IRO has recently been made aware of some law firms settling invoices late on:
- Medical Report Providers for the GST owed on medico-legal reports where IRO has paid for the cost of the underlying report, and
- Barrister fees where IRO has reimbursed the Law Firm.
It is IRO’s expectation that law firms pay:
- report providers the GST on medico-legal reports where IRO has paid for the cost of the report in accordance with the report providers payment terms, and
- a Barrister within 30 days of IRO paying the invoice, which includes the fee funded by IRO.
I draw your attention to clause 3.15 of the Practice Standards for IRO Approved Lawyers which states:
Ensure prompt payment to experts, witnesses and other third parties who have undertaken work pursuant to a grant of funding for that work.
The Practice Standards represent the minimum standards expected of Approved Lawyers and are intended to ensure accountability for work done under a grant of funding.
In addition, I note the IRO’s expectation that Approved Lawyers will be guided by the New South Wales Government Business Ethics Statement as provided on the IRO website.
Jeffrey Gabriel
Independent Review Officer