Kaz3g,
Perhaps the 'Australian Press Council' is simply a Trade Union, appropriately protecting its members?
A little like 'The Law Society of NSW'. A Trade Union for solicitors.
And the 'NSW Bar Association'. A Trade Union for barristers?
"They are not a Regulator and they rely on their members for funding."
That's it.
Cant speak for how various law associations in other jurisdictions operate, but the Law Institute in Victoria retains some regulatory control.
But the most significant regulatory control is exercised by the Legal Services Board supported by the Legal Profession Act and a myriad regulations with severe penalties for breaches.
Lawyers are actually the most heavily regulated of the professions and the LSB enforces the statutes vigorously.
The rules include a number of ethical obligations to ensure trust and confidence between lawyer and client. It also requires that legal advice provided be accurate and a true reflection of the law as it stands. Breaches of these requirements regularly result in de-registration and fines or imprisonment.
There is no similar restriction on the activities of the media and I've never heard of a journalist being dismissed because he got the facts wrong.
Kaz
Lawyers also pay into a Practice Insurance fund so that anyone "injured" by a practitioner's negligence or malfeasance is able to be recompensed should that lawyer's assets be insufficient to meet the damages claim. Lawyers are individually liable for their professional conduct and can't hide behind the vicarious liability of the employer.