LSB July 2018_Web

GET IT ON THE ACT
How to lift the supervision restriction
on your practising certificate
JAYNE FRENCH, LEGAL OFFICER, ETHICS AND PRACTICE UNIT
“Get in on the Act” is a regular
column from the Law Society’s
Ethics & Practice Unit which
details practitioners’ statutory
professional obligations and
responsibilities.
In order to be entitled to an unrestricted
practising certificate you need to first
apply to the South Australian Board
of Examiners to have the supervision
restriction lifted. How you do this depends
on the date you were admitted to practise
law in South Australia or were “registered”
in South Australia via the Mutual
Recognition process.
For each of the following three
admission periods there are two prescribed
Legal Practitioners’ Education and
Admission Council (LPEAC) Forms –
a proforma Statutory Declaration for
you the practitioner to complete and
a proforma Letter to be completed by
each of your employers relied on for
the supervised period. These Forms
can be located on and downloaded
from the Society’s website and once
completed are to be emailed directly to
ethicsandpractice@lawsociety.asn.au.
ADMITTED BETWEEN 1 FEBRUARY 1999
– 31 DECEMBER 2003 (RULE 6 OF THE
LPEAC RULES 1999)
If you were admitted in South Australia
between 1 February, 1999 and 31
December, 2003 (inclusive) your right to
practise was or is subject to the restriction
imposed by Rule 6 of the LPEAC Rules
1999 which stated that practitioners
admitted in South Australia are not entitled
to practise as a sole practitioner until
they have completed at least 12 months
of continuous full-time employment (or
broken periods or part-time equivalent)
42 THE BULLETIN July 2018
as an employed practitioner following
the first issue to them of a practising
certificate.
Your practising certificate will be
endorsed with this restriction if it applies
to you.
To have it lifted you will need to make an
application to the Board of Examiners by
submitting a Form 1 Statutory Declaration
and supporting evidence from each of
your employer or employers relied on for
the supervised periods as part of a Form
2 letter. It is essential that you keep to the
wording of the Forms as much as possible
as they are prescribed Forms of LPEAC.
Applications that are not able to be
determined by the Board’s delegate will
be included in the agenda for the next
applicable Board meeting.
For the purpose of Rule 6 the following
definitions apply:
“Practise as a sole practitioner” means practise
other than as an employed practitioner, where the
employer is a practitioner of not less than five
years’ experience in practice, or other than as a
partner or associate in a firm where at least one
full-time principal is so qualified and provided also
that an employer or principal so qualified is in fulltime
practice at the place at which the practitioner
is employed or engaged.
“Employed practitioner” means a practitioner
employed in law related employment as defined in
Rule 6(3).
“Law related employment” means employment in
Australia:
• in a private law practice;
• in a government department or semi-government
authority if the employment requires the
performance of the work of a legal practitioner
and which the Board considers appropriate for
the purposes of this rule;
• in a corporate legal office;
• in a community legal service;
• in the office of the Crown Solicitor, the South
Australian Director of Public Prosecutions,
the Commonwealth Australian Government
Solicitor or the Commonwealth Director of
Public Prosecutions;
• in any other organisation, department or office
which the Board approves for the purposes of
this rule;
• as a judge’s associate.
ADMITTED BETWEEN 1 JANUARY 2004 –
11 MAY 2011 – RULE 3 OF THE LPEAC RULES
2004 (BEFORE 12 MAY 2011)
If you were admitted in South Australia
between 1 January, 2004 and 11 May, 2011
(inclusive) your right to practise was or is
subject to the restriction imposed by Rule
3 of the LPEAC Rules 2004 (before 12
May, 2011) which state that practitioners
admitted in South Australia are not entitled
to practise as a sole practitioner until
they have completed at least two years
of continuous full-time employment (or
broken periods or part-time equivalent)
as an employed practitioner following
the first issue to them of a practising
certificate.
Your practising certificate will be
endorsed with this restriction if it applies
to you.
To have it lifted you will need to make an
application to the Board of Examiners by
submitting a Form 3 Statutory Declaration
AND supporting evidence from each of
your employer or employers relied on for
the supervised periods as part of a Form
4 letter. It is essential that you keep to the
wording of the Forms as much as possible
as they are prescribed Forms of LPEAC.
Applications that are not able to be
determined by the Board’s delegate will
be included in the agenda for the next
applicable Board meeting.
If you were admitted in South Australia
during the period 1 January 2004 to 11
May 2011 (inclusive) your right to practise