External examiners

If a law practice has received or held trust money during the trust year, it must have its trust records externally examined by a designated External Examiner (EE). The criteria to that must be met, before a person may qualify to be appointed as an EE, is set out in sections 155 – 156 of the Uniform Law and Rule 65 of the Legal Profession Uniform General Rules 2015.

An EE must complete an approved EE course conducted by the Law Society of NSW, the Law Institute of Victoria or the Legal Practice Board of Western Australia.  Register your interest for the next available Law Society of NSW EE course here: Register your Interest.

A register of EE’s qualified to examine the records is available here: Find an External Examiner.

How is an EE appointed?

An EE can only be appointed to the law practice within the Trust Lodgement Portal (TLP).  An EE can be changed or terminated within the TLP also. For further information refer to the Trust Lodgement Portal Guidebook.

What is an External Examiners Report (EER)?

An EER is an independent assessment of a law practice's trust records submitted via the TLP on or before 31 May.  The purpose of an EER is to:

• Confirm that the information submitted in the law practice’s Confirmation and Statement of Trust Money (commonly known as Part A and Part B) is correct.
• Confirm whether the trust records for all types of trust money have been properly maintained in accordance with the provisions of the Uniform Law and the Uniform General Rules.
• Detail any observed breaches of the Uniform law and Uniform General Rules.