I have analysed numbers over recent years from the Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys register, and the data reveals a profession that is effectively running on a treadmill. In January 2018, the register recorded 1,003 attorneys. Today, in mid-2026, that number sits at 1,084 (870 in Australia, 214 in New Zealand).
That is a net addition of just 81 practitioners over more than eight years, translating to a sluggish compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of just under 1%. While the profession has managed to register 288 new attorneys since 2018, I found that this influx has been largely offset by a steady rate of retirement: 207 attorneys have departed the register over the same period.
On the surface, a 1% growth rate might simply look like a mature, saturated market. But, when placed in historical context, the situation is concerning. More importantly, it foreshadows a possible existential threat to the profession. If the entry rate of new patent attorneys falls below the rate of senior attrition, the regulatory and commercial ecosystem may stand on shaky ground. And – as always these days – the advancement of AI use within attorney firms threatens to exacerbate this risk.