UK legal services are set to enjoy an export boost thanks to guarantees in the UK-Australia trade deal that make it easier for British lawyers to practise in Australia.

Almost £85 million worth of legal services were exported to Australia in 2019 and the landmark deal, agreed in principle between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in June, removes barriers for businesses and makes it easier for people to travel and work together.

Under the deal, which is set to be signed in the next few months, British lawyers can continue to provide UK and international legal services in Australia using their existing qualifications with more clarity and certainty. This will include arbitration, conciliation and mediation services.

New provisions will also support regulators on both sides to address obstacles and remove red tape make it easier for lawyers to get the necessary licences to practise. This means that those looking to requalify in Australian domestic law might face fewer barriers in what is already a costly and time-consuming process that involves having to sit up to 11 exams.

Legal services are a major industry in the UK contributing £22bn to the economy, and employing around 350,000 people who could take advantage of the legal wins in the trade deal.

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said:

Our trade deal with Australia is a big win for our world-leading legal services industry, allowing them to practise down under more easily, with more certainty and support.

This deal will reduce barriers to trade, make it easier for our people to travel and work together, and will bring big benefits to our consumers and businesses.

Junior lawyers wanting to gain work experience in Australia will also benefit from easier access to Australia’s Working Holiday Maker Visa, with eligibility increased from 30 years up to those 35 years old.

International law firm Herbert Smith Freehills, which merged UK and Australian firms in 2012 and employs 3,500 across both countries, is one of the many companies to benefit from the deal.

Rebecca Maslen-Stannage, Chair and Senior Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills said:

Leading multinational law firms such as Herbert Smith Freehills, with major operations in both countries, are looking for certainty on mobility and RPQ provisions relating to the legal profession. We are delighted that the UK and Australian governments have included these provisions which will help us to work more easily across regions.

Law Society of England and Wales President, I. Stephanie Boyce said:

The FTA establishes and drives collaboration between the relevant bodies with the aim of addressing remaining barriers to practise as a local lawyer in the other country’s territory.

We now look forward to taking new steps to facilitating international business with our colleagues in Australia. While the final agreement is yet to come, these commitments are a step in the right direction for both our legal professions and we will continue to seek the best deal for members in these discussions.

The UK’s world leading services industry will benefit from better access through new digital and services provisions in this deal. Alongside the new investment provisions these arrangements will bring new opportunities to the whole of the country.

A Free Trade Agreement with Australia is also a gateway into the fast-growing Indo-Pacific region and will boost our bid to join CPTPP, one of the largest free trade areas in the world, covering £9 trillion of GDP and 11 Pacific nations from Australia to Mexico.

Use the lists to check your business in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) or one of the Crown Dependencies (Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man) is approved to export to the EU, and find out what your TRACES number is.

A multimillion-pound scheme to improve traffic signals and a commitment to explore how new technology – such as drones and 3D printing – could be used to find and fix potholes are part of a raft of measures announced by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps today (13 August 2021).

The package will see councils across England receive a share of £15 million in government funding to improve their traffic light systems to cut congestion, boost safety and reduce journey times and emissions – a commitment set out in the recently announced Transport decarbonisation plan.

In addition to announcing today’s funding, the government has also published the findings from a new initiative called the Digital Intelligence Brokerage (DIB), which aims to encourage more work with small and medium enterprises outside of the transport sector and to speed up research into new and innovative ways to fix potholes.

The DIB has already made waves in this area, identifying:

• graphite nanoparticles in asphalt to reduce surface cracks
• the use of bio-bitumen materials to create environmentally friendly road surfaces which contribute to the decarbonisation of highways maintenance
• automated repair operations to minimise risk to road maintenance workers

This work supports wider government commitments to use advanced technology, such as drones to spot defects in roads and 3D printing to repair cracks.

This all comes as the government continues its drive to level up the country’s transport network and build back better from the pandemic.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said:

Whether you’re a motorist, cyclist or pedestrian, every road-user across our country deserves the best possible journey. That’s why, despite already having some of the best and safest roads in the world, this government is providing millions of pounds to improve them further still.

This vital funding and work will cut journey times for millions of people, reduce emissions and keep the UK at the forefront of technological developments in roads maintenance as we continue to invest in local economies and build back both better and greener from the pandemic.

RAC Head of Roads Policy Nicholas Lyes said:

Additional investment to cut congestion and make pothole repairs better for the future is very welcome. Improving traffic lights can make a significant difference to local roads by efficiently maximising the number of vehicles that can safely pass through junctions while hitting a pothole can be an expensive and even a dangerous experience.

We look forward to seeing how drivers and road users more widely can benefit from the use of 21st-century technology to repair their local roads more quickly.

The £15 million announced today builds on the £1.125 billion that has already been made available to local authorities for local road maintenance.

Councils will be expected to not only use the extra funding to repair and improve existing traffic signals but also consider how to future-proof their local road networks and prepare for technological innovations.

In addition to these measures, DfT has also today announced the development of a new data standard for local road condition monitoring, which will allow councils to use multiple technologies to carry out road condition surveys for national reporting purposes. This will lead to more accurate and useful data being collected.

£100,000 of funding is also being put towards the Transport Technology Forum. The open forum is funded by the DfT and Innovate UK and brings together road operators and suppliers from across the industry to offer their skills and experience to drive technological advances in the traffic management sector.