The Law Society’s Public Purposes Trust Fund (the Trust) was established in 1985. A copy of the deed establishing the Trust is available here. The Law Society of Western Australia (Inc.) is the trustee of the Law Society Public Purposes Trust Fund. In its role as Trustee, the Law Society sets policies with regard to the investment of the Trust’s assets and provides administration services to the Trust. The Trust receives its income from two sources, being income from the Trust’s investments and a portion of the interest paid by banks on Solicitors Trust Accounts in Western Australia.
The Trust Fund allocates funds towards annual grants for applications from organisations that meet the objectives of the Trust Fund, these being:
- To advance the education of the community, and any section of it, with respect to the law
- To advance the collection, assessment and dissemination to the community, and any section of it, of information relating to the law
- To improve the access of the community, and any section of it, to legal services
Funding may be granted to activities that:
- Advance the education with respect to the law of persons desiring to study law, law students, law graduates, legal practitioners, and persons having responsibility for legal education and for the administration of the law and the legal system
- Establish and advance law libraries and legal information services, including computerised legal information retrieval services
- Advance the examination of the law, the legal system, the legal profession, legal education, legal services and the effect of any of them on the community, or any section of it
The Law Society does not decide which applications receive funding. Applications are assessed through an independent three stage process by an Allocations Committee and the Attorney General.
Persons, organisations or institutions can apply for funding for activities that fall within the above objects of the Trust Fund. Applications are received in advance for activities occurring in the following financial year 1 July to 30 June.
Submissions via an online application form are accepted during the period from 1 July to no later than 4pm 31 July of the previous year. No late applications will be considered.
The online applications submission window will be opened from 1 July 2025 to 4pm 31 July 2025 for the 2025/2028 triennial grants and 2025/2026 annual grants.
For information on the application and assessment process, read our Information for Applicants.
Applications have now closed and late applications will not be accepted.