Ashurst is expanding its alternative legal services offering to Australia, as the firm prepares to launch a global delivery centre in Brisbane in October.

The Brisbane legal services centre, Ashurst's second such base globally after Glasgow, will provide low-cost legal services on document-intensive projects or recurring work for the firm's Australian offices and clients. The centre will include a team of between six and eight non-qualified legal analysts, who will be part of the firm's global innovation research and development programme, Ashurst Advance.

Ashurst's chief financial and operations officer Jan Gooze-Zijl said: "The way we work with clients and one another has changed considerably and we want a globally consistent approach to service delivery that most effectively supports the practices and our business.

"Having [global delivery centres] operating in an integrated way across both Glasgow and Brisbane will help us achieve that objective," said Gooze-Zijl.

Similar to the Glasgow centre, the Brisbane base will also include a business services function. Starting in October, Ashurst will begin transitioning certain business services roles, such as IT and risk and compliance, from other Australian offices to the Brisbane office. The delivery centre will then move to a second location in Brisbane in the financial year commencing May 2019.

Ashurst head of human resources in Australia Richard Knox said the firm is mindful of the impact on staff members and will be "fully supporting our people during this process".

"Overall, this will be of great benefit to the firm and our clients, as it is critical we innovate and adapt so we remain positioned for ongoing success," Knox said in a statement.

Earlier this week, Ashurst hired former partner Christopher Georgiou from Fieldfisher to co-lead Ashurst Advance, alongside partner Mike Polson, who helped launch the Glasgow centre in 2013.