Admission application notes

These notes are provided for your ease of reference when preparing your application for admission. 

  1. Originating motion for admission 
    Your originating motion for admission must be lodged at the Supreme Court of Western Australia at least two months prior to your preferred admission ceremony date. Personal attendance at the admission ceremony is required. Your motion paper must state the name of the legal practitioner who will move your admission at the ceremony. For instructions on how to file your motion paper or information about the admission ceremony, please refer to the Admissions information under Practice and Procedure on the Supreme Court website www.supremecourt.wa.gov.au
  2. Notice of application for admission and application for a compliance certificate must be submitted within 2 days 
    Within 2 working days of filing your motion paper at the Supreme Court, you must give notice of your application for admission to the Legal Practice Board to apply for a compliance certificate. If you submit your application late, you may have to defer your admission to a later ceremony. You can apply for a compliance certificate through the Legal Practice Board website Service Hub. You can commence the online application and organising the required documentation before you file your motion paper at the Supreme Court but do not submit until your motion paper has been filed.
  3. Required documents 
    As you complete the online application, you will be advised of the documentation you are required to submit and the manner in which the documentation must be submitted. The documentation may include:
    1. Copy of your stamped motion paper 
      This can be uploaded to your application after you have submitted. If so, the Board does not require a hard copy to be provided
    2. Proof of identity documents. 
      These can be uploaded to your application after you have submitted. If so, the Board does not require hard copies to be provided
    3. Academic records and transcripts. 
      In most instances you will need to arrange for the Board to receive this documentation directly from My eQuals or from the University to Admissions@lpbwa.com to enable Board staff to access the transcript. Please do not include a PIN. Australian Higher Education Graduation Statements (AHEGS) are not accepted. 
      The formal transcript or statement of academic record must show the units completed and results obtained, and evidence that the degree has been conferred. It is not necessary for you to have attended a graduation ceremony, but you cannot be admitted until the degree has been conferred. If advanced standing or credit was given for any of the 11 prescribed academic subjects required for admission (sometimes referred to as “the Priestley 11 subjects”), you must also provide a transcript of the prior studies on which the advanced standing was based.
    4. Evidence of completion of practical legal training (PLT). 
      Most local PLT providers will send this information directly to the Board once you finish the PLT course. The evidence of completion of PLT must be received at least 2 weeks prior to your proposed ceremony date
    5. Certificates of good standing from overseas jurisdictions. 
      If you have previously been admitted to the legal profession overseas, it is mandatory to lodge a certificate of good standing, dated within 4 months of the date of the Form A10, from each overseas jurisdiction in which you have previously been admitted. 
      A certificate of good standing will detail the date of your admission, your entitlement to practice in that jurisdiction, and whether you have been subject to any disciplinary investigations or proceedings. 
      It is preferable if you request the regulatory authority to email the certificate directly to Admissions@lpbwa.com to avoid any delay in processing your application. If you are unable to arrange for the certificate to be emailed or posted directly to the Board, you will need to lodge the original certificate with the Board as soon as it is received. 
      If you are unable to obtain a certificate of good standing, the Board may waive the requirement if you lodge a separate statutory declaration explaining why you are unable to obtain the certificate. Evidence in support, such as  email exchanges with the regulatory authority, must be attached. The requirement will only be waived in exceptional circumstances
    6. Disclosure documents. 
      You are required to read the Board’s Disclosure Guidelines. If you have matters to declare you will need to provide an original executed statutory declaration. A format for the statutory declaration is available to download during the online process. If you do not live in the Perth metropolitan area you can email a copy of the statutory declaration to admissions@lpbwa.com, before posting or delivering the original. You should always retain a copy of the document for your own records. 
      You must lodge a statutory declaration of disclosure if any offences are shown on your police certificate. 
      You must disclose spent convictions in your statutory declaration, even if they do not appear on your police certificate. 
