Legal Profession Act 2003 (Qld)

Legal Profession Act 2003

Queensland LEGAL PROFESSION ACT 2003 Act No. 97 of 2003

Queensland LEGAL PROFESSION ACT 2003 TABLE OF PROVISIONS Section Page CHAPTER 1—INTRODUCTION PART 1—PRELIMINARY 1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 2 Commencement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 3 Main purposes of this Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 PART 2—INTERPRETATION Division 1—Dictionary 4 Deﬁnitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Division 2—Meaning of particular terms involving a legal title and related matters 5 Meaning of terms involving “lawyer” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 6 Meaning of terms involving “legal practitioner”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 7 Meaning of “barrister”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 8 Meaning of “solicitor”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 9 Meaning of “government legal ofﬁcer” and related matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Division 3—Meaning of other terms for this Act 10 Meaning of “suitability matter”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 11 Meaning of “serious offence” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 12 Meaning of “conviction” and “quashing a conviction”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 13 Meaning of “information notice” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Division 4—Other matters relating to interpretation 14 Notes in text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 15 Timing for doing things. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 16 Grounds that are reasonable in the circumstances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

2 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 CHAPTER 2—ENGAGING IN LEGAL PRACTICE PART 1—PRELIMINARY 17 Simpliﬁed outline of ch 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 PART 2—RESERVATION OF LEGAL WORK AND RELATED MATTERS 18 Main purpose of ch 2, pt 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 19 Part does not generally apply to a government legal ofﬁcer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 20 Prohibition on engaging in legal practice when not entitled . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 21 Prohibition on representing or advertising entitlement to engage in legal practice when not entitled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 22 Professional discipline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 PART 3—ADMISSION OF LEGAL PRACTITIONERS Division 1—Preliminary 23 Main purpose of ch 2, pt 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 24 Deﬁnitions for ch 2, pt 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Division 2—Eligibility and suitability for admission as legal practitioners 25 Eligibility for admission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 26 Suitability for admission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Division 3—Application for admission 27 Main purposes of ch 2, pt 3, div 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 28 Application for admission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 29 Role of the board relating to application for admission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 30 Role of Supreme Court relating to application for admission. . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Division 4—Early consideration of suitability 31 Main purpose of ch 2, pt 3, div 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 32 Early consideration of suitability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 33 Involvement of Supreme Court whether by referral or on appeal . . . . . . . . . 38 Division 5—Roll of legal practitioners 34 Roll of legal practitioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 35 Local legal practitioner is ofﬁcer of Supreme Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Division 6—Miscellaneous 36 Conditional admission. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

3 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 37 Board may appear before Supreme Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 38 Fees payable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 PART 4—LEGAL PRACTICE BY AUSTRALIAN LEGAL PRACTITIONERS Division 1—Preliminary 39 Main purposes of ch 2, pt 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 40 Meaning of “relevant regulatory authority” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 41 How suitability relating to holding local practising certiﬁcate is to be decided in this part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Division 2—Legal practice in this jurisdiction 42 Entitlement to practise in this jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Division 3—Matters relating to applications for grant or renewal of local practising certiﬁcates 43 Application for grant or renewal of local practising certiﬁcate. . . . . . . . . . . 42 44 Manner of application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 45 Professional indemnity insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 46 Continuing obligation for professional indemnity insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Division 4—Grant or renewal of local practising certiﬁcates 47 Grant or renewal of local practising certiﬁcate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 48 Conditions imposed by law society or bar association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 49 Applications relating to conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 50 Local legal practitioner is ofﬁcer of Supreme Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Division 5—Conditions applying to local practising certiﬁcates 51 Conditions generally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 52 Statutory condition regarding notiﬁcation of offence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 53 Statutory condition regarding legal practice as solicitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 54 Compliance with conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Division 6—Special powers relating to local practising certiﬁcates 55 Application for local practising certiﬁcate if show cause event happened after ﬁrst admission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 56 Requirement if show cause event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 57 Refusal, cancellation or suspension of local practising certiﬁcate because of failure to show cause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 58 Restriction on making further application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

4 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 59 Relationship of this division with ch 5, pt 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Division 7—Amendment, cancellation or suspension of local practising certiﬁcates 60 Application of ch 2, pt 4, div 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 61 Grounds for amending, cancelling or suspending a local practising certiﬁcate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 62 Amending, cancelling or suspending local practising certiﬁcate . . . . . . . . . 54 63 Operation of amendment, cancellation or suspension of local practising certiﬁcate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 64 Return of amended, cancelled or suspended local practising certiﬁcate . . . . 56 65 Other ways of amending or cancelling a local practising certiﬁcate. . . . . . . 57 66 Relationship of this division with ch 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Division 8—Interstate legal practitioners 67 Requirement for interstate practising certiﬁcate and professional indemnity insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 68 Extent of entitlement of certiﬁcate holder of interstate practising certiﬁcate to practise in this jurisdiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 69 Additional condition on interstate legal practitioner engaging in legal practice in this jurisdiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 70 Special provision about interstate legal practitioner engaging in unsupervised legal practice in this jurisdiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 71 Interstate legal practitioner is ofﬁcer of Supreme Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Division 9—Miscellaneous provisions about local practising certiﬁcates and other matters 72 Immediate suspension of local practising certiﬁcate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 73 Duration of local practising certiﬁcates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 74 Surrender and cancellation of local practising certiﬁcate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 75 Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 76 Consideration of applicant for local practising certiﬁcate and certiﬁcate holder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 77 Register of local practising certiﬁcates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 78 Regulatory authority may charge reasonable fees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 PART 5—INCORPORATED LEGAL PRACTICES Division 1—Preliminary 79 Main purpose of ch 2, pt 5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 80 Meaning of “incorporated legal practice” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

5 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 81 Deﬁnitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Division 2—Incorporated legal practices providing legal services 82 Non-legal services and businesses of incorporated legal practices . . . . . . . . 83 Corporations eligible to be incorporated legal practice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Notice of intention to start providing legal services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Prohibition on directors etc representing that corporation is incorporated legal practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Notice of termination of provision of legal services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Division 3—Lawyer directors, and other legal practitioners employed by incorporated legal practices 87 Incorporated legal practice must have lawyer director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Obligations of lawyer director relating to misconduct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Incorporated legal practice without lawyer director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Obligations and privileges of an Australian legal practitioner who is an ofﬁcer or employee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Division 4—Particular matters including application of other provisions of relevant laws 91 Insurance obligations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Conﬂicts of interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Disclosure obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Effect of non-disclosure of provision of particular services . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Application of a legal profession rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Advertising restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Advertising by incorporated legal practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Requirements relating to trust accounts and particular moneys . . . . . . . . . . 99 Requirements relating to ﬁdelity fund. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Extension to incorporated legal practice of vicarious liability relating to failure to account and dishonesty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Sharing of receipts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Disqualiﬁed persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Division 5—Ensuring compliance with this Act by incorporated legal practices 103 Commissioner or law society may audit incorporated legal practice . . . . . . 104 Investigative powers relating to audits and other matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Examination of persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 67 68 68 69 69 70 70 71 72 73 73 74 75 76 76 76 76 76 77 77 78 78 79 80

6 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 106 Inspection of books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Power to hold hearings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Failure to comply with investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Banning of incorporated legal practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Disqualiﬁcation from managing incorporated legal practice . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Disclosure of information to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission .................................. Division 6—External administration 112 External administration proceedings under Corporations Act . . . . . . . . . . . 113 External administration proceedings under other legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Incorporated legal practice that is subject to receivership under the QLS Act and external administration under Corporations Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Incorporated legal practice that is subject to receivership under the QLS Act and external administration under other local legislation. . . . . . . . . . . . Division 7—Miscellaneous 116 Cooperation between courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Relationship of Act to Corporations legislation and certain other instruments ...................................... 118 Undue inﬂuence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Regulation may require training requirement for lawyer director. . . . . . . . . PART 6—FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR THOSE WHO MAY ENGAGE IN LEGAL PRACTICE IN THIS JURISDICTION Division 1—Preliminary 120 Main purposes of ch 2, pt 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Deﬁnitions for ch 2, pt 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Relationship with other laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Division 2—Prescribed accounts 123 Regulation for prescribed account. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 Deposits to prescribed account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Division 3—Interest on trust accounts paid to department 125 Arrangement with ﬁnancial institution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Division 4—Legal Practitioner Interest on Trust Accounts Fund 126 Establishment of fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 Payments from fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 81 82 83 85 85 86 86 87 88 89 89 90 90 90 91 91 91 92 92 93 93

7 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 128 Minister to decide distribution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 129 Submission of budgets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 PART 7—RULES ABOUT THOSE WHO MAY ENGAGE IN LEGAL PRACTICE IN THIS JURISDICTION Division 1—Preliminary 130 Main purposes of ch 2, pt 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 131 Power to make rules not limited to speciﬁc references to provision in other chapters or parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 132 Deﬁnitions for ch 2, pt 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Division 2—Legal profession rules 133 Rules to be made by Governor in Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 134 Rule may apply to individuals generally or by using a deﬁned term involving a legal title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 135 Particular provision about barristers rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 136 Solicitors rule or barristers rule may apply to government legal ofﬁcer . . . . 98 137 Incorporated legal practice rule can not provide for particular matters . . . . 98 138 Recommendations to the Minister about legal profession rules . . . . . . . . . . 98 139 Monitoring role of committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 140 Public notice of proposed legal profession rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 141 Binding nature of each legal profession rule. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 142 Relationship of legal profession rule to this Act and regulation . . . . . . . . . . 100 143 Relationship of legal profession rule and administration rule. . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Division 3—Administration rules 144 Rules other than legal profession rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 145 Indemnity rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 146 Relationship of administration rule to this Act and regulation . . . . . . . . . . . 103 147 Availability of an administration rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 PART 8—INTER-JURISDICTIONAL PROVISIONS REGARDING ADMISSION AND PRACTISING CERTIFICATES Division 1—Preliminary 148 Main purpose of ch 2, pt 8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 149Ch 3 not affected . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Division 2—Notiﬁcations to be given to interstate authorities 150 Notiﬁcation to other jurisdictions about application for admission . . . . . . . 105

