On this Page

Billing

You can give your client either:

• a lump sum bill covering their entire legal matter, or 
• an itemised bill identifying the different fees incurred.

You don’t have to wait until your client’s matter has finished. You can give them an interim bill (in either a lump sum or in itemised format), which covers part of your legal services.

You cannot charge for preparing or giving your client a bill.

Your client has rights

Itemised bills

If you give your client a lump sum bill, they are entitled to ask you to itemise that bill. They have 30 days after your initial bill becomes payable to ask for the itemised bill, and you must provide it within 21 days of their request.

If the itemised bill is higher than the lump sum bill, you can recover the additional costs only if:

• you told your client in writing before you had the file costed that the itemised costs may be higher than the original lump sum bill; and 
• a costs assessment or a binding determination determines they are payable.

Progress reports of legal expenses

Your client has the right to ask you for an update on the legal costs they have incurred to date, or for the period since the last bill. You must prepare an update for them in writing , without charge and within a reasonable timeframe.

Disputing your bill

Your bill must include:

• a written statement explaining that your client can dispute your bill with us;
• the time limits for disputing your bill (see Disputing your bill for further information on time limits); and
• that they can apply for a costs assessment.

Who is responsible for the bill?

Your client has the right to know who to speak to about the bill. A principal of the law practice must sign either the bill itself, or a letter accompanying the bill. Alternatively, the accompanying letter should indicate which of the law practice’s principals is responsible for the bill.

Practitioner Remuneration Order

The Practitioner Remuneration Order, which commences on 1 January 2023, is available at no cost.

On this Page

Setting up a new law practice

In Victoria there are several different types of law practices. While they must all abide by the same legal profession rules and regulations, some must take further steps to meet our requirements. Some of these steps must be done before the practice can open for business.

If you’re looking to set up your own sole practice, you must hold a principal practising certificate. If you have not held this type of certificate before, you must first show us you have the skills and experience needed to run a law practice before we will grant you a principal certificate. See our New principals page for further information.

In order to register a law practice in Victoria, you must undertake the following steps:

1. Satisfy the Principal Practising Certificate Policy
2. Complete and return the relevant registration form via the Lawyer Enquiry Form. You can find out more information about the various law practice structures below
3. Upon confirmation of registration of the entity, you will be issued with an entity ID
4. Provide the entity ID to the Legal Practitioners Liability Committee (LPLC) in order to obtain a certificate of Insurance (COI)
5. Once the COI has been issued by the LPLC, you must provide us with a copy via the Lawyer Enquiry Form to complete the registration process.

Note if you are an interstate entity seeking to be registered in Victoria, please include your current COI to accompany the registration form.

Sole practitioners

A sole practitioner is a principal lawyer who runs their own law practice. They may employ other lawyers and non-lawyer staff, but they are solely responsible for the operations of the practice itself.

Setting up a sole practice

You must also let us know at least 14 days before you commence legal work in your own sole practice.  We also ask you to let us know of any changes to your firm’s details (such as address, contact numbers etc) within 14 days. You can update your entity details by completing this form and submitting it via the Lawyer Enquiry Form.

Sole practitioners should also consider setting up a practice contingency plan to protect their business if they are unable to work for an extended period of time.

Law firms

A law firm is a legal practice that has two or more partners who are Australian legal practitioners that hold, or are eligible to hold, a principal practising certificate. Alternatively, a law firm may include at least one partner who must hold an Australian practising certificate, as well as an Australian-registered foreign lawyer.

Setting up a law firm

If you’re setting up a new law firm, you must tell us at least 14 days before your new law firm commences practising.

You must also give us 14 days' notice if:

• there is any change to the information that we have about your firm; or 
• you intend to end your legal practice in Victoria.

You can do this by completing one of these forms:

• Notification of new law practice (other than ILP or ULP)
• Notification of change of information – law practice
• Notice of termination of provision of legal services – law practice (not ILP)

Incorporated legal practices

An incorporated legal practice (or ILP) is a company that can provide legal services alongside non-legal services such as accounting, financial planning, mortgage brokering and others. 

