Only certain types of law practice structures can offer non-legal services. The Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014 (Uniform Law) and Legal Profession Uniform Admission Rules 2015 (Rules) permit unincorporated legal practices and incorporated legal practices to provide non-legal services.

You must disclose to clients that such services are not legal services, and failure to make such a disclosure will mean that the services will be subject to the same duties and standard of care as apply to legal services. 

All services offered by a law practice, legal and non-legal, are subject to the general consumer protection requirements of the Australian Consumer Law & Fair Trading Act 2012. This means that the services must be: 

• provided with due care and skill 
• fit for any specified purpose (express or implied) 
• provided within a reasonable time (when no time is set). 

Any non-legal professional services, such as counselling, need to comply with the regulations and requirements attached to those services, including licensing and registration. 

Some dual registrations are not allowed. For example, a person can’t be registered as a migration agent or a licensed conveyancer at the same time they are registered as a lawyer. However, a migration agent and a conveyancer can go into business with a lawyer. 

Some non-legal services cannot be offered by a law practice, for example managed investment schemes. More information about prohibited services and business are found at section 258 of the Uniform Law.  

In all cases, non-legal services can’t compromise the ethical standards of the law practice and must not cause any conflicts of interest. 

Law firms and sole practitioners are not permitted to provide non-legal services via their law practice.  

The Uniform Law defines legal services as ‘work done or business transacted in the ordinary course of legal practice’.  The term is broad but generally includes: 

giving advice on applicable laws and recommending actions to be taken in court or tribunal proceedings, commercial transactions or any other activity that affects a person’s legal rights 

• drafting and filing proceedings in litigation 
• drawing wills and contracts. 

The services provided by a lawyer - whether through a law practice or other kind of commercial organisation - may still be considered a legal service. 

A lawyer can’t avoid legal regulation regime by simply calling a service ‘non-legal’ if a reasonable person would see it as legal work. 

Yes. Lay associates of a law practice can:

• Receive fees for the business of a law practice that is the business of an Australian legal practitioner
• Hold themselves out as lay associates of the law practice and
• Share in the receipts, revenue or other income of the law practice.

There are rules that outline how the law practice must be structured:

• an Incorporated Legal Practice can have lay (non-lawyer) directors but must have at least one authorised principal – that is, a director who is an Australian Legal practitioner who is not subject to a condition of supervised legal practice.
• an unincorporated legal practice may include members of the practice who are not legal practitioners.
• a law firm, which is a partnership of Australian legal practitioners (and may include an Australian registered foreign lawyer) can’t have non-legal partners.

Where a lawyer has an interest in a non-legal business that is operated ‘concurrently, but not directly in association, with the conduct of the solicitor’s legal practice’ they must avoid a conflict with the other business, disclose the relationship with the business and maintain separate files and records.

There are rules that outline who can be a lay associate. A disqualified person or a person found guilty of an indictable offence involving dishonesty can’t be a lay associate of a law practice of any type.

The Legal Practitioners' Liability Committee provides insurance for the legal services that a law practice provides, including promotional or marketing activities.  

This does not cover services that are non-legal so professional liability insurance should be obtained from another insurer. Your broker may be able to assist with this. 

We deal with complaints about legal services provided to clients as well as disciplinary conduct matters. These can occur during or outside of legal practice. 

We can’t deal with complaints about non-legal services unless: 

• the conduct would amount to a disciplinary breach, including common law misconduct 
• the law practice did not make appropriate disclosure under s.107 of the uniform Law 
• the services are provided by a lawyer and are reasonably characterised as legal services 
• legal fees have been charged for non-legal services. 

It is helpful and appropriate to tell client about other ways to resolve disputes, including formal channels like Consumer Affairs Victoria or Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.  As a helpful resource For guidance on handling complaints internally, see the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals’ Small Business Complaint Toolkit.