NSW LPAB has not disclosed costs involved in its demolition of the PLT that is has accredited and defended for over a decade -Financial statement analysis raises questions about its presiding officers' accounting methods

by  Ganesh Sahathevan

                                                                                                                     

Justices 

Justices Payme and Kirk are the persons responsible for the NSW LPAB's annual reports that are tabled in Parliament by the Attorney General NSW. They perform this duty as ordinary officers of the entity, and not as judges of the Supreme Court NSW

After  decades of accrediting  the PLT, and defending it with tactics that would  make South East Asian  blue collar  criminals blush, the NSW LPAB has only this to say about its demolition  of the PLT by its Chairman, The Chief Justice Of NSW Andrew Bell: 

Following the Chief Justice’s speech on Practical Legal Training (PLT) reform delivered at theOpening of Law Term Dinner on 6 February 2025, the Board conducted a comprehensive survey of NSW lawyers and their employers about PLT through Urbis. The Board engaged in wide-ranging consultations with members of the profession, law schools, PLT providers, professional bodies and law students. These efforts culminated in the publication of a discussion paper authored by the Chief Justice, Emeritus Professor Michael Quinlan and ourselves, and which the Board released for public consultation on 30 September 2025. Consultation about the proposals for change in the Discussion Paper are ongoing.  

Consultations are not ongoing, for  Bell has already made clear the changes necessary to the form and substance of the PLT.  Even The College Of Law, which has until recently insisted that its overpriced and irrelevant PLT  is the industry gold standard ,  accepts that it  will have to change. 

In light of the above the NSW LPAB  faces significant  real and contingent costs for its regulatory failures. Its defence of the PLT, disclosed in its own documents which this writer has placed int he public domain make liability  to past and present PLT students probable. In addition , liability to the Commonwealth Government for FEE HELP  payments of AUD 40-50 Million per year which the NSW LPAB enabled by its refusal to act sooner on complaints about its PLT  are also probable. Without proper disclosure of these costs the NSW LPAB's financial position cannot be determined, and this is now even more urgent given the NSW LPAB's reliance on taxpayers' funds. 

The NSW LPAB was  previously self-funded but it has now, and for the foreseeable future, become reliant on taxpayers money. It is therefore only prudent that  its books be subject to gerater scrutiny, that those responsbile for the preparation of its financial statements be subject to public inquiry of their work. 

To that   end a GEMINI AI generated  Common size analysis  of  the NSW LPAB's 2024-2025 financial statement is provided below for scrutiny nnd comment. This writer has in the past raised a number of audit red flags. The decision to treat IT costs as an expense rathet than capital item adds to the list of matters that the  NSW Auditor  General  ought to consider and provide explanation.

END 

P&L Common-Size Expense Analysis (Base: Total Revenue)

This analysis shows the proportion of Total Revenue ($3,439,764 in 2024 and $3,577,233 in 2025) consumed by each detailed expense line item.

Expense Line Item	Actual 2024 ($)	Ratio to Total Revenue	Actual 2025 ($)	Ratio to Total Revenue	Change in Ratio (pp)
Total Revenue (Base)	3,439,764	100.00%	3,577,233	100.00%	-
Agency staff fees	102,893	2.99%	75,485	2.11%	+0.88 $\uparrow$
Archive fees - State Archives and Records	30,090	0.87%	30,051	0.84%	+0.03 $\uparrow$
Auditor's remuneration - audit of the financial statements	32,400	0.94%	33,370	0.93%	+0.01 $\uparrow$
Bank charges	50,866	1.48%	47,579	1.33%	+0.15 $\uparrow$
Computer expenses	1,722,618	50.08%	2,598,364	72.63%	-22.55 $\downarrow$
Department of Communities and Justice - fees	141,382	4.11%	149,992	4.19%	-0.08 $\downarrow$
Electricity	3,937	0.11%	3,920	0.11%	+0.00 $\uparrow$
Exam related - Rental for venue and computer	82,814	2.41%	75,920	2.12%	+0.29 $\uparrow$
Graduation ceremony expense	6,033	0.18%	7,197	0.20%	-0.02 $\downarrow$
Insurance	13,192	0.38%	15,402	0.43%	-0.05 $\downarrow$
Internal auditor fee	8,400	0.24%	-	0.00%	+0.24 $\uparrow$
Land tax	2,347	0.07%	8,091	0.23%	-0.16 $\downarrow$
Legal services	5,646	0.16%	114,871	3.21%	-3.05 $\downarrow$
Marketing	40,000	1.16%	-	0.00%	+1.16 $\uparrow$
Minor equipment	14,910	0.43%	4,192	0.12%	+0.31 $\uparrow$
Police checks	69,618	2.02%	92,934	2.60%	-0.58 $\downarrow$
Postage and freight	11,907	0.35%	14,262	0.40%	-0.05 $\downarrow$
Printing	33,388	0.97%	41,570	1.16%	-0.19 $\downarrow$
Rates	45,688	1.33%	49,427	1.38%	-0.05 $\downarrow$
Repairs and maintenance	22,301	0.65%	5,248	0.15%	+0.50 $\uparrow$
Security (office)	7,685	0.22%	8,181	0.23%	-0.01 $\downarrow$
Stores and stationery cost	4,270	0.12%	8,925	0.25%	-0.13 $\downarrow$
Telephone	21,639	0.63%	17,560	0.49%	+0.14 $\uparrow$
Others	42,518	1.24%	50,609	1.42%	-0.18 $\downarrow$
TOTAL SCHEDULED EXPENSES	2,516,542	73.16%	3,453,150	96.53%	-23.37 $\downarrow$

Note: The arrow ($\uparrow$ or $\downarrow$) indicates the direction of the Change in Ratio for the company's financial performance. A positive change ($\uparrow$) for an expense means the expense is consuming a smaller portion of revenue (favorable), while a negative change ($\downarrow$) means it is consuming a larger portion of revenue (unfavorable).

Key Findings

1. Dominant Expense Growth: The single most significant change is in Computer expenses, which consumed $50.08\%$ of Total Revenue in 2024 and jumped to $72.63\%$ in 2025. This $22.55$ percentage point increase is the main driver of cost inefficiency. The note indicates this includes 'new computer system upgrades, data migration and support services.'

2. Legal Costs Explosion: Legal services saw a dramatic percentage increase, jumping from a negligible $0.16\%$ of revenue to $3.21\%$. This suggests a major legal or compliance issue arose in 2025 that demanded substantial expenditure relative to income.

3. Overall Cost Pressure: Total Scheduled Expenses increased from consuming $73.16\%$ of Total Revenue to $96.53\%$. This $23.37$ percentage point deterioration means that nearly all revenue generated in 2025 was consumed just by this schedule of expenses alone, leaving little margin for personnel costs, tuition fees, or profit.

4. Cost Savings: Favorable shifts were seen in 'Agency staff fees', 'Repairs and maintenance', and the elimination of 'Marketing' and 'Internal auditor fee' expenses. However, these savings were completely dwarfed by the massive increases in Computer and Legal costs.