Practitioners who have been admitted overseas, or who have not been admitted overseas but hold qualifications obtained outside Australia which are recognised as qualifying them to be admitted in an overseas jurisdiction, may apply to the Board of Examiners (Board) pursuant to Part 4 of the Rules of the Legal Practitioners Education and Admissions Council 2018 (2018 LPEAC Rules) for a direction as to what additional (if any) academic, practical and English language requirements must be complied with in order to satisfy the requirements for admission in South Australia.
To view the 2018 LPEAC Rules please go to the Courts Admission Authority website by clicking here.
The procedure for applications pursuant to Part 4 of the 2018 LPEAC Rules involves the following three-step process:
- Assessment of overseas qualifications and experience.
- Preparation of an application to the Board of Examiners.
- Verification of identity and original documents and submission of application to Board of Examiners.
Assessment of Overseas Qualifications and Experience
Assessments for South Australian applicants are provided by the Victorian Legal Admissions Board (VLAB) in accordance with the Law Admissions Consultative Committee’s Uniform Principles for Assessing Overseas Qualifications which are here.
Applications for assessment are made by applicants direct to VLAB.
To make the application to VLAB you will need to create an account for a foreign lawyer (if admitted overseas) OR foreign graduate assessment (if not admitted overseas) through the VLAB portal at https://www.lawadmissions.vic.gov.au/online-applications.
The portal will tell you what documents you need to upload for the purpose of the assessment. You will need to obtain certified copies of original documents such as official transcripts and graduation certificates for this purpose. Please do not provide any documents at this stage to the Society.
Payment of the application fee of AU$400 is to be made directly to the Society by cheque made out to The Law Society of South Australia, or by credit card via the Payment Authority found here. VLAB will only commence the assessment process when it has received confirmation from the Society that the fee has been received.
It can take up to 14 weeks for VLAB to complete its assessment. When it has done so it will email the assessment to the Society. We will inform you as soon as we have received the assessment report from VLAB so you can commence on the next step of the process.
Preparation of Application to the Board of Examiners
The LPEAC Rule 4 application must be submitted in the form required by the Supreme Court Rules and must include the content required by LPEAC Rule 4.
The application comprises:
- A Form 1 coversheet which provides your contact details and matter references for Court purposes.
- Your Statutory Declaration.
- Annexures.
If you have not been admitted to practise in an overseas jurisdiction, your statutory declaration needs to refer to the following:
- The nature and details of your academic and practical qualifications and experience.
- Evidence that you have the academic and practical qualifications relied on (you will need to annex original or authenticated documentary evidence of this).
- Whether you have applied for admission in any other Australian jurisdiction and the result of any such application.
If you have been admitted to practise overseas your statutory declaration needs to refer to the following:
- The nature and details of your academic qualifications and practical qualifications and experience.
- Evidence that you have the academic and practical qualifications relied on (you will need to annex original or authenticated documentary evidence of this).
- Evidence of your admission in the overseas jurisdiction.
- That you are currently admitted and entitled to practise in the overseas jurisdiction, have not at any stage been struck off the roll of practitioners or otherwise suspended from practice and are not presently subject to disciplinary inquiry or proceedings.
- The nature, range, duration and character of your practice in the overseas jurisdiction.
- Whether you have applied for such a direction or for admission in any other Australian jurisdiction and the result of any such application.
All statutory declarations also need to include reference to the following:
- Evidence of identity.
- Independent evidence that you are the person who has obtained the qualifications relied upon. A notarised certification from the tertiary institution or professional body which has awarded or conferred the qualification, which identifies you by reference to your passport (including the passport number and country of issue) will comply with this requirement.
- If admitted overseas, two statutory declarations (or the overseas equivalent), from legal practitioners in that jurisdiction who have known you for at least two years and who have been admitted in that jurisdiction for not less than 5 years, attesting to your good character and fitness to be admitted.
- If not admitted overseas, two statutory declarations (or the overseas equivalent) from persons of good repute who have known you for at least 5 years, attesting to your good character.
- A syllabus or other document describing course details and coverage issued by the body which has awarded the qualifications relied on.
- A record of the academic and practical subjects completed showing the year in which they were completed and the grade achieved by you for each subject.
- Whether your first language is English.
If you have not been admitted overseas please click here for a template Form 1 and Statutory Declaration for Not Admitted Applicants.
If you have been admitted overseas please click here for a template Form 1 and Statutory Declaration for Admitted Applicants.
When you have completed the relevant documents, we advise that you can email them (and all annexures) to ethicsandpractice@lawsocierysa.asn.au for checking before you have the statutory declaration executed.
Verification of Identity and Original Documents and Submission of Application
When the statutory declaration has been executed as required you need to make an appointment to come to the Society to submit your application.
You will need to bring with you the following:
- Your original application including original executed statutory declaration and original or certified copies of annexures.
- Photo identification.
- If your name on some of the documents annexed to your application is different to your name now you will need original or certified documentary proof of the name change such as a Marriage Certificate.
When you have submitted your application, it will be placed before the Board of Examiners for consideration at its next meeting. You will be notified of the Board’s decision by email within a few days after that meeting.
The Board’s Decision
When it has considered your application, the Board will make directions about what academic, practical and English language qualifications you will need to complete before being entitled to apply for admission in South Australia. The Board takes into consideration the assessment advice provided by VLAB for this purpose but is not bound to follow that advice.
All overseas applicants should expect to complete some academic and/or practical qualifications before being entitled to apply for admission. Many overseas applicants, especially those from countries with very different legal systems to Australia’s, will be required to complete academic subjects in all areas of knowledge referred to in Appendix A of the LPEAC Rules, and practical subjects in all areas of knowledge referred to in Appendix B of the LPEAC Rules.
All overseas applicants whose first language is not English should expect to be required to complete IELTS testing to the required level of competency.
The Board will tell you the time period within which you need to complete the requirements and apply for admission. You will need to apply to the Board for an extension of time if you will not be able to complete the requirements within that time period.
Application for Admission
When you have completed all the academic, practical and English language requirements you can apply for admission in South Australia as a local or original applicant.
Compliance with the direction of the Board pursuant to LPEAC Rule 4 does not guarantee that you will be admitted. The admission process requires you to demonstrate that you are fit to practice and are of good fame and character. If the Board or the Court decides that you are not fit to practice you will not be admitted.
Click here to view the Guide to Admission for South Australian applicants.
Contact details
If you have any questions please send an email to ethicsandpractice@lawsocietysa.asn.au at first instance. Your query will be responded to by email or phone usually within 32 hours of its receipt.