8 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 151 Notiﬁcation to other jurisdictions about removal from local roll . . . . . . . . . 105 152 Law society and bar association to notify other jurisdictions about actions by it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Division 3—Notiﬁcations to be given by lawyers to local authorities 153 Lawyer to give notice of removal in another jurisdiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 154 Lawyer to give notice of removal in foreign country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 155 Provisions relating to requirement to notify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Division 4—Taking of action by local authorities in response to notiﬁcations received 156 Pre-emptory removal of local lawyer’s name from local roll following removal in another jurisdiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 157 Pre-emptory cancellation of local practising certiﬁcate following removal of name from interstate roll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 158 Order for non-removal of name or non-cancellation of practising certiﬁcate 109 159 Show cause procedure for removal of local lawyer’s name from local roll following removal in foreign country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 160 Local authority may give information to other local authority . . . . . . . . . . . 111 CHAPTER 3—COMPLAINTS, INVESTIGATION MATTERS AND DISCIPLINE PART 1—PRELIMINARY Division 1—Purposes 161 Main purposes of ch 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Division 2—Interpretation 162 Meaning of “unsatisfactory professional conduct” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 163 Meaning of “professional misconduct”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 164 Conduct capable of constituting unsatisfactory professional conduct or professional misconduct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 165 Meaning of “respondent” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Division 3—Application of this chapter 166 Australian lawyers to whom this chapter applies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 167 Conduct to which this chapter applies—generally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 168 Conduct to which this chapter applies—bankruptcy, serious offences and tax offences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 169 Chapter also applies to law practice employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

9 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 Division 4—Commissioner’s obligations for complaints 170 Duty to deal with complaints efﬁciently and expeditiously . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 171 Duty to inform complainant about action taken for complaint . . . . . . . . . . . 116 PART 2—MAKING COMPLAINTS 172 Conduct about which complaint may be made . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 173 Making a complaint. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 174 Further information and veriﬁcation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 175 Complaints made over 3 years after conduct concerned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 176 Summary dismissal of complaints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 177 Withdrawal of complaints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 178 Commissioner may delay dealing with complaint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 PART 3—MEDIATION FOR COMPLAINTS INVOLVING CONSUMER DISPUTE 179 Deﬁnition for ch 3, pt 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 180 Mediation of complaint involving consumer dispute solely . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 181 Mediation of hybrid complaint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 PART 4—STARTING INVESTIGATIONS BASED ON COMPLAINT OR WITHOUT A COMPLAINT 182 Referral by commissioner to law society or bar association . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 183 Commissioner investigating a complaint or investigation matter . . . . . . . . . 124 184 Australian lawyer to be notiﬁed of complaint or investigation matter . . . . 124 185 Role of law society or bar association. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 186 Powers for investigations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 187 Submissions by Australian lawyer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 188 Referral of matters for cost assessment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 PART 5—DISCIPLINE Division 1—Decision of commissioner 189 Decision of commissioner after investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 190 Dismissal of complaint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 191 Record of decision. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Division 2—Proceedings in disciplinary body 192 Starting proceeding before a disciplinary body. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 193 Hearings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

10 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 194 Variation of discipline application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 195 Joinder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Division 3—Decisions of disciplinary bodies 196 Decisions of tribunal about an Australian lawyer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 197 Orders to be ﬁled in Supreme Court and information notices to be given to parties etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 198 Decisions of committee about discipline application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 199 Orders to be ﬁled in Supreme Court and information notices to be given to parties etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 200 Compliance with decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 201 Interim order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 202 Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 203 Other remedies not affected. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 PART 6—COMPENSATION ORDERS Division 1—Preliminary 204 Meaning of “compensation order” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 Division 2—Compensation orders 205 Compensation order relating to pecuniary loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 206 Effect of compensation order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 207 Other remedies not affected. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 PART 7—APPEALS FROM DECISIONS OF DISCIPLINARY BODIES 208 Appeal may be made to Court of Appeal from tribunal’s decision . . . . . . . . 138 209 Appeal to tribunal against committee’s decision. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 210 Appeal to Court of Appeal in relation to a decision of committee . . . . . . . . 139 PART 8—PUBLICATION OF DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS 211 Deﬁnition for ch 3, pt 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 212 Discipline register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 213 Other means of publicising disciplinary action. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 214 Disciplinary action taken because of inﬁrmity, injury or illness . . . . . . . . . . 141 215 Quashing of disciplinary action. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 216 Liability for publicising disciplinary action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 217 General provisions about disclosure of information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

11 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 PART 9—INTER-JURISDICTIONAL PROVISIONS 218 Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 219 Request to another jurisdiction to investigate complaint or investigation matter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 220 Request from another jurisdiction to investigate complaint . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 221 Sharing of information with corresponding authorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 222 Cooperation with corresponding authorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 223 Compliance with orders made under corresponding laws. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 224 Other powers or functions not affected . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 PART 10—MISCELLANEOUS 225 Information about complaints procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 226 Performance criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 227 Annual and other reports to the Minister. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 228 Conﬁdentiality of client communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 229 Waiver of legal professional privilege . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 CHAPTER 4—ESTABLISHMENT OF ENTITIES FOR THIS ACT, AND RELATED MATTERS PART 1—LEGAL SERVICES COMMISSIONER Division 1—Preliminary 230 Main purposes of ch 4, pt 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Division 2—Appointment 231 Legal Services Commissioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 232 Appointment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 233 Term of appointment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 234 Remuneration and conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 235 Acting commissioner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 236 Termination of appointment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 237 Resignation of commissioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Division 3—Functions 238 Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Division 4—Legal Services Commission 239 Establishment of commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 240 Staff and other resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

12 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 241 Preservation of rights if public service ofﬁcer appointed or engaged . . . . . . 152 242 Preservation of rights if individual becomes public service ofﬁcer . . . . . . . 152 243 Preservation of rights if public service ofﬁcer seconded. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 244 Delegation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 PART 2—DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL Division 1—Preliminary 245 Main purpose of ch 4, pt 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 Division 2—Establishment of Legal Practice Tribunal and related matters 246 Establishment, members and chairperson of tribunal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 247 Way tribunal is to operate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 248 Jurisdiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 249 Powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 250 Rule-making power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 251 Practice directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 252 Registrar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 253 Tribunal’s seal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 Division 3—Panels, members of panels and related matters 254 Establishment of panels for helping the tribunal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 255 Appointment of panel member . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 256 Remuneration and appointment conditions of panel members . . . . . . . . . . . 156 257 Termination of appointment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 258 Resignation of members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 Division 4—Role of tribunal members and panel members 259 Role of members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 260 Disclosure of interests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Division 5—Constitution of tribunal for hearings 261 Constitution of tribunal for hearing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Division 6—Other provisions 262 Institution of proceedings by the commissioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 263 Contempt of tribunal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 264 Conduct that is contempt and an offence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 265 Protection of members etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

13 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 PART 3—LEGAL PRACTICE COMMITTEE Division 1—Preliminary 266 Main purpose of ch 4, pt 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 267 Deﬁnitions for ch 4, pt 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 Division 2—Establishment, membership of committee, functions and powers 268 Establishment of committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 269 Committee members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 270 Term of appointment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 271 Functions and powers of committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 272 Administrative support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 Division 3—Provisions about committee members 273 Eligibility for membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 274 Termination of ofﬁce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 275 Resignation of committee member . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 276 Deputy chairperson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 277 Remuneration and allowances of lay members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 Division 4—Provisions about committee performing advisory functions 278 Application of ch 4, pt 3, div 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 279 Conduct of business. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 280 Time and place of meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 281 Quorum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 282 Presiding at meetings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 283 Conduct of meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 284 Minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 285 Disclosure of interests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 Division 5—Provisions applying to committee for hearings 286 Constitution of committee for hearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 287 Conduct of meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 288 Disclosure of interests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 289 Protection of members etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

14 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 PART 4—PROVISIONS APPLYING TO EACH DISCIPLINARY BODY Division 1—Parties to proceedings 290 Parties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 Division 2—Conduct of proceedings 291 Public hearings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 292 Procedure for hearing by a disciplinary body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170 293 Disciplinary body may proceed in absence of party or may adjourn hearing 170 294 Matter may be decided on afﬁdavit evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170 295 Standard of proof. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 Division 3—Powers of disciplinary body 296 Power to disregard procedural lapses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 297 Directions for hearings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 298 Attendance notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172 299 Authentication of documents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 Division 4—Offences 300 False or misleading information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 301 False or misleading documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 PART 5—LEGAL PRACTITIONERS ADMISSIONS BOARD Division 1—Preliminary 302 Main purpose of ch 4, pt 5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 303 Deﬁnitions for ch 4, pt 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 Division 2—Establishment and membership of board 304 Establishment of board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 305 Members of board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 Division 3—Board’s functions and powers 306 Functions and powers of board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 307 Administrative support of the board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 Division 4—Provisions about board members 308 Term of appointment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 309 Chairperson and deputy chairperson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 310 Eligibility for membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 311 Termination of appointment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

