Legal Services Board
New and intending practitioners
Admission to the legal profession
To be eligible for a practising certificate to practise law in Victoria, a person must first be admitted to the legal profession under the Legal Profession Act 2004 (Vic) (“the Act”) or a corresponding law interstate. Such a person is termed an ‘Australian lawyer’.
Admission in Victoria is to the Supreme Court of Victoria.
The Legal Services Board does not have any involvement in admissions. The Council of Legal Education determines the qualifications and training required for admission to the legal profession in Victoria. The Board of Examiners considers applications for admission in Victoria and makes recommendations to the Supreme Court in relation to whether a person is eligible and fit and proper to be admitted.
If you are interested in seeking admission to the Supreme Court of Victoria, or to view a copy of the Admission Rules, please contact the Board of Examiners.
Applying for a practising certificate
Subject to a small number of limited exceptions admission to the legal profession does not entitle you to engage in legal practice. You must also hold a current practising certificate. See further information about applying for a practising certificate.
Supervised legal practice
The Act imposes a condition on each local practising certificate that the holder must engage only in supervised legal practice for a specified period after the grant of his or her first practising certificate. This also applies to interstate legal practitioners who engage in legal practice in Victoria.
The supervised legal practice condition does not apply to:
- the holder of a local practising certificate who is a barrister; or
- a person who held an Australian practising certificate before 12 December 2005.
Required period of supervised legal practice
An Australian legal practitioner is subject to supervised legal practice for 18 months after their first practising certificate is granted if, in order to qualify for admission, the practitioner completed practical legal training principally under the supervision of an Australian legal practitioner (e.g. Articles of Clerkship or supervised workplace training).
If the practitioner completed other practical legal training to qualify for admission, the supervised legal practice period is two years. This would include practical legal training undertaken at Leo Cussen Institute, Monash University or the College of Law and supervised workplace training under the supervision of a person other than an Australian legal practitioner in accordance with the admission rules (eg. under a government lawyer who does not hold a practising certificate).
The Legal Profession Regulations 2005 (“the regulations”) outline how the supervised legal practice period is calculated. A person may satisfy the requirements by engaging in practice on a continuous full-time basis, or by completing one or more periods, on either a full or part-time basis, equivalent to the required period. As such, it will take longer to complete the required period if the practitioner practises part-time. The regulations can be viewed at the Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents website.
What is supervised legal practice?
For employees of law practices and partners in law firms, supervised legal practice is defined by s 1.2.1 of the Act. The Supervised Legal Practice Rules (2006) provide for all other categories of work
Supervised legal practice is legal practice under the supervision of:
- in the case of an employee of a law practice, at least one partner, legal practitioner director or other employee of the law practice who holds a principal practising certificate;
- in the case of a partner in a law firm, at least one other partner who holds a principal practising certificate;
- in the case of a person working in any other capacity, “an eligible Australian lawyer” as defined in the Supervised Legal Practice Rules (2006).
Download the Supervised Legal Practice Rules (2006).
Rule 3.1 defines an “eligible Australian lawyer” as an Australian lawyer who holds, or who is eligible to hold but not required to hold, either a local or interstate practising certificate not subject to the Victorian supervised legal practice conditions or any corresponding provisions interstate. An Australian lawyer who is practising for the Crown or a public authority, for example, may be “eligible for but not required to” hold a practising certificate. Such a person may fall within the definition of an eligible Australian lawyer without necessarily holding a principal practising certificate.
The Act does not define “supervision”. For more information on the arrangements which the Board regards to be compliant with the supervised legal requirements of the Act, download the supervised legal practice policy statement from the Publications page.
Upon completion of the period of supervised legal practice, the Board requires some evidence of completion from a practitioner. Practitioners should maintain records of any periods of supervised legal practice, including who supervised the work and the hours of work if engaging in legal practice on a part-time basis.
Completing supervised legal practice: what to do
A person who has completed the required period of supervised legal practice in accordance with the Act, its regulations, and the Rules (if applicable), may apply to the Board to remove the statutory condition from their practising certificate.
Applications must be in writing. It is advisable to apply as soon as possible after completing the supervised legal practice period.
The Board’s delegate in relation to issuing and amending practising certificates is the Law Institute of Victoria (the “LIV”). Please send applications to remove the statutory condition to the LIV, not the Board.
An application must enclose a statutory declaration that includes the required information and supporting documentation. For further information about these requirements, download the Board’s Supervised Legal Practice (Completion of Period) Policy from the Publications page.
How to prepare the statutory declaration
The statutory declaration must satisfy the Board or its delegate that the relevant periods of practice were “supervised legal practice” as defined in the Act, as extended by the Rules.
This will a carry different implication, depending on the type of practice engaged in. The statutory declaration must establish that there has been:
- for an employee of a law practice, legal practice under the supervision of a principal or other employee of the practice holding a principal practising certificate;
- for a partner in a law firm, legal practice under the supervision of another partner of the law firm holding a principal practising certificate;
- for a person other than an employee of a law practice or a partner in a law firm, legal practice in any capacity, provided that it is under the supervision of a person holding, or eligible but not required to hold, an Australian practising certificate not subject to the statutory condition in s 2.4.18 of the Act or any corresponding requirement interstate.
Corporate and government practitioners fall within the third category above.
A statutory declaration must also satisfy the Board or its delegate that the relevant period, calculated in accordance with the regulations, has been completed. This means 18 months or 2 years (as applicable) calculated on a full-time equivalent basis. Public holidays and normal periods of leave are to be included.
A person who has completed the period over more than one workplace or period of practice, or by working on a part-time basis, must demonstrate how the period was equivalent to the required period.
Supervised legal practice for government lawyers
Government lawyers who practise without holding a practising certificate will not be subject to the supervised legal practice requirements.
However, if you are taking out a practising certificate for the first time after 12 December 2005, your certificate will be subject to the supervised legal practice condition, unless you are exempted from the requirement by the Board. See below for further information about exemptions.
View further information about practising in government.
Exemptions from supervised legal practice
A person holding their first Australian practising certificate cannot engage in legal practice in Victoria other than supervised legal practice, unless an exemption is obtained from the Board.
The Board may exempt a person from supervised legal practice or may reduce the period of supervised legal practice, having regard to:
- the length and nature of any legal practice previously engaged in; and
- the length and nature of any legal practice engaged in by the supervisors (if any).
Download the Board’s Policy – applications for exemption from supervised legal practice (55KB PDF)
All applications for exemption must address section 2.4.18 (3) of the Act and relevant matters outlined in the policy.