Steps to Qualified Practice
Supervised Legal Practice
All local legal practitioners, who take out their first practising certificate on or after 12 December 2005, must engage in supervised legal practice for a prescribed period of time.
Definition of ‘supervised legal practice’
‘Supervised legal practice’ means legal practice by an Australian legal practitioner, who is:
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an employee of a law practice under the supervision of a partner, legal practitioner director, or other employee of the law practice; all of whom should hold a principal practising certificate; or,
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a partner of a law firm, under the supervision of another partner who holds a principal practising certificate; or,
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working in any other capacity approved under a legal profession regulation.
The Supervised Legal Practice Rules 2006 (pdf) make it possible to undertake supervised legal practice in any capacity provided that the practitioner engages in legal practice supervised by an “eligible Australian Lawyer” as defined by rule 3.1 of the Rules.
Prescribed period
The prescribed periods of supervised legal practice are:
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18 months - where practical legal training was completed under the supervision of an Australian legal practitioner through articles of clerkship; or
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2 years – where other practical legal training was completed.
These periods are calculated on a full-time basis so that if you engage in legal practice part-time, it will take you longer to complete your period of supervised legal practice.
Further information