15 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 312 Resignation of board member . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 Division 5—Board business 313 Conduct of business. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 314 Times and places of meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 315 Quorum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 316 Presiding at meetings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 317 Conduct of meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 318 Minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 319 Disclosure of interests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 Division 6—Miscellaneous 320 Application of particular Acts to board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 CHAPTER 5—SUITABILITY REPORTS AND INVESTIGATIONS PART 1—SUITABILITY REPORTS Division 1—Preliminary 321 Main purpose of ch 5, pt 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 322 Deﬁnitions for ch 5, pt 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 Division 2—Police reports 323 Relevant authority may ask for police report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 Division 3—Health assessments 324 Health assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 325 Appointment of health assessor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182 326 Health assessment report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 327 Payment for health assessment and report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 328 Use of health assessment report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 Division 4—General 329 Conﬁdentiality of suitability report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184 330 Operation of this part. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186 PART 2—INVESTIGATORS AND THEIR POWERS Division 1—Preliminary 331 Main purposes of ch 5, pt 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186 332 Deﬁnitions for ch 5, pt 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

16 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 Division 2—Investigators 333 Appointment, qualiﬁcations etc. of investigators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 334 Appointment conditions and limit on powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 335 Issue of identity card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 336 Production or display of identity card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 337 When investigator ceases to hold ofﬁce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 338 Resignation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 339 Return of identity card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 Division 3—Entry to places 340 Power to enter places. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 341 Entry with consent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 342 Application for warrant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 343 Issue of warrant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 344 Application by electronic communication and duplicate warrant . . . . . . . 192 345 Defect in relation to a warrant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194 346 Warrants—procedure before entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194 Division 4—Powers of investigators after entry 347 General powers of investigator after entering places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 348 Power to require reasonable help or information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 Division 5—Power of investigators to seize evidence 349 Seizing evidence at place entered under s 340 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 350 Securing seized things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 351 Tampering with seized things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 352 Powers to support seizure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 353 Receipt for seized things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 354 Forfeiture of seized things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 355 Dealing with forfeited things etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199 356 Return of seized things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199 357 Access to seized things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Division 6—General enforcement matters 358 Notice of damage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 359 Compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

17 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 360 False or misleading information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 361 False or misleading documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 362 Obstructing investigators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 363 Impersonation of investigators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 CHAPTER 6—MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS PART 1—JURISDICTION OF THE SUPREME COURT 364 Inherent jurisdiction of Supreme Court. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 365 Jurisdiction of Supreme Court. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 366 Injunctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 PART 2—SUSPECTED OFFENCES, PARTICULAR ASSOCIATES AND OTHER MATTERS 367 Duty of relevant entities to report suspected offences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 368 Associate who is proscribed person or has been convicted of serious offence etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 369 Executive ofﬁcers must ensure corporation complies with Act. . . . . . . . . . . 208 370 Offences are summary offences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 371 Limitation on time for starting summary proceeding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 372 Appointments and authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 373 Signatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 374 Evidentiary aids—documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210 PART 3—OTHER MATTERS 375 Information sharing among entities with functions under Act . . . . . . . . . . . 210 376 Offence of improper disclosure of information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 377 Protection from liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 378 Approved forms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 379 Regulation-making power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 PART 4—AMENDMENT OF ACTS 380 Acts amended in sch 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214 PART 5—TRANSITIONAL, SAVINGS AND REPEAL PROVISIONS Division 1—Deﬁnitions for part 381 Deﬁnition for ch 6, pt 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

18 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 Division 2—Transitional provisions relating to ch 2, pt 2 (Reservation of legal work and related matters) 382 Act or omission that happened before the commencement may be relevant to an offence under ch 2, pt 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 383 Offences committed before the commencement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 Division 3—Transitional provisions relating to ch 2, pt 3 (Admission of legal practitioners) 384 Application for admission made before commencement but not heard by Supreme Court before the commencement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 385 References in other Acts to applicant for admission as a barrister or as a solicitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 Division 4—Transitional provisions relating to ch 2, pt 4 (Legal Practice by Australian legal practitioners) 386 Application for grant or renewal of practising certiﬁcate by person who is solicitor or barrister at ﬁrst commencement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 387 Actions before commencement that continue to have effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 Division 5—Transitional provisions relating to ch 2, pt 7 (Rules about those who may engage in legal practice in this jurisdiction) 388 Continuation of rules of law society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 389 Bar association rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219 Division 6—Transitional provisions relating to ch 3 (Complaints, investigation matters and discipline) 390 Complaints made to the council before commencement but not ﬁnally dealt with before that time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219 391 Complaints made to the legal ombudsman before commencement but not ﬁnally dealt with before that time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220 392 Basis of complaint mentioned in ss 173 or 391(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220 Division 7—Transitional provisions relating to ch 4 (Establishment of entities for this Act, and related matters) 393 Proceedings mentioned in s 5D(5) of Queensland Law Society Act 1952 . . 221 Division 8—Transitional provisions relating to the Legal Practitioners Act 1995 394 Main purposes of ch 6, pt 5, div 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222 395 Expiry of particular provisions of the LegalPractitionersAct . . . . . . . . . . . 222 396 Amendment and relocation of s 58 of the LegalPractitionersAct . . . . . . . . 222 397 Accounts kept by society under s 51 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222 398 Repeal of remaining provisions of LegalPractitionersAct. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

19 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 399 References to Legal Practitioners Act and related matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223 400 References to other Acts etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224 401 Appeals under Legal Practitioners Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224 Division 9—Transitional provisions relating to the Queensland Law Society Act 1952 402 Main purposes of ch 6, pt 5, div 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224 403 Repeals relating to solicitors complaints tribunal under QLS Act . . . . . . . . 225 404 Repeals relating to legal ombudsman under the QLS Act. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 405 Further amendment of QLS Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 Division 10—Regulation-making power for transitional purposes 406 Transitional regulation-making power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226 SCHEDULE 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 ACTS AMENDED ACTS INTERPRETATION ACT 1954 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 CORONERS ACT 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 CREMATIONS ACT 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228 CRIMINAL LAW (REHABILITATION OFOFFENDERS)ACT1986 . . . 228 DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS ACT1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229 DISTRICT COURT OF QUEENSLAND ACT1967. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 JUSTICES ACT 1886 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232 JUSTICES OF THE PEACE AND COMMISSIONERSFORDECLARATIONS ACT 1991. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236 JUVENILE JUSTICE ACT 1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236 LAND SALES ACT 1984. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237 LAND TITLE ACT 1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238 LEGAL AID QUEENSLAND ACT 1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239 MAGISTRATES COURTS ACT 1921 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243 PROPERTY AGENTS AND MOTOR DEALERSACT2000 . . . . . . . . . . 244 RETAIL SHOP LEASES ACT 1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244 SUPREME COURT ACT 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245 SUPREME COURT LIBRARY ACT 1968 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248 SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND ACT1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 TRUST ACCOUNTS ACT 1973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

20 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AMENDMENTS OF LEGAL PRACTITIONERS ACT 1995, SECTION 58 SCHEDULE 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LEGAL PRACTITIONERS ACT 1995, SECTION 58 AS AMENDED AND RELOCATED SCHEDULE 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AMENDMENT OF QUEENSLAND LAW SOCIETY ACT 1952 SCHEDULE 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DICTIONARY 255 257 258 268

Queensland Legal Profession Act 2003 Act No. 97 of 2003 An Act to provide for admission to, and the regulation of, the legal profession, and for other purposes [Assented to 3 December 2003]

s 1 22 Legal Profession Act 2003 The Parliament of Queensland enacts— s3 No. 97, 2003 CHAPTER 1—INTRODUCTION PART 1—PRELIMINARY 1 Short title This Act may be cited as the Legal Profession Act 2003 . 2 Commencement (1) Section 380 and schedule 1, to the extent it amends the CoronersAct 2003 and the CremationsAct2003 , commence or are taken to have commenced on 30 November 2003. (2) The remaining provisions of this Act commence on a day to be ﬁxed by proclamation. 3 Main purposes of this Act The main purposes of this Act are as follows— (a) to promote the administration of justice; (b) to provide for the protection of consumers of legal services and the public generally; (c) to regulate legal practice in this jurisdiction; (d) to facilitate the regulation of legal practice on a national basis.

s 4 23 s 6 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 PART 2—INTERPRETATION Division 1—Dictionary 4 Deﬁnitions The dictionary in schedule 5 deﬁnes particular words used in this Act. Division 2—Meaning of particular terms involving a legal title and related matters 5 Meaning of terms involving “lawyer” (1) An “Australian lawyer” is an individual who is admitted as a legal practitioner under this Act or a corresponding law. (2) A “local lawyer” is an individual who is admitted as a legal practitioner under this Act, whether or not the individual is also admitted under a corresponding law. (3) Each of the following is admitted as a legal practitioner under this Act— (a) an individual whose name, immediately before the commencement of this section, appeared on the roll of barristers as kept by the Supreme Court before the commencement; (b) an individual whose name, immediately before the commencement of this section, appeared on the roll of solicitors as kept by the Supreme Court before the commencement. (4) An “interstate lawyer” is an individual who is admitted as a legal practitioner under a corresponding law, but not under this Act. (5) A reference to a person who is admitted as a legal practitioner includes a reference to a person who is admitted in another jurisdiction as a barrister and solicitor. 6 Meaning of terms involving “legal practitioner” (1) An “Australian legal practitioner” is an Australian lawyer who holds a current local practising certiﬁcate or a current interstate practising certiﬁcate.