      If you are disclosing any traffic offences, you should also obtain a Record of Traffic Infringement Notice from the WA Police (or corresponding body if the offences occurred outside of Western Australia)
    7. Two Certificates of Good Fame and Character 
      You are required to ensure that the Board receives two certificates of good fame and character (Form A10.2), no more than 1 month old, from persons who have known you for at least 9 months in a supervisory capacity, such as a current or past employer or a lecturer. 
      The certificates will only be accepted if they are fully and accurately completed. 
      The person providing the certificate can email a scanned copy of the certificate directly to admissions@lpbwa.com. If that is not possible, an original signed certificate can be lodged with the Board.
    8. National Police Certificate 
      Applications must be made through the WA Police website https://www.police.wa.gov.au/Police-Direct/National-Police-Certificates Please request a hard copy certificate to be posted to you. You must then deliver or post the original certificate to the Board at PO Box 5720, St Georges Terrace, Perth WA 6831 as soon as you receive it. Alternatively you can request the original certificate is posted directly to the Board.
      Digital/electronic police certificates are not accepted for admission purposes. 
      Although spent convictions will not appear on your National Police Certificate, you are required to disclose them. 
      If you are not currently resident in Western Australia you can order a National Police Certificate from the Australian Federal Police
    9. Overseas Police Certificates 
      Police certificates/reports from every overseas jurisdiction in which you have resided for more than 2 years after the age of 18 years are mandatory and must be dated within 4 months of the date you submit your application. 
      If you are unable to obtain a police certificate/report, the Board may waive the requirement if you lodge a separate statutory declaration explaining why you are unable to obtain a certificate. Evidence in support, such as email exchanges with the police department in the relevant jurisdiction, must be attached. You should clearly state the periods you have resided in that overseas jurisdiction and declare that you were not the subject of any criminal investigations, charges or convictions in that country. 
      The requirement will only be waived in exceptional circumstances.
    10. English Language Proficiency Documentation 
      The English Language Proficiency Guidelines are available on the Board’s website. 
      The information you give in your online application will identify what, if any, documentation is required.
  4. Application fee
    You will be required to pay the application fee of $360 when you submit your application online.
  5. Completing and submitting your application 
    You do not need to complete your online application in one sitting. You will be able to log-in and review the information in your form multiple times prior to submission. You must however submit the application within 2 days of filing your originating motion paper at the Supreme Court. 
    You can arrange for supporting documents to be provided to the Board prior to, or just after, you have submitted the application. All separate documents received will be included in your application when it is processed. 
    Once you pay the application fee and submit the application you will receive an automatically generated receipt and a pdf version of your submitted form. You will also be able to sign in to the Service Hub to view the checklist summarising the documents that need to be submitted to complete your application, but you will not be able to change your submitted application online at that point.
  6. Processing of your application 
    1. The Supreme Court will forward information about the admission ceremony directly to you.
    2. The Board will process your application for a compliance certificate as soon as possible and will email you to advise of any further requirements.
    3. The Board will place a notice of your pending admission on the Board’s website for a period of at least two weeks.
    4. Provided your application has been approved, the Board will issue a compliance certificate to the Supreme Court 7-10 days prior to the admission date.
    5. The Board will then provide you with a copy of the compliance certificate and information about applying for a practising certificate.
  7. Deferring your admission 
    If you need to defer your admission, either for personal reasons or because you are not able to provide all of the information required by the Board by the relevant deadline, you may lodge an amended motion for admission at the Supreme Court to be admitted at a later ceremony. 
    The Board may also request you to defer your admission if it requires further time to consider your application. 
    There is no fee for filing an amended motion paper. Please ensure that, within 2 days, you email a copy of the stamped amended motion for admission, together with an explanation of the reasons for deferring your admission, to admissions@justice.wa.gov.au 
  8. Admission ceremony 
    The Supreme Court will write to the residential address shown on your Originating Motion for Admission confirming the time of your ceremony. If you are resident overseas, the Court will email your letter. If you have any queries about the ceremony and you cannot find the answer to your questions on the Supreme Court website, you should contact the Supreme Court. admissions@justice.wa.gov.au