ILPs are registered as a company under commonwealth corporations law, and are controlled by a Board of Directors. An ILP must have at least one legal director who holds a principal practising certificate. The legal director is ultimately responsible and liable for any misconduct by the ILP’s legal division.

Setting up an ILP

The legal director must ensure that the new ILP holds a professional indemnity insurance policy that covers it for the type of legal work it undertakes.

The legal director must also let us know at least 14 days before the ILP starts providing legal services by completing this form.

Similarly, if the ILP has ceased providing legal services, the legal director must also let us know within 14 days by completing this form.

Sole directors of an ILP should also consider setting up a practice contingency plan to protect their practice if they are unable to work for an extended period of time.

Unincorporated legal practices

An unincorporated legal practice (ULP) is another type of business that provides both legal and non-legal services, however it is controlled by the individual partners or directors, not by a Board. As with ILPs, there are some restrictions on the services that ULPs may offer.

Setting up a ULP

Professional indemnity insurance must be obtained by the principal to cover legal work undertaken by the individual lawyers who work for the ULP.

When setting up a ULP, the principal must let us know at least 14 days before the ULP starts providing legal services by completing this form.

Similarly, if the ULP has ceased providing legal services, the principal must also let us know within 14 days by completing this form.

Community legal service

A Community legal service (CLS) is an organisation that provides free or low cost legal services to the community. Some CLSs provide specialist support and advice on a particular issue or to a particular sector of the community. Others provide legal services to people who live and work in a local region.

A CLS must employ one or more supervising lawyers as the principal of the practice. It can be staffed by paid employees and volunteers. Any lawyer can volunteer at a CLS provided they hold a current practising certificate of any type.

Setting up a CLS

A CLS can be either incorporated or unincorporated and the CLS itself must be covered by a professional indemnity insurance policy.

Barristers and barristers’ clerks

Barristers are a type of sole practitioner. They specialise in one or more areas of law, and work independently as advocates and advisors in those areas. Most barristers are members of the Victorian Bar.

Becoming a barrister

If you’re looking to become a barrister, contact the Victorian Bar.

Barristers’ clerks

Most barristers engage a clerk to help them manage their practice, and to receive and handle trust money on their behalf. Barristers’ clerks are approved by the Victorian Bar.

Barrister’s clerks must pay an annual contribution to the fidelity fund, however they do not have to hold a practising certificate.

Some people are prohibited from working for a law practice

Some people have been disqualified by a court or tribunal from working in a law practice. Law practices who want to employ a prohibited person in any capacity must first seek our permission. For more information see our Lay Associates page.

Occasionally, a legal practice either fails to, or is unable to protect the interests of its clients. This might happen because of a lawyer’s alleged improper conduct, insolvency, ill health or death.

In such situations, we have the power to take steps to intervene in the operation of the practice to protect client funds and their ongoing legal matters.

We can appoint a Supervisor to manage a practice’s trust account, or a Manager to take over the management of an entire practice. In certain circumstances, we may also ask the Supreme Court of Victoria to appoint a Receiver to attempt to recover the trust money or trust property of clients.

Supervisors

A Supervisor has the powers and functions of the law practice to manage the practice’s trust money and trust accounts only. A Supervisor is typically appointed where we believe that there are inadequacies in how the law practice has handled and accounted for trust money.

A Supervisor’s duties may include: reconstructing trust records; operating and authorising trust account transactions; implementing suitable and compliant procedures for handling of trust money; and if necessary, giving evidence in civil and/or criminal proceedings arising from the intervention.

Managers

A suitably qualified lawyer may be appointed as a Manager of a law practice to allow the law practice to continue to serve its clients.

There are many circumstances where it may be necessary for us to appoint a manager to a law practice, and managers may be appointed to practices that specialise in all areas of the law.

A Manager has the power to supervise the operations of the legal practice (including its employees), and analyse the law practice’s business systems and implement measures necessary to ensure that the practice meets its obligations to its clients, employees and other stakeholders. A Manager also has the power to wind-up the affairs of the law practice, if such action is appropriate.

Receiver

Where necessary, we can apply to the Supreme Court of Victoria to appoint a Receiver to a law practice. A Receiver may be appointed by the Court where a Supervisor or Manager has previously been appointed and the Court determines that it is appropriate in the circumstances to convert the arrangement into a receivership.