s 7 24 s 9 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 (2) A “local legal practitioner” is an Australian lawyer who holds a current local practising certiﬁcate. (3) An “interstate legal practitioner” is an Australian lawyer who holds a current interstate practising certiﬁcate, but does not hold a local practising certiﬁcate. 7 Meaning of “barrister” A “barrister” is— (a) a local legal practitioner who holds a current local practising certiﬁcate to practise as a barrister granted or renewed by the bar association; or (b) an interstate legal practitioner who holds an interstate practising certiﬁcate that entitles the certiﬁcate holder to practise only as a barrister or in the manner of a barrister. 8 Meaning of “solicitor” A “solicitor” is— (a) a local legal practitioner who holds a current local practising certiﬁcate to practise as a solicitor granted or renewed by the law society; or (b) an interstate legal practitioner who holds an interstate practising certiﬁcate that is not subject to a condition that allows the legal practitioner to practise only as a barrister or in the manner of a barrister. 9 Meaning of “government legal ofﬁcer” and related matters (1) A “government legal ofﬁcer” is an individual whose employment or appointment in any of the following includes or may include engaging in legal practice— (a) a department of this jurisdiction, the commission or an agency prescribed under a regulation for this paragraph; (b) a department of government of the Commonwealth; (c) a department of government of another jurisdiction;

s 10 25 s 10 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 (d) an agency of another jurisdiction if, under a corresponding law of that jurisdiction, an individual engaging in legal practice for the agency is exempted from holding a practising certiﬁcate or otherwise does not require a practising certiﬁcate. (2) A government legal ofﬁcer is “engaged in government work” when the government legal ofﬁcer is engaged in legal practice for the purposes of the entity in relation to which the individual is an employee or appointee. (3) However, for an agency prescribed for subsection (1)(a), a regulation may specify activities that are, or are not, government work. (4) If a provision under a relevant law does not apply to a government legal ofﬁcer engaged in government work, the provision applies to the individual who is the government legal ofﬁcer if the individual is engaging in legal practice other than being engaged in government work. (5) If a government legal ofﬁcer holds a practising certiﬁcate from the bar association, a condition of the barrister’s practising certiﬁcate about only practising as a barrister does not apply to the government legal ofﬁcer to the extent that the government legal ofﬁcer practises as a solicitor as part of engaging in government work. (6) The provisions of a relevant law about the ﬁdelity fund do not apply to a government legal ofﬁcer in his or her capacity as a government legal ofﬁcer engaged in government work even if the government legal ofﬁcer is the holder of a practising certiﬁcate. (7) For an individual whose employment or appointment in a department of government of the Commonwealth includes or may include engaging in legal practice as mentioned in subsection (1)(b), this Act is subject to the Judiciary Act 1903 (Cwlth). Division 3—Meaning of other terms for this Act 10 Meaning of “suitability matter” (1) Each of the following is a “suitability matter” in relation to an individual— (a) whether the individual is currently of good fame and character; (b) whether the individual is or has been an insolvent under administration;

s 10 26 s 10 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 (c) whether the individual has been convicted of an offence in Australia or a foreign country, and if so— (i) the nature of the offence; and (ii) how long ago the offence was committed; and (iii) the individual’s age when the offence was committed; (d) whether the individual engaged in legal practice in Australia— (i) when not admitted, or not holding a practising certiﬁcate, as required under a relevant law or a corresponding law; or (ii) if admitted, in contravention of a condition on which admission was granted; or (iii) while the individual’s practising certiﬁcate is or was suspended or in contravention of a condition applicable to the certiﬁcate; (e) whether the individual has practised law in a foreign country— (i) when not permitted under a law of that country to do so; or (ii) if permitted to do so, in contravention of a condition applicable to the permission; (f) whether the individual is currently subject to an unresolved complaint, investigation, charge or order under any of the following— (i) a relevant law as in force at any time before or after the commencement of this section; (ii) a corresponding law or a foreign law about persons engaging in legal practice; (g) whether the individual— (i) is the subject of current disciplinary action, however expressed, in another profession or occupation in Australia or a foreign country; or (ii) has been the subject of disciplinary action, however expressed, relating to the other profession or occupation that involved a ﬁnding of guilt; (h) whether the individual’s name has been removed from— (i) the roll of barristers or the roll of solicitors, but has not been restored to the roll of barristers or the roll of solicitors; or

s 11 27 s 11 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 (ii) the roll of barristers or the roll of solicitors, but has not been relocated to the roll of solicitors or the roll of barristers; or (iii) an interstate roll, but has not been restored; or (iv) a foreign roll; (i) whether the individual’s right to engage in legal practice has been cancelled or suspended in Australia or a foreign country; (j) whether the individual has contravened, in Australia or a foreign country, a law about trust money or trust accounts; (k) whether, under a relevant law, a law of the Commonwealth or a corresponding law, a supervisor, manager or receiver, however described, is or has been appointed in relation to any legal practice engaged in by the individual; (l) whether the individual is or has been subject to an order under a relevant law, a law of the Commonwealth or a corresponding law, disqualifying the applicant from being employed by, or a partner of, an Australian lawyer or from managing a corporation that is an incorporated legal practice; (m) whether the individual currently has a material physical or mental inﬁrmity. (2) A matter is a suitability matter even if it happened before the commencement of this section. 11 Meaning of “serious offence” A “serious offence” is an offence whether committed in or outside this jurisdiction that is— (a) an indictable offence against an Act, or against a law of the Commonwealth or another jurisdiction, whether or not the offence is or may be dealt with summarily; or (b) an offence against a law of another jurisdiction that would be an indictable offence against an Act if committed in this jurisdiction, whether or not the offence could be dealt with summarily if committed in this jurisdiction; or (c) an offence against a law of a foreign country that would be an indictable offence against a law of the Commonwealth, or an Act if committed in this jurisdiction, whether or not the offence could be dealt with summarily if committed in this jurisdiction.

s 12 28 s 13 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 12 Meaning of “conviction” and “quashing a conviction” (1) A “conviction” , for an offence, includes either of the following whether or not a conviction is recorded on sentence— (a) a ﬁnding of guilt; (b) the acceptance of a guilty plea. (2) Without limiting subsection (1), “quashing a conviction” , for an offence— (a) includes quashing— (i) a ﬁnding of guilt for the offence; or (ii) the acceptance of a guilty plea for the offence; and (b) does not include quashing a conviction if— (i) a ﬁnding of guilt in relation to the offence remains unaffected; or (ii) the acceptance of a guilty plea in relation to the offence remains unaffected. (3) A conviction includes a conviction before the commencement of this section. Note — See also Criminal Law (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act 1986 , section 9A, table, items 24 and 25. 13 Meaning of “information notice” (1) An “information notice” is a written notice to a person about a decision relating to the person stating— (a) the decision; and (b) the reasons for the decision; and (c) whether or not the person may appeal under this Act against the decision to a stated court or entity; and (d) if the person may appeal under this Act, the date by which the appeal must be started. (2) A provision under this Act may provide that an information notice for the purposes of the provision must include other stated information.

s 14 29 s 16 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 (3) If a person may appeal within a number of days after the date an information notice is given to the person, a defect in the notice does not affect the person’s right to appeal in relation to the matters dealt with in the information notice. Division 4—Other matters relating to interpretation 14 Notes in text A note in the text of this Act is part of this Act. 15 Timing for doing things (1) If no time is provided or allowed for doing something under this Act, the thing is to be done as soon as practicable, and as often as the relevant occasion happens. (2) If a provision of this Act provides that a person has a stated number of days to appeal to the Supreme Court or the tribunal (the “appeal period” ), the court or tribunal may allow a person who may appeal within the appeal period to appeal after that appeal period if the court or tribunal considers it appropriate having regard to the extent and reasons for the delay. 16 Grounds that are reasonable in the circumstances (1) If a person is required, under this Act, to be satisﬁed or not satisﬁed of, or have a belief or suspicion about, a particular matter before the person may do or refrain from doing an act, or make a decision, the person must be satisﬁed or not satisﬁed or have the belief or suspicion on grounds that are reasonable in the circumstances. (2) If, under this Act, a person who is satisﬁed or not satisﬁed of, or has a belief or suspicion about, a particular matter is required to do or refrain from doing an act, or make a decision, the person must be satisﬁed or not satisﬁed, or have the belief or suspicion, on grounds that are reasonable in the circumstances. (3) If an entity is required under this Act to consider that a particular matter is appropriate, including, for example, the following entities, before the entity may do or refrain from doing an act or make a decision, the entity must not do or refrain from doing the act, or make the decision, unless the

s 17 30 s 17 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 entity considers the particular matter is appropriate on grounds that are reasonable in the circumstances— (a) a disciplinary body; (b) the board; (c) the commissioner; (d) a regulatory authority; (e) an investigator. CHAPTER 2—ENGAGING IN LEGAL PRACTICE PART 1—PRELIMINARY 17 Simpliﬁed outline of ch 2 Generally, this chapter seeks to achieve the main purposes of this Act by providing that— (a) legal practice is engaged in only by individuals who are properly qualiﬁed and hold a current practising certiﬁcate; and (b) only individuals who are eligible and suitable for admission are admitted by the Supreme Court as legal practitioners in this jurisdiction; and (c) an Australian lawyer may obtain a local practising certiﬁcate from the law society or bar association and become a local legal practitioner; and (d) corporations may engage in legal practice as incorporated legal practices while they have a lawyer director; and (e) accounts are to be kept by solicitors and interest payable on those accounts is to be treated in a particular way; and (f) rules about engaging in legal practice are to be made by the Governor in Council after a process involving the law society or bar association; and

s 18 31 s 20 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 (g) the regulation of legal practice on a national basis is promoted by providing for inter-jurisdictional provisions regarding admission and practising certiﬁcates. PART 2—RESERVATION OF LEGAL WORK AND RELATED MATTERS 18 Main purpose of ch 2, pt 2 The main purpose of this part is to ensure legal practice is engaged in only by individuals who are properly qualiﬁed and hold a current practising certiﬁcate. 19 Part does not generally apply to a government legal ofﬁcer This part does not apply to a government legal ofﬁcer engaged in government work. 20 Prohibition on engaging in legal practice when not entitled (1) An individual must not engage in legal practice in this jurisdiction unless the individual is an Australian legal practitioner. Maximum penalty—300 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment. (2) Subsection (1)— (a) is subject to a relevant law, or a law of the Commonwealth that authorises a person to engage in legal practice; and (b) does not apply to preparing or assisting in the preparation of the following— (i) a will if prepared in the course of the individual’s employment with a trustee company; (ii) a contract if prepared by a real estate agent for another person. (3) An individual is not entitled to recover any amount for anything the individual did in contravention of subsection (1).

