Legal Profession > Practising in Western Australia > Renewals Frequently Asked Questions
Application for a local Practising Certificate 2022/23
Frequently Asked Questions
1. My password doesn’t work.
In order to be compliant with recommended cybersecurity best practice we have introduced new minimum password requirements. Your password must now be a
minimum length of 10 characters and
must include at least one upper case, one lower case and one numeric character. If you attempt to login with an existing password that doesn’t meet these requirements you will be provided with a message and link that allows you to reset your password.
Instructions on re-setting your password can be found at
https://www.lpbwa.org.au/Information/LPBWA-Web-Portal
Otherwise, please send an email to
general@lpbwa.com.com stating the problem. Please include your full name, including any middle names.
2. I have logged in, now what do I do?
The notice you received from the Board contains a link to the log-in instructions at
https://www.lpbwa.org.au/Information/LPBWA-Web-Portal
3. An error message has appeared.
Please send an email to
general@lpbwa.com stating the problem, details of the question you were completing at the time the error message appeared, the time the problem occurred and, if possible, a screenshot of the message.
Please include your full name, including any middle names.
4. How do I take a screen shot?
Have the message showing on the monitor and press the print screen key on your keyboard (near the ‘insert’ and ‘delete’ key) and then paste into an email.
5. I’m completing the application form and the questions aren’t loading.
Please send an email to
general@lpbwa.com stating the problem, the time the problem occurred, and the details of the last question you completed.
Please include your full name, including any middle names.
6. I have logged in to complete my online application but the only option I have is to pay.
Sometimes your law practice has made payment before you have completed your application. If this occurs, please send an email to
general@lpbwa.com stating the problem and include your full name, including any middle names.
7. I’m completing the application form and I am unable to progress to the next page.
Please send an email to
general@lpbwa.com stating the problem, the time the problem occurred, and the details of the last question you completed.
Please include your full name, including any middle names.
8. Has the Board received my application form?
If you submitted your application online you should have received a confirmation email and a copy of the submitted form. If you did not receive a confirmation email, please email
general@lpbwa.com
Please include your full name, including any middle names.
9. When do I need to submit my renewal application?
The “standard renewal period” is from 1 May 2022 to 31 May 2022 inclusive. Any applications submitted after this period will incur a late fee.
Please also refer to the
fee schedule to see the fees applicable.
It is envisaged that practising certificates will begin to be issued from the last week in June 2022.
Please note that pursuant to s 39(3) of the Legal Profession Act 2008 while the Board considers your application your local practising certificate valid to 30 June 2022 continues in force so long as your renewal application has been accepted, meaning it has been lodged along with payment of the applicable fee.
11. I am going overseas. What do I need to do with my practising certificate?
Please contact the jurisdiction you are moving to regarding your practising requirements. If you are unsure as to whether or not you will need to maintain a WA practising certificate, you may want to advise the Board you will not be renewing your practising certificate by 31 May 2022 to avoid late fees.
If you find you need a WA practising certificate in the future, please email
general@lpbwa.com stating your full name, including any middle names, requesting your log in details.
If you do not require a practising certificate while you are on parental leave, by 31 May 2022 you must inform the Board that you are not going to renew your practising certificate for the year commencing 1 July 2022. Otherwise, any late application may incur late fees.
If you find you need a local practising certificate in the future, please email
general@lpbwa.com stating your full name, including any middle names, requesting your log in details so that you can complete your renewal application online.
13. I have applied but not yet paid, will I incur a late fee?
You will not incur a late fee if you applied between 1 May 2022 and 31 May 2022, both dates inclusive. However, the application is incomplete without the fee and will not be processed. The Board requires payment within 14 days of the receipt of the application.
Applications made after 31 May 2022 will incur a late fee.
14. How do I know if my online payment went through?
Please send an email to
general@lpbwa.com requesting confirmation that the Board has received the payment.
Please include your full name, including any middle names, the name of your law practice, and the reference used in the EFT transaction.
