Admission to Practice

The academic requirement is the completion of a tertiary study of law in Australia completed over a minimum of three years full time (or the part-time equivalent) and which includes the Priestley 11 subjects. In South Australia, completion of the Bachelor of Laws degree from Adelaide University, Flinders University or University of South Australia satisfies the academic requirements.

The practical requirement is the completion of a course of study which provides the requisite understanding and competence in the skills, values and practice areas prescribed within the LPEAC Rules. The Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (GDLP) provided by the University of Adelaide is an approved practical legal training course as is the course conducted by the College of Law South Australia. The Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice degree from Flinders University is recognised as satisfying both the academic and the practical requirements for admission..

Applicants who have completed academic qualifications interstate should note that they must have those qualifications formally accredited by the Board of Examiners prior to admission. It is strongly recommended that applicants initiate this process while completing their GDLP to avoid delays in the admission process.

To apply for accreditation of your interstate qualifications please send an email to ethicsandpractice@lawsocietysa.asn.au attaching a letter from the Dean of the Law School at which you obtained your degree confirming that it satisfies the academic requirements contained in the Uniform Admission Rules (Priestley 11 subjects) and satisfies the requirements for admission in that State. 

The Supreme Court holds several admission hearings each year and there are cut-off dates by which your documents must be submitted to the Law Society in order to make each hearing. This year, those dates in the above table.

The morning after each Board of Examiners meeting, a list of successful applicants is displayed on the Society’s Community tab, or in the Higher Courts Registry in the Lower Ground Floor of the Sir Samuel Way Building, Victoria Square ADELAIDE. 

The Guide to Admission can be located by clicking here

Novel Coronavirus (COVID 19)

As the spread of the novel Coronavirus (COVID 19) widens we ask that you please do not attend the Law Society office.

Until further notice the Society will not be holding appointments with Local Applicants to view their original documents and identification.

The Society will be temporarily checking and accepting applications (once correct) through the online portal (click on the 'Start your local admission application now' button below to proceed).

For your admission application you will need to have:
• Your affidavit sworn or affirmed
• Signed your Originating Application and Authority to Obtain Information Letters
• Add the following statement to your Originating Application;

'Due to COVID-19 the Society is not currently accepting personal lodgement of admission applications. Pursuant to Rule 364 I seek exemption from the requirement in Rule 370 to file my admission documents with the Society personally on the proviso that I follow the alternative filing procedure put in place by the Society.'

• All annexures certified by a Justice of the Peace or Commissioner for Taking Affidavits
• Attach the Payment Authority Form to your application

 

Start your local admission application now

If you have been admitted to practice in another State or in New Zealand, you must seek registration (recognition of your entitlement to practice elsewhere) pursuant to the provisions of the Mutual Recognition Act 1992 (Cth) or the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Act 1997 (Cth), and sign the Roll in South Australia before commencing permanent practice in South Australia. You can do so by applying to the Board of Examiners. 

You are required to lodge your application and supporting documents with the Law Society.  All applications are assessed by the Board of Examiners. The cut-off dates that apply to mutual recognition are the same as those applying to local applicants (detailed above). 

The Society has prepared a Guide to Mutual Recognition to assist you in preparing for the admission process.  You can download the Guide here.  A set of pro-forma documents has also been prepared, which you can customise to suit your requirements.  A link to the pro-forma documents can be found in the Guide.

You are required to obtain a Certificate of Fitness from any jurisdiction in which you have been admitted, or registered under the Mutual Recognition Act.  This includes any jurisdictions outside Australia where you have been admitted.  The certificates will only be valid for 28 days from the date we receive it. 

Below are contact details for the relevant Australian admitting authorities:

• SA Law Society: ethicsandpractice@lawsocietysa.asn.au 
• NSW Law Society: Clarisse.abad@lawsociety.com.au
• ACT Law Society: debbie.sims@actlawsociety.asn.au
• Queensland  Law Society: a.aquilina@qls.com.au 
• WA Law Society: https://www.lawsocietywa.asn.au
• Law Institute of Victoria, http://www.liv.asn.au/Professional-Practice/Compliance/Obtaining-a-Certificate-of-Fitness
• NT Law Society: licenseofficer@lawsocnt.asn.au
• Tasmanian Law Society: info@taslawsociety.asn.au

For recognition of a New Zealand admission, use the documents available here.

These documents are for your assistance only and it remains your responsibility to ensure that your documents comply with the Mutual Recognition Act 1992, the Supreme Court Civil Rules 2006 and the Supreme Court Civil Supplementary Rules 2014.  

As of 1 July 2019, the fee for admission through mutual recognition is $629, and the fee for a practising certificate is $684.

Novel Coronavirus (COVID 19)

As the spread of the novel Coronavirus (COVID 19) widens we ask that you please do not attend the Law Society office.

At this stage the Society will accept Mutual Recognition Applications by either;
• Email - ethicsandpractice@lawsocietysa.asn.au
• Post – GPO Box 2066 ADELAIDE SA 5001
• Courier – Level 10 / 178 North Terrace ADELAIDE SA 5000

If you have any questions about the mutual recognition process, contact the Ethics and Practice Unit at ethicsandpractice@lawsocietysa.asn.au or (08) 8229 0200. 

To obtain an Evidentiary Certificate please email ethicsandpractice@lawsocietysa.asn.au with the following information: 
• Your full name and date of birth.
• The name of the authority and email address of department requesting the certificate. Originals will be emailed to the authority and you will be cc'd.
• The reason for the certificate ie: to obtain a practising certificate in XXX.
• Your best contact number.

Fees are $80 for Law Society Members or $100 non-Law Society Members, payable up front either by telephone or return email (Visa or Mastercard, Amex not accepted).

Novel Coronavirus (COVID 19)

As the spread of the novel Coronavirus (COVID 19) widens we ask that you please do not attend the Law Society office.

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:

1. Assessment of overseas qualifications and experience.
2. Preparation of an application to the Board of Examiners.
3. 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.

 

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.