s 21 32 s 22 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 (4) A person may recover from an individual, as a debt due to the person, any amount the person paid to the individual for anything the individual did in contravention of subsection (1). (5) This section is subject to chapter 2, part 4, division 8. 1 (6) In this section— “real estate agent” see the Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act 2000 , schedule 2. “trustee company” see the Trustee Companies Act 1968 , section 4. 21 Prohibition on representing or advertising entitlement to engage in legal practice when not entitled (1) An individual must not, without a reasonable excuse, represent or advertise that the individual is entitled to engage in legal practice unless the individual is an Australian legal practitioner. Maximum penalty—300 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment. (2) This section does not apply to a representation or advertisement about being entitled to engage in legal practice of a kind mentioned in section 20(2)(b). 2 (3) A reference in this section to an individual representing or advertising that the individual is entitled to engage in legal practice includes the individual doing anything that states or implies that the individual is entitled to engage in legal practice. (4) This section is subject to chapter 2, part 4, division 8. 3 22 Professional discipline (1) A contravention of section 20 or 21 by an Australian lawyer who is not an Australian legal practitioner is capable of constituting unsatisfactory professional conduct or professional misconduct. 1 Chapter 2 (Engaging in legal practice), part 4 (Legal practice by Australian legal practitioners), division 8 (Interstate legal practitioners) 2 Section 20 (Prohibition on engaging in legal practice when not entitled) 3 Chapter 2 (Engaging in legal practice), part 4 (Legal practice by Australian legal practitioners), division 8 (Interstate legal practitioners)

s 23 33 s 24 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 (2) This part does not affect any liability that a individual who is an Australian lawyer but not an Australian legal practitioner may have under chapter 3. 4 (3) An individual may be punished for an offence under section 20 or 21 as well as being dealt with under chapter 3 in relation to the same matters. PART 3—ADMISSION OF LEGAL PRACTITIONERS Division 1—Preliminary 23 Main purpose of ch 2, pt 3 The main purpose of this part is to provide for individuals who are eligible and suitable for admission to be admitted by the Supreme Court as legal practitioners in this jurisdiction. 24 Deﬁnitions for ch 2, pt 3 In this part— “admission rules” means the rules for the admission of legal practitioners and associated matters under the SupremeCourtofQueensland Act1991 , section 118. 5 “applicant for admission” means an individual who has applied for admission as a legal practitioner. “Supreme Court” , in relation to an exercise of power of the court, means— (a) if the admission rules provide that the power may be exercised by a single Supreme Court judge—a single Supreme Court judge; or (b) otherwise—the Court of Appeal. 4 Chapter 3 (Complaints, investigation matters and discipline) 5 Supreme Court of Queensland Act 1991 , section 118 (Rule-making power)

s 25 34 s 25 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 Division 2—Eligibility and suitability for admission as legal practitioners 25 Eligibility for admission (1) An individual is eligible for admission as a legal practitioner only if the individual— (a) is aged 18 years or more; and (b) has attained approved academic qualiﬁcations or corresponding academic qualiﬁcations; and (c) has satisfactorily completed approved practical legal training requirements or corresponding practical legal training requirements. (2) In this section— “approved academic qualiﬁcations” means academic qualiﬁcations that are approved under the admission rules. “approved practical legal training requirements” means legal training requirements that are approved under the admission rules. “corresponding academic qualiﬁcations” means academic qualiﬁcations that would qualify the individual for admission as a legal practitioner in another jurisdiction if the board is satisﬁed that substantially the same minimum criteria apply for the approval of academic qualiﬁcations for admission in the other jurisdiction as apply in this jurisdiction. “corresponding practical legal training requirements” means legal training requirements that would qualify the individual for admission as a legal practitioner in another jurisdiction if the board is satisﬁed that substantially the same minimum criteria apply for the approval of legal training requirements for admission in the other jurisdiction as apply in this jurisdiction. Note — The board is the Legal Practitioners Admissions Board established under section 304. 6 6 Section 304 (Establishment of board)

s 26 35 s 29 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 26 Suitability for admission (1) An individual is suitable for admission as a legal practitioner only if the individual is a ﬁt and proper person to be admitted as a legal practitioner. (2) In deciding if the individual is a ﬁt and proper person to be admitted as a legal practitioner, the Supreme Court must consider— (a) each of the suitability matters in relation to the individual to the extent a suitability matter is appropriate; and (b) any other matter it considers relevant. (3) However, the Supreme Court may consider an individual suitable for admission despite a suitability matter because of the circumstances relating to the matter. Division 3—Application for admission 27 Main purposes of ch 2, pt 3, div 3 The main purposes of this division are— (a) to allow an individual who considers himself or herself eligible for admission and suitable for admission to apply to the Supreme Court for admission as a legal practitioner; and (b) to provide for the board’s role in relation to an application for admission. 28 Application for admission (1) An individual may apply (an “application for admission” ) to the Supreme Court to be admitted under this Act as a legal practitioner. (2) The application must be made in the approved form and under the admission rules. 29 Role of the board relating to application for admission (1) The board’s role is to help the Supreme Court by making a recommendation about each application for admission.

s 30 36 s 30 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 (2) The board must consider each application and, in particular, whether or not— (a) the application is made under the admission rules; and (b) the applicant is eligible for admission; and (c) the applicant is suitable for admission, including having regard to all suitability matters in relation to the applicant to the extent appropriate; and (d) there are other matters the Supreme Court may consider relevant. (3) As part of considering the application, the board may, by notice to the applicant, require— (a) the applicant to give it stated documents or information; or (b) the applicant to cooperate with any inquiries by the board that it considers appropriate. (4) An applicant’s failure to comply with a notice under subsection (3) by the date stated in the notice and in the way required by the notice is a ground for recommending to the Supreme Court that the applicant not be admitted. (5) The board makes a recommendation to the Supreme Court about the application by giving the recommendation to the Brisbane registrar and a copy of it to the applicant. (6) However, if the board considers it appropriate to apply to the Supreme Court for a direction about a matter concerning an application, the board may do so. 30 Role of Supreme Court relating to application for admission (1) The Supreme Court must hear and decide each application for admission in a way that it considers appropriate. (2) Without limiting subsection (1), the court may— (a) if satisﬁed that the applicant for admission is eligible and suitable for admission as a legal practitioner—make an order admitting the applicant as a legal practitioner; or (b) otherwise—refuse the application. (3) The court’s order as mentioned in subsection (2)(a) may be made unconditionally or on conditions the court considers appropriate.

s 31 37 s 32 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 (4) In deciding the application, the Supreme Court may rely on a recommendation of the board under section 29(5). 7 (5) Also, the Supreme Court may hear and decide an application for a direction as mentioned in section 29(6) and give a direction to the board as the court considers appropriate. Division 4—Early consideration of suitability 31 Main purpose of ch 2, pt 3, div 4 The main purpose of this division is to allow an individual, including someone undertaking a course of legal studies, to apply for a declaration by the board, or a direction of the Supreme Court, about whether an issue relating to the individual, including a suitability matter, may affect a current or future application for admission. 32 Early consideration of suitability (1) This section applies if an individual considers an issue may adversely affect an assessment of the individual’s suitability for admission as a local legal practitioner, including, for example, a suitability matter. (2) The individual may apply, in the approved form, to the board for a declaration that the matter will not, without more, adversely affect the board’s assessment of the individual’s suitability for admission. (3) The board must consider the application and do 1 of the following— (a) make the declaration; (b) refer the application to the Supreme Court for a direction if the board considers a direction would be appropriate; (c) refuse to make the declaration. (4) A declaration made under subsection (3)(a), or under a direction mentioned in subsection (3)(b), is binding on the board unless the applicant failed to make a full and fair disclosure of all matters relevant to the declaration sought. (5) If the board decides to refuse to make the declaration sought— 7 Section 29 (Role of the board relating to application for admission)

s 33 38 s 34 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 (a) the board must give the applicant an information notice about the refusal to make the declaration; and (b) the applicant may appeal to the Supreme Court against the refusal within 28 days after the date the information notice is given to the applicant. 33 Involvement of Supreme Court whether by referral or on appeal (1) If an application under section 32(2) is referred to the Supreme Court as mentioned in section 32(3)(b), the court may give a direction to the board as the court considers appropriate. (2) If the applicant appeals to the Supreme Court against the decision of the board to refuse to make the declaration, the appeal is to be by way of rehearing, and fresh evidence or evidence in addition to or in substitution for the evidence before the board may be given on the appeal. (3) On an appeal under this section, the Supreme Court may make an order as it considers appropriate. Division 5—Roll of legal practitioners 34 Roll of legal practitioners (1) The Supreme Court must keep a roll of legal practitioners (the “local roll” ). (2) The local roll must include the roll of barristers, and the roll of solicitors, as kept by the Supreme Court before the commencement of this section. (3) After the Supreme Court makes an order admitting an individual as a legal practitioner— (a) the registrar for the Supreme Court district at which the Supreme Court is sitting must, under the admission rules, enter the legal practitioner’s name on the local roll; and (b) the individual must sign the local roll. (4) The admission of an individual as a legal practitioner takes effect when the individual signs the local roll.

