Current practising certificate fees
An application for an Australian practising certificate must be accompanied by the prescribed fee. Practising certificate fees are set by government regulations, and are pro-rated on a quarterly basis. These payments do not attract GST.
New Practising Certificate Fees Regulations made
The new fees for practising certificates were finalised on 6 February 2018 with the making of the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application (Practising Certificate Fees) Regulations 2018. The new Regulations set a stratified fee structure which better reflects the costs of regulating the different classes of legal practitioners.
The new fees will apply to all practising certificates for the 2018-19 financial year. New grants of practising certificates that apply for the 2017-18 financial year will continue to attract the old fees.
2017-18 practising year
The practising certificate fees for the 2017-18 practising year (from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018) are listed below.
These fees will apply to all practising certificate applications, including renewals, for the 2017-18 practising certificate year.
| Practising certificate type |
Application received |
Application received |
Application received |
Application received |
| Principal of a law practice authorised to receive trust money |
$522 |
$393 |
$262 |
$131 |
| Employee of a law practice authorised to receive trust money |
$522 |
$393 |
$262 |
$131 |
| Principal of a law practice not authorised to receive trust money (includes barristers) |
$353 |
$264 |
$176 |
$88 |
| Employee of a law practice | $353 |
$264 |
$176 |
$88 |
| Corporate legal practitioner |
$353 |
$264 |
$176 |
$88 |
| Government legal practitioner |
$353 |
$264 |
$176 |
$88 |
| Volunteer at a CLS / pro bono |
Nil |
Nil |
Nil |
Nil |
2018-19 practising year
The practising certificate fees for the 2018-19 practising year (from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019) are listed below.
These fees will apply to all practising certificate applications, including renewals, for the 2018-19 practising certificate year.
| Practising certificate type |
Application received |
Application received |
Application received |
Application received |
| Principal of a law practice authorised to receive trust money (includes foreign lawyers) |
$624 |
$468 |
$312 |
$156 |
| Principal of a law practice not authorised to receive trust money (includes foreign lawyers) |
$435 |
$326 |
$217 |
$108 |
| Employee of a law practice with/without receipt of trust money (includes foreign lawyers) |
$406 |
$304 |
$203 |
$101 |
| Barrister |
$352 |
$264 |
$176 |
$88 |
| Corporate legal practitioner | $244 |
$183 |
$122 |
$61 |
| Principal legal practitioner of CLS with/without receipt of trust money |
$224 |
$168 |
$112 |
$56 |
| Employee legal practitioner of CLS (includes foreign lawyers) |
$224 |
$168 |
$112 |
$56 |
| Government legal practitioner |
$224 |
$168 |
$112 |
$56 |
| Volunteer at a CLS / pro bono (includes foreign lawyers) |
Nil |
Nil |
Nil |
Nil |
Fidelity Fund contribution
A local practising certificate application must also be accompanied by the required Fidelity Fund contribution (if any) under s225 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law. Corresponding fees for the period 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017 are available on the Fidelity Fund Contributions page.