Barrister's
Application for a Practising Certificate
If you are a barrister making an application for an Australian practising certificate as a solicitor in New South Wales, you are required to provide the following documentation:
- A completed Application form for Grant of an Australian Practising Certificate as a Solicitor.
- A Certificate of Fitness from the New South Wales Bar Association, which is no more than 28 days old (Please note if you are the holder of a current barrister’s practising certificate, you must surrender that certificate to the Bar Association before a solicitor's practising certificate may be granted).
- Details of practice in any other jurisdiction by submitting a Certificate of Fitness and Good Standing, which is no more than 28 days old, issued by the body issuing practising certificates in each of the relevant jurisdictions.
- A brief resume of legal practice/work experience undertaken since your admission as a legal practitioner.
Please send these documents to The Law Society Registry together with payment for fees.
What conditions will be imposed?
Generally you will be issued with a practising certificate authorising you to engage in legal practice as an employee of a law practice that is subject to:
- A period of Supervised Legal Practice, and
- A requirement to complete an approved Practice Management Course before you will be entitled to practise as a principal of a law practice.
If you are intending to practise as a sole practitioner, you will require a practising certificate that is not subject to condition 2 (the requirement to engage in supervised legal practice). To apply to remove condition 2, please make a submission by way of a statutory declaration addressing the Supervised Legal Practice Guidelines for consideration by the Law Society's Licensing Committee.