s 35 39 s 38 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 35 Local legal practitioner is ofﬁcer of Supreme Court An individual becomes an ofﬁcer of the Supreme Court on being admitted under this Act as a legal practitioner. Division 6—Miscellaneous 36 Conditional admission (1) This section applies to the following— (a) an individual admitted by the Supreme Court as a legal practitioner on conditions; (b) an individual who is a local legal practitioner under section 5(3) if the individual’s admission is subject to a condition. (2) The Supreme Court may do any of the following in relation to the conditions— (a) revoke or vary the conditions on which the individual is admitted, whether on application of the individual or on the court’s own initiative; (b) order the removal of the individual’s name from the local roll for contravening a condition. (3) Without limiting subsection (2)(b), a contravention of a condition is capable of constituting unsatisfactory professional conduct or professional misconduct. 37 Board may appear before Supreme Court The board, by a member of the board or by an Australian legal practitioner acting for the board, is entitled to appear before and be heard by the Supreme Court at a hearing about any application made under this part. 38 Fees payable The board must charge the fee prescribed under a regulation for matters under this part or for matters dealt with in the admission rules.

s 39 40 s 41 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 PART 4—LEGAL PRACTICE BY AUSTRALIAN LEGAL PRACTITIONERS Division 1—Preliminary 39 Main purposes of ch 2, pt 4 The main purposes of this part are as follows— (a) to provide a system for the law society to grant or renew a local practising certiﬁcate to an individual who practises or intends to practise as a solicitor; (b) to provide a system for the bar association to grant or renew a local practising certiﬁcate to an individual who practises or intends to practise only as a barrister; (c) to facilitate the national practice of law by allowing an interstate legal practitioner to engage in legal practice in this jurisdiction or an interstate lawyer to obtain a local practising certiﬁcate. 40 Meaning of “relevant regulatory authority” A “relevant regulatory authority” is— (a) if the individual in relation to whom the expression is used practises, or intends to practise, only as a barrister—the bar association; or (b) otherwise—the law society. 41 How suitability relating to holding local practising certiﬁcate is to be decided in this part (1) Suitability in relation to holding or continuing to hold a local practising certiﬁcate is to be decided by reference to whether the applicant or certiﬁcate holder is a ﬁt and proper person to hold the certiﬁcate. (2) A regulatory authority, in considering whether an individual is, or is no longer, a ﬁt and proper person to hold a local practising certiﬁcate, may take into account any suitability matter relating to the individual and any of the following whether happening before or after the commencement of this section—

250 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 1 (continued) to make provision to allow or facilitate the doing of anything to achieve the transition from the operation of— (a) the rules applying immediately before the commencement of the Legal Profession Act 2003 , section 23 151 to the operation of that Act after the commencement; and (b) other matters about admission dealt with under the LegalPractitionersAct1995 before the commencement of the LegalProfessionAct2003 , section 23 152 to the operation of Legal Profession Act 2003 after the commencement.’. 3 Schedule 1, section 23(d), ‘solicitors’— omit, insert — ‘lawyers’. 4 Schedule 1, section 24(c), ‘practitioners’ ’— omit, insert — ‘lawyers’ ’. 5 Schedule 2— insert — ‘ “lawyer” means an Australian lawyer who, under the Legal Profession Act 2003 , may engage in legal practice in this State.’. TRUST ACCOUNTS ACT 1973 1 Section 4— insert— 151 Legal Profession Act 2003 , section 23 (Main purpose of ch 2, pt 3) 152 Legal Profession Act 2003 , section 23 (Main purpose of ch 2, pt 3)

251 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 1 (continued) ‘ “Australian legal practitioner” has the meaning given by the LegalProfession Act 2003 , section 6. 153 ’. 2 Section 4, deﬁnition “solicitor”— omit, insert— ‘ “solicitor” means an Australian legal practitioner to whom section 4F applies. 154 ’. 3 After section 4E— insert— ‘4F Application of Act to legal practitioners and trust moneys ‘ (1) This Act applies to the following trustees in relation to trust moneys received by them in this State— (a) an Australian legal practitioner who has an ofﬁce in this State, whether or not the lawyer has an ofﬁce in another State; (b) an Australian legal practitioner who does not have an ofﬁce in any State at all. ‘ (2) This Act applies to the following trustees in relation to trust moneys received by them in another State— (a) an Australian legal practitioner who has an ofﬁce in this State and in no other State; (b) an Australian legal practitioner who has an ofﬁce in this State and in 1 or more other States but not in the State in which the trust moneys were received, unless the moneys are dealt with under the corresponding law of another State. ‘ (3) However, subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to— (a) persons or classes of persons prescribed under a regulation; or (b) persons or classes of persons in circumstances prescribed under a regulation; or 153 Legal Profession Act 2003 , section 6 (Meaning of terms involving “lawyer”) 154 Section 4F (Application of Act to solicitors and trust moneys)

252 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 1 (continued) (c) kinds of trust moneys prescribed under a regulation; or (d) kinds of trust moneys in circumstances prescribed under a regulation. ‘ (4) A reference in this section to having an ofﬁce in a State is a reference to— (a) having, or practising law from, an ofﬁce or business address in the State; or (b) being a partner or employee of a ﬁrm that has an ofﬁce or business address in the State. ‘ (5) For this Act, an Australian legal practitioner receives money when the practitioner— (a) obtains possession or control of it directly; or (b) obtains possession or control of it indirectly as a result of its delivery to an associate of the practitioner; or (c) is given a power enabling the practitioner to deal with it whether alone or with an associate. ‘ (6) In this section— “associate” of an Australian legal practitioner means— (a) a partner of the practitioner; or (b) an employee or agent of the practitioner. “corresponding law” means a law of another State that corresponds to the relevant provisions of this Act or, if a regulation is made declaring a law of the other State that corresponds to this Act, the corresponding law as declared for that other State.’. 4 Section 8(1)(b), from ‘ Practitioners Act’— omit, insert— ‘ Profession Act 2003 , chapter 2, part 6, division 2; 155 ’. 155 Legal Profession Act 2003 , chapter 2 (Engaging in legal practice), part 6 (Financial arrangements for those who may engage in legal practice in this jurisdiction), division 2 (Prescribed accounts)

253 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 1 (continued) 5 Section 8(1)(c)(iii), ‘ Legal Practitioners Act 1995 , part 2’ and footnote— omit, insert— ‘ Queensland Law Society Act 1952 , part 4B 156 ’. 6 Section 16(4)(c), from ‘ Practitioners Act ’ — omit, insert— ‘ Profession Act 2003 , section 124. 157 ’. 7 Section 24(2), ‘a an employee’— omit, insert— ‘an employee’. 8 Section 28B(2), ‘ Queensland Law Society Act 1952 , section 50A’ and footnote— omit, insert— ‘ Legal Profession Act 2003 , section 367 158 ’. 9 Section 31(8)(a)— omit, insert— ‘(a) a solicitor; or’. 10 Section 34(1), from ‘trustee who is’ to ‘ Society Act 1952 ’— omit, insert— ‘solicitor’. 156 Queensland Law Society Act 1952 , part 4B (Payment for work) 157 Legal Profession Act 2003 , section 124 (Deposits to prescribed account) 158 Legal Profession Act 2003 , section 367 (Duty of relevant entities to report suspected offences)

254 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 1 (continued) 11 Section 35(1), from ‘trustee who is’ to ‘ Society Act 1952 ’— omit, insert— ‘solicitor’.