The Receiver uses his or her statutory powers to trace and recover trust money and trust property, and can take all necessary steps to wind up and terminate the affairs of a law practice.

On this Page

Becoming a principal lawyer

If you want to begin your own law practice, you will need to apply for a principal practising certificate. Before we issue a new principal certificate, you must show us you have the skills and experience needed to run a law practice.

Please note: This applies to lawyers applying for their first principal practising certificate in Victoria or those applying for a principal practising certificate after not having held one for more than 3 years within the past 10 years. It does not apply to lawyers who hold a current principal practising certificate.

The skills you need

Law schools specialise in teaching legal and analytical skills. What they don’t teach are the skills needed to run a business. Skills such as financial administration, governance and risk management, strategic planning, and staff management are all essential to making sure a business runs smoothly.

Having a good understanding of these skills when running your own practice will help you avoid making mistakes, upsetting your clients and receiving complaints.

Showing you have the skills

The primary way you can show us that you possess the skills and experience required to run a law practice is to complete an approved Practice Management Course.

There are a number of practice management courses offered in Victoria or online. Please check the course outline meets our Practice Management Course Guidelines before undertaking a course to ensure it meets our standards and expectations.

In limited circumstances you may instead satisfy our Grant of a Principal Practising Certificate Policy in other ways.

You may have:

• managed a law practice in the past; 
• been a principal in a law firm in another Australian or common law jurisdiction; or 
• completed formal studies in business management.

We will accept the following as evidence of your skills and experience:

• a statutory declaration outlining your past relevant experience, specifically addressing the skills mentioned above,
• a certificate of fitness or good standing from the legal regulator in the jurisdiction where you were a principal, and
• letters from professional indemnity insurance providers, auditors or trust account examiners.

Starting up a new practice

When starting up a new practice, you need to let us know before your practice begins operating. See our Setting up a law practice page for information about when and how you have to notify us, and other things you may need to consider.

On this Page

Practising certificate fees

When you apply for, or apply to renew your practising certificate, you must pay the appropriate fee for the type of certificate you need. The fees for practising certificates change each year. 

You may also need to pay a contribution to the Fidelity Fund, depending on your type of practising certificate.

Fees for the 2025-26 practising year

The practising certificate fees for the 2025-26 practising year (from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026) are listed below.  

How are payments made?

All payments are made through LSB Online and can be made by credit card or BPay. We accept Visa, Master Card and Amex.

Organisations are no longer able to make bulk payments for their lawyers. You can view our frequently asked questions for more information about paying your fees.

How much do you need to pay?

The table below lists the different fees payable for the different types of practising certificate.

Fees are scaled on a pro rata basis. Your fee will be based on when your certificate commences.

If you are applying to renew your current certificate, your renewed certificate will commence on 1 July. You will need to pay the full fee for the whole year as shown in the first fee column 'Commencing between 1 July 2025 - 30 September 2026' in the table below.

If you are applying for a new certificate (i.e. you are not renewing an existing certificate), your fee is based on the quarter that your certificate commences. For example, if your certificate commences on 10 February, your fee will be for the quarter commencing between '1 January - 31 March'.

Please note that practising certificate fees do not attract GST.

Practising certificate type  (select which certificate type applies to you)	Commencing between 1 July 2025 – 30 Sept 2025	Commencing between 1 Oct 2025 – 31 Dec 2025	Commencing between   1 Jan  2026 – 31 Mar 2026	Commencing between 1 Apr 2026 –30 Jun 2026
Principal of a law practice authorised to receive trust money (includes foreign lawyers)	$702	$526	$351	$175
Principal of a law practice not authorised to receive trust money (includes foreign lawyers)	$490	$367	$245	$122
Employee of a law practice with or without trust money authorisation (includes foreign lawyers)	$458	$343	$229	$114
Barrister	$397	$297	$198	$99
Corporate legal practitioner	$275	$206	$137	$68
Principal legal practitioner of CLS with or without trust money authorisation	$252	$189	$126	$63
Employee legal practitioner of CLS (includes foreign lawyers)	$252	$189	$126	$63
Government legal practitioner	$252	$189	$126	$63
Volunteer at a CLS / pro bono (includes foreign lawyers)	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil

 

Fees for the 2024-25 practising year

The practising certificate fees for the 2024-25 practising year (from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025) are listed below.