15. What should I use as an EFT reference?
Please do
not use the reference ‘practising certificate’ or ‘PC’. For your payment to be applied to your practising certificate, we need to identify who the payment is for.
Please use your surname, initials, and law practice name.
You may send an email to
general@lpbwa.com confirming the transaction details to assist the Board in allocating payments. Please include your full name, including any middle names.
16. Can I please have a receipt/tax invoice?
If you have completed and submitted an online application, you can log back in and print a tax invoice/receipt via the link provided.
If you are unable to access the link, please email
general@lpbwa.com requesting a copy of the receipt/tax invoice.
For individuals, please include full name, including middle names.
For law practices, please include the law practice name and the date and time the payment was made.
17. How do I pay for my practising certificate?
The
payments option form is available on the Board’s website or as part of the downloaded application form.
The Board does not take credit card details over the phone.
Applicants must complete and send in a payment options form containing credit card or EFT details or pay online. Completed payment options forms can be emailed, faxed or mailed to the Board.
If your law practice is paying please contact your law practice representative.
18. I will be commencing employment with another law practice and would like the invoice to be invoiced to my new employer.
Please send an email to
general@lpbwa.com requesting that your tax invoice, be invoiced to your new employer.
Please include your full name, including any middle names and the name of the law practice at which you will be commencing employment.
19. What is SGF?
Practitioners who have been practising in Western Australia for more than 2 years but less than 7 years are required by legislation to pay a yearly fee of $20 in addition to the fee to accompany an application for a practising certificate.
This is the Solicitors’ Guarantee Fund contribution (
SGF).
20. How do I know if I have to pay SGF?
If you have to pay SGF, the fee of $20 will be displayed on your tax invoice.
21. I believe I have paid all the SGF required however my tax invoice states otherwise.
Please send an email to
general@lpbwa.com stating the problem and include your full name, including middle names.
22. Future employees are not showing up on the law practice list to make a payment.
Please send an email to
general@lpbwa.com stating the problem.
Please state the full name, including middle names, of the practitioner and the date they will be commencing with the law practice.
23. There are practitioners no longer employed by the law practice but are still showing up on the law practice list for payment.
Please send an email to
general@lpbwa.com stating the problem.
Please state the full name, including any middle names, of the practitioner and the date the have ceased employment with the law practice.
24. I am the nominated law practice representative but can not pay for a particular person.
Please check if the practitioner’s application has been submitted and shows ‘awaiting payment’. If yes, then send an email to
general@lpbwa.com stating the problem and the full name, including any middle names, of the practitioner.
If the status shows ‘incomplete’ it means that the practitioner has not submitted the application and so the payment cannot be made. Please advise the practitioner to log back online and make sure they click ‘submit application.’
Please note that the application status must be ‘awaiting payment’, in order for payments to be made.
25. What is the date of commencement of employment?
It is the date you started at the law practice in your current position.
For example, if you started as an employed solicitor and you are still in that role, it is the date you started at the law practice. If you are now practising as a principal at that same law practice it is the date you commenced as a principal.
If you have any further questions, please email
general@lpbwa.com setting out your question. Please include your full name, including any middle names.
26. My practice details are incorrect.
If you are submitting your application online then go to the question, “
do any of the details differ from above” answer “
yes”. The page will refresh and will go back to the top, a second column will appear and the correct details can be entered into the second column.
If using a paper application form, insert the correct details on the application form and Board staff will update the Board’s records.
If you have already submitted your renewal application, please send an email
general@lpbwa.com providing the correct information. Please include your full name, including any middle names.
27. I can’t edit the fields in the application.
If you
have already submitted the form, please email
general@lpbwa.com detailing the amendments you wish to make to your application.
If you have
not submitted the form, please send an email to
general@lpbwa.com stating the problem, the time the problem occurred, and the details of the last question you completed.
28. My second place of practice isn’t showing up correctly.
Please send an email
general@lpbwa.com setting out the contact details of the law practice, your position within the law practice and the date you commenced in that position.
