Applying for a Practising Certificate
Specific requirements must be met before a practising certificate is issued or takes effect.
Application form
New and recommencing practitioners must complete and submit a practising certificate application form, approved by the Legal Services Board.
All parts of the form, including the accompanying statutory declaration, must be completed before a practising certificate will be issued. Please read the form carefully prior to submitting your application.
Duration of Practising Certificates
A practising certificate is current from the date specified in it until the end of the financial year in which it is granted, unless the certificate is sooner suspended or cancelled.
Practitioners must renew their practising certificates on an annual basis.
A practising certificate cannot take effect prior to the dates on which:
- The applicant was admitted to legal practice in an Australian jurisdiction
- The correctly completed and signed application for practising certificate is received by the Law Institute of Victoria
- The applicant is covered by professional indemnity insurance, as required by the Act
- Full payment of all fees and contributions is received by the Law Institute of Victoria
- The Trust Accounting Seminar is completed (where the applicant seeks authorisation to receive trust money)
Eligibility to Apply for a Practising Certificate
You are eligible to apply for a local practising certificate if you are admitted to the legal profession under the Legal Profession Act 2004 or a corresponding law of another Australian state, and if:
- your place of Australian residence is in Victoria; or
- you reasonably expect to be engaged in legal practice principally from Victoria during the currency of the certificate; or
- you do not have a place of residence in Australia; or
- you hold a current local practising certificate and engage in legal practice in another jurisdiction under a temporary arrangement.
The regulations under the Act may impose other eligibility requirements.
Fit and Proper Person
The Legal Services Board (LSB) must not grant a practising certificate unless it is satisfied that the applicant is a fit and proper person to hold the certificate. In considering whether a person is fit and proper, the LSB may take into account any matter it thinks appropriate, including whether the applicant has:
- Been found guilty of an offence in Australia or a foreign country
- Provided incorrect or misleading information in obtaining a practising certificate
- Contravened a condition of an Australian practising certificate
- Contravened the Legal Profession Act 2004 or a corresponding law
- Contravened an order of a tribunal or corresponding disciplinary body
- Failed to pay a fidelity fund contribution or levy
- Contravened a requirement relating to professional indemnity insurance
- Failed to pay any costs or expenses liable under the Act or the regulations
- Become the subject of current disciplinary action, unresolved complaints, investigations, charges or orders under the Legal Profession Act 2004 or a corresponding Act
Despite the presence of the aforementioned criteria, the LSB may consider a person to be fit and proper if circumstances so warrant.
Professional Indemnity Insurance
All law practices must obtain professional indemnity insurance from the Legal Practitioners Liability Committee (LPLC), unless exempted from this requirement by the Legal Services Board.
The Law Institute of Victoria will not grant principal, employee, or volunteer practising certificates unless it has received one of the following:
- Confirmation from the LPLC that the applicant has obtained professional indemnity insurance
- Notification from the Legal Services Board that the applicant is exempt from the requirement to obtain professional indemnity insurance from the LPLC
Failure to acquire professional indemnity insurance, as required by the Legal Profession Act 2004, is grounds for suspension or cancellation of a practising certificate.
Practising Certificate Fees and Fidelity Fund Contributions
Practising certificate fees are set by statute, while fidelity fund contributions are set each certificate year by the Legal Services Board. The Law Institute of Victoria collects these on behalf of the Board.
Trust account requirements
Principal practising certificate applicants must nominate whether they wish to be authorised to receive trust money.
- Authorisation is only granted to applicants who have satisfactorily completed the Trust Account Seminar, approved by the Legal Services Board
- Certificates with authorisation to receive trust money cannot take effect prior to completion of the Seminar
The Trust Account area of this site contains information on the administration of Trust Accounts.
For information on Trust Account Seminars Contact:
Investigations Department
Dianne Murray
Ph: (03) 9607 9514
Fax: (03) 9607 9569
Email: dmurray@liv.asn.au
Employment details
- All employment details are verified to ensure the appropriate practising certificate is issued.
- Your application should contain details of your place of employment, including commencment date.