If you are applying for a new practising certificate for the current practising year (to start practising before 30 June), you will need to pay the fee listed in the final column for the practising certificate type that you choose.

Please note that practising certificate fees do not attract GST.

Practising certificate type  (select which certificate type applies to you) Commencing between 1 July 2024 – 30 Sept 2024 Commencing between 1 Oct 2024 – 31 Dec 2024 Commencing between   1 Jan  2025 – 31 Mar 2025 Commencing between 1 Apr 2025 –30 Jun 2025 Principal of a law practice authorised to receive trust money (includes foreign lawyers) $698 $526 $351 $175 Principal of a law practice not authorised to receive trust money (includes foreign lawyers) $487 $367 $245 $122 Employee of a law practice with or without trust money authorisation (includes foreign lawyers) $455 $343 $229 $114 Barrister $394 $297 $198 $99 Corporate legal practitioner $273 $206 $137 $68 Principal legal practitioner of CLS with or without trust money authorisation $250 $189 $126 $63 Employee legal practitioner of CLS (includes foreign lawyers) $250 $189 $126 $63 Government legal practitioner $250 $189 $126 $63 Volunteer at a CLS / pro bono (includes foreign lawyers) Nil Nil Nil Nil

On this Page

If you are an Australian-qualified lawyer who wants to practise overseas, or an overseas-qualified lawyer who wants to practise in Australia, there are special rules that apply to you. These rules vary depending on which country you were qualified in and where you’re hoping to practise.

New Zealand lawyers practising in Australia

If you were admitted to practise in New Zealand, you can apply to be admitted to practise in an Australian jurisdiction.
To practise in Victoria, you should first apply to the Victorian Legal Admissions Board for admission to the Supreme Court of Victoria.

Once you’ve been admitted, you must obtain an Australian practising certificate before you can practise, and you must comply with all regulatory requirements.

Australian lawyers practising overseas

If you’re an Australian lawyer who lives overseas, you may not need to hold an Australian practising certificate to practise overseas. Check with the regulatory authority in the country you want to practise in.

If you must hold an Australian practising certificate, your existing practising certificate conditions will not usually change if you practise overseas (see ‘Other conditions’ below).

If you don’t need to hold an Australian practising certificate, we recommend that you cancel it while you’re overseas (see How to cancel a PC). You can re-apply for one when you return to Victoria.

Whether or not you hold an Australian practising certificate while practising overseas, you’ll also need to satisfy the requirements of the local regulators.

Notifying us

If you hold a current practising certificate and move overseas to practise, you must notify us. You can do this in our online licensing portal, LSB Online. If you’re renewing your certificate from overseas, select the ‘practising overseas’ option when you renew through LSB Online.
When you return to practise in Victoria, you must also notify us of your new principal place of practice.

Other conditions

If you’re based overseas and hold a Victorian practising certificate, some conditions will still apply while practising overseas.  You will still need to meet your continuing professional development obligations and to notify us of any ‘show cause’ events.

If you have a supervised legal practice condition on your practising certificate, you don’t have to be supervised while practising overseas. When you return to Victoria, you can use your overseas legal practice experience to apply for an exemption from supervised legal practice.

Foreign Lawyers

A ‘foreign lawyer’ is a person who is registered and entitled to engage in legal practice in a foreign country. To practise foreign law in Victoria, you must apply to be registered. 

A foreign lawyer is not entitled to practise Australian law.

Application for registration and fees

To apply for registration as a foreign lawyer, you must submit an application for grant or renewal of registration as a foreign lawyer to us. The form must include:
●    the appropriate registration fee (see below);
●    evidence that you’re currently registered to engage in legal practice in another country; and
●    if applicable, evidence that you have appropriate professional indemnity insurance which covers you for practising foreign law in Victoria.

The registration fees for each practising year can be found on the practising certificate fees page.