Please include your full name, including any middle names.
29. I have more than 2 places of practice.
Please send an email
general@lpbwa.com setting out the contact details of the law practice, your position within the law practice and the date you commenced in that position.
Please include your full name, including any middle names.
30. Do I have PII?
Law Mutual advises the Board once a practitioner has complied with their PII requirements.
The Board is unable to provide individual confirmation regarding PII during the renewal process. The Board will contact you in due course if notification of compliance hasn’t been received.
Questions about PII should be directed to Law Mutual (WA) on (08) 9481 3111 or
info@lawmutualwa.com.au
31. I have not met my CPD requirements, what should I do?
Answer ‘no’ to question 10a of your renewal application and provide an explanation. Send an email to
general@lpbwa.com with evidence of the CPD activities you have completed. You will then be advised of the next steps.
If you have a pending application submitted to the Board, you will be required to answer ‘no’ to question 10a of your renewal application if you are relying on earning the points in that application to comply with your CPD requirements. Please make reference to this in the explanation tab.
Please ensure you complete your renewal application regardless of answering ‘no’ to question 10a.
32. If I have submitted an application to the Board but it has not been assessed, can I count this as CPD completed?
No, CPD activities can only be included once you have received approval from the Board. You should answer ‘no’ to the relevant question and provide the explanation that you are waiting for approval.
33. I have further questions regarding CPD.
The following information is found on the Board’s
website:
- CPD Audit Frequently Asked Questions.
- CPD Guidelines for Pro Rata Practice.
- CPD Guidelines for Parenting Leave
- Guidelines for Allocation of Topics to CPD Competency Areas.
- List of approved single activities.
- List of QA providers.
- CPD Form 3 Application of Approval of a CPD Activity by a Practitioner.
- CPD Form 4 Application for Variation of CPD Condition (including for parental leave and practising overseas).
If you have further questions, please email
general@lpbwa.com.
Please include your full name, including any middle names.
Refer to the Legal Practice Board’s website under
Legal Profession>Practice Management
Refer to the Legal Practice Board’s website under
Legal Profession>Practice Management
34. What is a ‘show cause’ event? (Q 35 of LPB Form 1)?
See the
Disclosure Guidelines on the Board’s website.
Please note, ‘show cause’ events that have previously been disclosed in writing to the Board do not need to be disclosed again.
35. What is a suitability matter? (Q 37 of LPB Form 1)?
See the
Disclosure Guidelines on the Board’s website.
Please note, suitability matters, with the exception of pending complaints with the LPCC, that have previously been disclosed in writing to the Board do not need to be disclosed again.
If you are the subject of a pending complaint at the LPCC, please see point 37 below.
36. Do I have to disclose a spent conviction?
Section 12 of Schedule 3 of the
Spent Convictions Act 1988 confirms that applicants for the grant or renewal of a local practising certificate are required to disclose a spent conviction to the Board.
Please note, spent convictions that have previously been disclosed in writing to the Board do not need to be disclosed again.
37. Do I have to disclose a previously disclosed LPCC complaint? (Q 36 of LPB Form 1)?
If you are subject to an unresolved complaint, investigation, charge or order by the LPCC, or equivalent interstate or overseas body, you must always disclose this even if it has previously been disclosed to the Board.
38. A trust account is maintained, however no External Examiner has been appointed by the law practice, what do I do?
Please place a tick in the box provided and contact the trust accounts team at
general@lpbwa.com, and include ‘Trust Account’ in the title.
39. My External examiner has retired, what do I do?
Please place a tick in the box provided and contact the trust accounts team at
general@lpbwa.com, and include ‘Trust Account’ in the title.
40. The Trust Account Details are incorrect, what do I do?
Contact the trust accounts team at
general@lpbwa.com, and include ‘Trust Account’ in the title.
41. A trust account is maintained interstate and I can not locate the external examiner on the drop down list?
Where your external examiner is based interstate, please select “Interstate External Examiner (Auditor)”.