255 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 2 AMENDMENTS OF LEGAL PRACTITIONERS ACT 1995, SECTION 58 section 396(1) 1 Section 58(1)(c)(ii), after ‘examinations’— insert— ‘before the commencement of the LegalProfessionAct2003 , section 402 159 ’. 2 Section 58(1)(e)(i), ‘this part’— omit, insert— ‘this section’. 3 Section 58(1), ‘as a solicitor’— omit, insert— ‘as a legal practitioner’. 4 Section 58(2)(a)(iv) and (v)— omit, insert— ‘(iv) the department;’. 5 Section 58(3), ‘as a solicitor pursuant to’— omit, insert— ‘as a legal practitioner under’. 159 Section 402 (Main purposes of ch 6, pt 5, div 9)

256 Legal Profession Act 2003 SCHEDULE 2 (continued) 6 Section 58(4)— omit, insert— ‘ (4) The admission rules are subject to this section.’. 7 Section 58(5), ‘ Legal Aid Act 1978 ’ and footnote— omit, insert— ‘ Legal Aid Queensland Act 1997 ’. 8 Section 58(5), from ‘is evidence’— omit, insert— ‘is evidence.’. 9 Section 58, as amended— relocate to schedule 3 of this Act. No. 97, 2003

257 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 3 LEGAL PRACTITIONERS ACT 1995, SECTION 58 AS AMENDED AND RELOCATED section 396(1)

258 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 4 AMENDMENT OF QUEENSLAND LAW SOCIETY ACT 1952 section 405 1 Section 3, deﬁnition “legal ombudsman”— omit. 2 Section 3— insert— ‘ “Australian lawyer” see the Legal Profession Act, schedule 5. “Australian legal practitioner” see the Legal Profession Act, schedule 5. “Brisbane registrar” see the Legal Profession Act, schedule 5. “clerk of the tribunal” , for part 2A, division 6A, see section 6ZAA. “commissioner” see the Legal Profession Act, schedule 5. “costs assessor” see section 6ZAA. “disciplinary body” see the Legal Profession Act, schedule 5. “discipline application” see the Legal Profession Act, schedule 5. “government legal ofﬁcer” see the Legal Profession Act, schedule 5. “incorporated legal practice” see the Legal Profession Act, schedule 5. “lawyer director” see the Legal Profession Act, schedule 5. “Legal Profession Act” means the Legal Profession Act 2003. “Legal Profession Fund” means the Legal Practitioner Interest on Trust Accounts Fund established under the Legal Profession Act, chapter 2, part 6. “legal profession rule” see the Legal Profession Act, schedule 5. “local lawyer” see the Legal Profession Act, schedule 5.

259 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 4 (continued) “local legal practitioner” means a local legal practitioner under the Legal Profession Act who holds a current local practising certiﬁcate granted or renewed by the law society under that Act, but does not include a government legal ofﬁcer engaged in government work. “local roll” see the Legal Profession Act, schedule 5.’. 3 Part 1, after section 3B— insert— ‘3C Application of Act to local legal practitioners ‘ (1) A reference in this Act to any of the following may include a local legal practitioner— (a) a practising practitioner; (b) a practitioner; (c) a solicitor. ‘ (2) Subsection (1) is subject to a provision that, after the commencement of this section, states that a term mentioned in that subsection is deﬁned in a particular way for the provision or another provision.’. 4 Section 4— insert— ‘ (8) In this section— “tribunal” includes the Legal Practice Tribunal established under the Legal Profession Act, section 246. 160 ’. 5 Section 5(6), after ‘this Act,’— insert— ‘and the Legal Profession Act’. 160 Section 246 (Establishment, members and chairperson of tribunal)

260 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 4 (continued) 6 Section 5A(1)(g), after ‘breach of any rule’— insert— ‘(other than a legal profession rule)’. 7 Section 5A(1)(hb)(ii), from ‘practitioner—’— omit, insert — ‘practitioner to the issue of a certiﬁcate that relates to any speciality within practice as a solicitor or conveyancer is subject;’ 8 Section 5A(1)(hc)— omit . 9 Section 5A(1)(hd), before ‘in whole or in part’— insert— ‘(other than a legal profession rule)’. 10 Section 5A— insert— ‘ (7A) Despite subsection (7), after the commencement of this subsection, the council may not refer a question to an entity mentioned in that subsection but may, under the Legal Profession Act, make a complaint to the commissioner about the failure.’. 11 Section 5A(12)(d)— omit . 12 After section 5A— insert—

261 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 4 (continued) ‘5AA No rules under section 5A(1) (hb), (hc) and (he) after commencement ‘ (1) On and after the commencement of this section, the council must not make rules for the purposes mentioned in section 5A(1)(hb), (hc) or (he). ‘ (2) Subsection (1) does not affect the validity of rules made for 1 or more of those purposes before that commencement and in force immediately before that commencement.’. 13 Section 5C— insert— ‘ (2) In this section— “the tribunal” includes a disciplinary body.’. 14 Section 5D— insert— ‘ (5) However, the council may not institute any action, complaint, information or proceeding under subsection (1), or proceedings under subsection (2), if the matter the subject of the action, complaint, information or proceeding under subsection (1), or proceedings under subsection (2), may be started under the Legal Profession Act.’. 15 After section 5E— insert— ‘5EA Complaints after commencement ‘ (1) Despite section 5E, after the commencement of this section, complaints about Australian lawyers, or employees of Australian lawyers, must be made under the Legal Profession Act. ‘ (2) However, subsection (1) does not prevent a complaint made under section 5E(1) that has started to be heard by the tribunal under its rules before the commencement of this section from being dealt with under this Act.’.

262 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 16 Section 5K— omit. SCHEDULE 4 (continued) 17 Section 5N(1), after ‘this part’— insert— ‘, or the Legal Profession Act,’. 18 Part 2A, before division 1— insert— ‘Division 1A—Application of part after commencement ‘5O Purpose of this division ‘The purpose of this division is to provide for matters relating to the tribunal on and after the commencement of this section. ‘5P Application of part ‘ (1) If a hearing has, under the tribunal’s rules, started in the tribunal on or before the commencement of this section, it must continue to be dealt with under this part. ‘ (2) However, for the application of this part to a hearing, a reference to the legal ombudsman is to be taken as a reference to the commissioner. ‘ (3) If a hearing has not, under the tribunal’s rules, started on or before the commencement of this section, the commissioner may make a discipline application under the Legal Profession Act to a disciplinary body in relation to the matter the subject of the complaint under this Act . ’. 19 Section 6R(1)(a) and (2), after ‘roll of solicitors’— insert— ‘or, if that roll is included in the local roll, the local roll’.

263 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 4 (continued) 20 Section 6T— insert— ‘ (4) This section is repealed on the commencement of the Legal Profession Act, section 156. 161 ’. 21 Part 2A, division 6A, before section 6ZA— insert— ‘6ZAA Deﬁnitions for div 6A ‘In this division— “clerk of the tribunal” means the Brisbane registrar. “cost assessor” means a person whose name, immediately before the commencement of this deﬁnition, appeared on the tribunal’s register of costs assessors. ‘6ZAB Clerk of tribunal to hand over register of assessors and related document ‘The person who is the clerk of the tribunal immediately before the commencement of this section must give to the clerk of the tribunal after the commencement the tribunal’s register of costs assessors and all related documents.’. 22 Section 6AA(3), ‘to the council or the legal ombudsman’— omit. 23 Part 3A, before section 36A— insert— 161 Section 156 (Pre-emptory removal of local legal practitioner’s name from local roll following removal in another jurisdiction)

264 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 4 (continued) ‘Division 1—Preliminary ‘36AA Relationship between divs 2 and 3 ‘ (1) Division 2 is subject to division 3. ‘ (2) The purpose of division 3 is to close the funds established under division 2 on the commencement of this section and to provide for matters relating to the closures.’. 24 After section 36A— insert— ‘Division 2—Contribution fund and grants fund’. 25 Part 3A, after section 36R— insert— ‘Division 3—Closure of contribution fund and grants fund ‘36S Closure of contribution fund and grants fund ‘ (1) On the commencement of this section— (a) the contribution fund and grants fund close; and (b) all moneys that were part of the contribution fund and grants fund become moneys of the Legal Profession Fund. ‘ (2) Despite the closures, entries may be made in the accounts for the contribution fund and grant fund for transactions completed before the commencement. ‘36T Obligation of society to pay moneys to Legal Practitioner Interest on Trust Accounts Fund ‘ (1) Under an arrangement with the chief executive, a total amount is payable as an amount for the fund consisting of the amount of each of the closing balances immediately before the commencement of this section for the following—

265 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 4 (continued) (a) the contribution fund; (b) the grants fund; (c) the society’s account called the Contributions Distribution Account kept by the society for amounts distributed to it under section 36E(b)(iii). 162 ‘ (2) For subsection (1), by the date stated in the arrangement or a later date that the chief executive allows, the society must arrange for transfer of the total amount to the account kept for the fund as mentioned in the Legal Profession Act, section 126(3). 163 ‘Division 4—Expiry of part ‘36U Expiry ‘This part expires 1 month after the commencement of this section.’. 26 Section 37— insert— ‘ (2) After the commencement of this subsection, practising certiﬁcates are to be issued under the Legal Profession Act.’. 27 Sections 38 and 39— omit. 28 Section 39A(1), (7), (8) and (9), after ‘sole practitioner’— insert— ‘before the commencement of the Legal Profession Act, section 406 164 ’. 162 Section 36E (Distributions from contribution fund) 163 Legal Profession Act 2003 , section 126 (Establishment of fund) 164 Legal Profession Act, section 406 (Transitional regulation-making power)

266 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 4 (continued) 29 Section 39A(7), before ‘section 41(1)(f)— insert — ‘the repealed’. 30 Sections 40, 40A, 41, 41A and 41B— omit. 31 Section 42(8), ‘section 41B(2) and’— omit . 32 Section 44— insert— ‘ (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to conduct happening after the commencement of this subsection.’. 33 Section 50(2), deﬁnition “ofﬁcial”— insert— ‘(f) the commissioner or the staff of the commission; and (g) an accountant, auditor or other professional consulted by the commissioner.’. 34 Section 50— insert— ‘ (5) If a provision of this Act that commences on or after the commencement of this subsection provides that a person is to give documents to the commissioner or the Brisbane registrar, the person must comply with the provision despite anything to the contrary in this section. ‘ (6) In this section— “excluded mortgages” see section 24A(3). “practitioner” includes the following—

267 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 4 (continued) (a) an Australian legal practitioner or an employee of the practitioner; (b) an incorporated legal practice or a lawyer director or employee of the practice.’. 35 Section 50A— omit. 36 Schedule— omit.