Receiving trust money

If you’re applying for a registration certificate that authorises you to receive trust money, you must also show us that you have the necessary skills and expertise to operate a law practice trust account competently, diligently and honestly. Our Grant of Trust Authorisation Policy sets out the skills and expertise we expect for this, and what else we may consider when reviewing your application. You can meet these requirements if you complete an approved trust account course, like the one conducted by the Law Institute of Victoria.  Visit the Law Institute of Victoria website for further information. 

For more information on foreign lawyer registration applications, please see the notes accompanying the application form and our Foreign Lawyer Registration Policy.

Duration and conditions of registration

Registration as a foreign lawyer starts on the date on your registration certificate, and expires on 30 June of the practising year in which your registration is granted.

If you want to renew your registration for the next practising year, you must apply by 30 May.

We can impose any reasonable and relevant conditions on your registration. 

As a foreign lawyer registered in Australia, you must meet the same professional, ethical and practice standards as an Australian legal practitioner.

Interstate-registered foreign lawyers

If you’re a foreign lawyer who is registered interstate, you can practise foreign law in Victoria. While you can practise in the same way as you can in the interstate jurisdiction that you’re registered in, you will be limited by any conditions imposed by your interstate registration, the conduct rules, the legislation or by us.

On this Page

Removing your supervised legal practice condition

Once the required period of supervision is complete, you must apply to us to have the condition removed from your practising certificate.  You don’t have to hold a current practising certificate to make this application.  

1. Download our template application form and supervisor letter
2. Ask your supervisor(s) to complete the supervisor letter confirming you have completed your period of supervised practice. We will accept electronic signatures from your supervisors.
3. Complete the application form and statutory declaration.
4. Send both the application form and your supervisor(s) letters to us via our lawyer enquiry form, selecting ‘Supervised legal practice’ and ‘Apply for an exemption or removal of my supervised legal practice condition’ from the categories. 
5. It can take several weeks for us to process these requests.

If you don't remove your supervised legal practice condition

If you don’t have your supervised legal practice condition removed, you must continue to be supervised. The condition will remain on your certificate until we’ve received your application and decided that it can be removed. This means that you can’t practise unsupervised or supervise another lawyer until your certificate no longer carries the supervision condition. 

If you supervise someone else while you still have this condition on your practising certificate, the other person can’t claim the time that you supervised them. You may also face disciplinary action for practising outside the conditions on your certificate.

If you are not being supervised

If you have a supervised legal practice condition on your certificate but you no longer have anyone supervising you, you must stop practising law. This might happen if your supervisor leaves the practice or can’t continue to supervise you and they haven’t arranged an alternative for you. You will need to arrange for another appropriate lawyer to supervise you. If the new supervisor is employed at a different entity, you will need to apply for approval of a remote supervision arrangement. If you are unable to find a new supervisor please contact us via the Lawyer enquiry form, selecting ‘Supervised legal practice’ from the categories, as we may be able to help you.

If you continue to practise without supervision you may face disciplinary action for practising outside the conditions on your certificate.

Further information

We have developed a range of FAQs to support you.

On this Page

Completing your renewal application

All practising certificates issued in Victoria expire on 30 June each year. You must apply to renew your certificate if you want to continue to practise law after this date. This includes lawyers who received their first practising certificate any time before 30 June. Follow the steps below to ensure you can continue to practise.

Important dates to remember

• Late March to 30 June: Main application period. Applications made between these dates do not attract a late lodgement surcharge.
• Midnight 1 July: All practising certificates issued in the past financial year expire. This includes those issued in the past few weeks. If your certificate is not renewed by this date, you will not have a current practising certificate, and you are not entitled to practise law.
• 1 July to 30 September: Applications made during this time period attract a 200% late lodgement surcharge to the practising certificate fee. We may also ask you to provide us with further information about whether you have practised since 30 June (without a current practising certificate).

---

Checklist

Have you:

✔    Submitted an application to renew your practising certificate 

✔    Paid your practising certificate fee 

✔    Paid your Fidelity Fund contribution, if required

✔    Paid your professional indemnity insurance, if required

 

Help renewing

We have created a number of frequently asked questions and step-by-step user guides to help you renew. Visit our LSB Online resources for more information.