The Bar Standards Board (BSB) is a risk-based regulator. This means we focus on the risks that pose the greatest threat to our regulatory objectives. There are nine regulatory objectives and meeting these is central to the work of the BSB.
Our Regulatory Risk Areas are the areas that we have identified that could lead to poor outcomes for consumers and the wider public. Problems here can prevent us from fully delivering our regulatory objectives.
Our risk areas are at the heart of the BSB and its work. We use them to ensure we allocate our resources to initiatives that address the greatest risk to our regulatory objectives. Identifying and organising risks, however, is a complex task. We must ensure we understand developments in the market, identify problems as they emerge and then organise our resources around them in an appropriate and effective way.
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The risk |
What is it? |
Regulatory Objective |
|---|---|---|
| Ethical Conduct | Ethical conduct involves adherence to moral principles and professional standards by barristers in their practice. Failure in ethical conduct can harm consumers and undermine the rule of law and the efficacy of the barrister profession. |
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| Professional Competence | Professional competence is the ability of Barristers to perform the roles and tasks required by their role to the expected standard. Failure in professional competence can lead to poor outcomes for consumers and undermine the efficacy of the Barrister profession. |
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| Empowered and Protected Consumers | Empowered and protected consumers are well-informed, able to make choices, and safeguarded from unfair practices within the barrister market. Failure in empowering and protecting consumers can harm them and undermine the public interest. |
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| Equality, Diversity and Inclusion | Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) refers to ensuring fairness, equal opportunities and representations for barristers and those for whom they interact, including consumers and others regardless of background. Failure in EDI can harm consumers and undermine the efficacy of the barrister profession. |
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| Economic Crime | Economic Crime concerns the facilitation or carrying out of crimes such as fraud, terrorist financing, money laundering, and sanctions non-compliance. Failure to prevent economic crime can harm the public interest. |
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| Access to Justice | Access to justice considers the failure of the public to be able to seek and obtain a just resolution of legal problems through legal and justice services. Failure in access to justice can undermine the rule of law and harm the public interest. |
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| A Competitive and Effective Market | A competitive and effective market refers to a barristers’ market that promotes competition, innovation and choice. Failure to maintain a competitive and effective market can result in poor outcomes for consumers and undermine the efficacy of the Barrister profession. |
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