Employment Outlook
Legal Assistant/Assistant Paralegal
Average wage for
Employment Levels
There are currently 11 300 people employed as Legal assistants/Assistant Paralegals in Australia. According to the Department of Employment over the next 5 years (up until the year 2018) there will be more than 500 additional job openings within this profession.
Employment by State
The majority of Legal Assistants are employed within NSW. There are a higher proportion of Legal Assistants in VIC and QLD than the average for all occupations, while the population in WA, SA, TAS, NT and ACT is close to the national average.
Gender Split
This is a female dominated industry. 74.8% of Legal assistants are female and 25.2% are male.
Age Brackets
The median age for Legal assistant is 35 years. Legal assistants are 5 years younger than the average age for all occupations.
Hours Worked
Legal Assistants work an average of 36.6 hours a week. This is 3.5 hours less per week than the average for all occupations.
Education Level
The majority of workers employed in this profession have at least a Year 12 qualification. 56.1% of Legal Assistants have a qualification that is Certificate III or higher while 32.1% have a qualification that is Year 12 or lower.
Legal Assistant/Assistant Paralegal Duties & Tasks
- Listing actions for hearing and processing documentation for court actions
- Documenting details of court proceedings, actions and decisions
- Enforcing the law as an officer of the court by executing court orders such as eviction notices
- Serving legal orders and documents such as summonses and subpoenas
- Organising jury and witness lists, and summonsing and swearing in juries and witnesses
- Maintaining order in court and hearing rooms and adjacent areas
- Assisting Solicitors in areas of conveyancing, contracts, common law, probate and other legal practice matters
- Satisfying statutory requirements, establishing beneficial entitlements and distributing assets
- Maintaining probate and trust files, investing trust funds and administering accounts
Professional Associations & Groups
*The information provided on this page is from the Department of Employment’s Job Outlook website. All salary ranges are from Payscale. Where jobs are not exact matches, job areas have been used. This information is to be used as a guide only.
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