel | 185 | 325 | 5,710,403 |
Indirect briefs to female senior counsel | 99 | 175 | 3,872,615 |
Total senior | 428 | 737 | 12,770,561 |
Briefs to junior counsel | |||
Direct briefs to male junior counsel | 72 | 102 | 845,134 |
Direct briefs to female junior counsel | 59 | 82 | 652,424 |
Indirect briefs to male junior counsel | 99 | 149 | 1,561,499 |
Indirect briefs to female junior counsel | 73 | 106 | 1,321,075 |
Total junior | 303 | 439 | 4,380,131 |
TOTAL | 731 | 1176 | 17,150,693 |
Notes
(a) Direct briefs cover counsel briefed directly by the ATO and who work with our in-house litigators and/or business areas. Indirect briefs are counsel briefed by the ATO's external legal providers acting on behalf of the ATO.
(b) Totals may differ from the sum of components due to rounding.
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