268 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 5 DICTIONARY section 4 “administration rule” see section 144(3). “admission rules” see section 24. “applicant for admission” see section 24. “application for admission” see section 28. “approved form” see section 378. 165 “Australian lawyer” see section 5. 166 “Australian legal practitioner” see section 6. 167 “Australian roll” means the local roll or an interstate roll. “bar association” means the Bar Association of Queensland (ACN 009 717 739). “barrister” — (a) for chapter 4, part 3—see section 267; and (b) for chapter 4, part 5—see section 303; and (c) otherwise—see section 7. “barristers rule” , for chapter 2, part 7, see section 133. “board” means the Legal Practitioners Admissions Board established under section 304. “Brisbane registrar” means the registrar under the SupremeCourtofQueensland Act 1991 for the Brisbane Supreme Court district. “certiﬁcate holder” means— (a) for a local practising certiﬁcate or an interstate practising certiﬁcate—the individual who is named in the certiﬁcate as the 165 Section 378 (Approved forms) 166 Section 5 (Meaning of terms involving “lawyer”) 167 Section 6 (Meaning of terms involving “legal practitioner”)

269 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 5 (continued) individual to whom the certiﬁcate has been granted or in relation to whom the certiﬁcate has been renewed; or (b) for a practising certiﬁcate that is cancelled—the individual who was the holder of the certiﬁcate when it was in force. “change” includes change by way of an addition, alteration, omission or substitution. “commission” see section 239. “commissioner” means an individual holding the appointment of the Legal Services Commissioner. “commissioner of police” , for chapter 5, part 1, see section 322. “committee” means the Legal Practice Committee established under section 268. “committee member” means an individual holding an appointment to the committee under section 269. “compensation order” , for chapter 3, part 6, see section 204. “complaint” means a complaint made under section 173. “conditions” means conditions, limitations or restrictions. “conduct” means conduct whether consisting of an act or omission. “consumer dispute” for chapter 3, part 3, see section 179. “conviction” see section 12. “corporation” see section 81. “corresponding authority” means— (a) an entity with functions or powers under a corresponding law; or (b) when used in the context of an entity with functions or powers under this Act—an entity with corresponding functions or powers under a corresponding law. “corresponding law” means the following— (a) a law of another jurisdiction that corresponds to the relevant provisions of this Act or, if a regulation is made declaring a law of the other jurisdiction that corresponds to this Act, the law declared under that regulation for that other jurisdiction;

270 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 5 (continued) (b) if the term is used in relation to a matter that happened before the commencement of the law of another jurisdiction that, under paragraph (a), is the corresponding law for the jurisdiction, a previous law applying to legal practice in the other jurisdiction. “corresponding tribunal” means a court or tribunal in another jurisdiction having functions and powers that include disciplining legal practitioners in that jurisdiction that correspond to a disciplinary body’s functions and powers under this Act. “costs assessor” see the Queensland Law Society Act 1952 , section 3. 168 “director” see section 81. “disciplinary action” , for chapter 3, part 8, see section 211. “disciplinary body” , in relation to a discipline application, means either of the following entities to which the commissioner makes the application— (a) the tribunal; (b) the committee, other than the committee exercising advisory functions as mentioned in chapter 4, part 3, division 4. “discipline application” see section 192(2). “discipline register” see section 212. “disqualiﬁed person” , for chapter 2, part 5, see section 81. “employee” , of an entity, means an individual who is employed by or in the entity whether or not— (a) the individual is employed on a full time, part time, temporary or casual basis; or (b) the individual is employed as a law clerk or articled clerk. “engaged in government work” , in relation to a government legal ofﬁcer, see section 9(2). “engage in legal practice” includes practise law. 168 Queensland Law Society Act 1952 , section 3 (Deﬁnitions)

271 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 5 (continued) “ﬁdelity fund” means the Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Guarantee Fund established under the Queensland Law Society Act 1952, part 3. 169 “foreign country” means— (a) a country other than Australia; or (b) a state, province or other part of a country other than Australia. “foreign law” means a law of a foreign country that corresponds to the relevant provisions of this Act, and includes a law of a foreign country that is declared under a regulation to correspond to this Act. “foreign roll” means an ofﬁcial roll of lawyers (whether admitted, practising or otherwise) kept in a foreign country, but does not include a roll prescribed under a regulation for this deﬁnition. “fund” , for chapter 2, part 6, see section 121. “government legal ofﬁcer” see section 9. “health assessor” see section 325. “home jurisdiction” , of an Australian legal practitioner, means the jurisdiction in which the practitioner’s only or most current Australian practising certiﬁcate was granted. “in-house legal services” mean legal services provided to a corporation by an individual employed by the corporation concerning a proceeding or transaction to which the corporation, or a related body corporate, is a party. “ILP authority” see section 81. “incorporated legal practice” see section 80. 170 “incorporated legal practice rule” see section 133. “indemnity rule” see section 144(4). “information notice” see section 13. 171 “insolvent under administration” means— 169 Queensland Law Society Act 1952 , part 3 (Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Guarantee Fund) 170 Section 80 (Meaning of “incorporated legal practice”) 171 Section 13 (Meaning of information notice)

272 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 5 (continued) (a) a person who is an undischarged bankrupt under the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cwlth) or the provisions of a foreign law that correspond to that Act; or (b) a person who has executed a deed of arrangement under the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cwlth), part X or the provisions of a foreign law that correspond to that Act, if the terms of the deed have not been fully complied with; or (c) a person whose creditors have accepted a composition under the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cwlth), part X or the provisions of a foreign law that correspond to that Act, if a ﬁnal payment has not been made under that composition; or (d) a person for whom a debt agreement has been made under the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cwlth), part IX or the provisions of a foreign law that correspond to that Act, if the debt agreement has not ended or has not been terminated. “interstate lawyer” see section 5. 172 “interstate legal practitioner” see section 6. 173 “interstate practising certiﬁcate” means a practising certiﬁcate granted under a corresponding law. “interstate roll” means a roll of legal practitioners kept under a corresponding law. “investigation” see section 332. “investigation matter” see section 182. “investigator” see section 332. “jurisdiction” means a State. “law ﬁrm” means a partnership consisting of Australian lawyers. “law practice” means— (a) an Australian lawyer who is a sole practitioner; or (b) a law ﬁrm; or 172 Section 5 (Meaning of terms involving “lawyer”) 173 Section 6 (Meaning of terms involving “legal practitioner”)

273 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 5 (continued) (c) an incorporated legal practice. “law practice employee” means an employee of a law practice engaged in the activities associated with the relevant practice. “law society” means the Queensland Law Society Incorporated as established under the Queensland Law Society Act 1952 , section 4. “lawyer director” — (a) in relation to an incorporated legal practice—see section 81; or (b) in relation to a law practice—means a lawyer director of a law practice that is an incorporated legal practice. “lay panel” means the panel established under section 254(1)(a). “Legal Practitioners Act” , for chapter 6, part 5, see section 381. “legal profession rule” see section 132. “legal services” means work done, or business transacted, in or associated with the ordinary course of legal practice. “local lawyer” see section 5. 174 “local legal practitioner” see section 6. 175 “local practising certiﬁcate” means a practising certiﬁcate, or another document about the renewal, granted by the law society or bar association under this Act. “local roll” see section 34(1). “misconduct” of a law practice employee means misconduct that consists of either an act or omission by the law practice employee. “ofﬁcer” , of a corporation, see section 81. “panel member” means an individual holding an appointment to the lay panel or the practitioner panel under chapter 4, part 2, division 3. “practical legal training” means either, or a combination of both, of the following— (a) legal training by participation in course work; 174 Section 5 (Meaning of terms involving “lawyer”) 175 Section 6 (Meaning of terms involving “legal practitioner”)

274 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 5 (continued) (b) legal training under the supervision of an Australian lawyer, whether involving articles of clerkship or otherwise. “practising certiﬁcate” means a practising certiﬁcate granted under this Act or a corresponding law. “practitioner panel” means the panel established under section 254(1)(b). “prescribed account” see section 121. “professional misconduct” see section 163. 176 “professional obligations” , of an Australian lawyer, see section 81. “QLS Act” , for chapter 6, part 5, see section 381. “qualiﬁed employee” means an employee of a law practice who is an Australian legal practitioner. “quashing a conviction” see section 12. “registrar” see the Supreme Court of Queensland Act 1991 , schedule 2. “regulatory authority” means— (a) in relation to another jurisdiction— (i) if there is only one regulatory authority for the other jurisdiction—that regulatory authority; or (ii) if there are separate regulatory authorities for the other jurisdiction for different branches of the legal profession or for persons who practise in a particular style of legal practice—the regulatory authority relevant to the branch or style concerned; or (b) otherwise—the law society or the bar association. “related body corporate” see section 81. “relevant authority” , for chapter 5, part 1, see section 322. “relevant law” means— (a) this Act; or (b) the Legal Practitioners Act 1995 as in force at any time before or after the commencement of this deﬁnition; or 176 Section 163 (Meaning of “professional misconduct”)

275 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 5 (continued) (c) the Queensland Law Society Act 1952 as in force at any time before or after the commencement of this deﬁnition; or (d) the Trust Accounts Act 1973 as in force at any time before or after the commencement of this deﬁnition. “relevant practice” means legal services provided by a law practice. “relevant regulatory authority” see section 40. “serious offence” see section 11. “show cause event” , in relation to a person, means— (a) a conviction for a serious offence or tax offence, whether or not— (i) the offence was committed in or outside this jurisdiction; or (ii) the offence was committed while the person was engaging in legal practice as an Australian lawyer; or (iii) other persons are prohibited from disclosing the identity of the offender; or (b) becoming an insolvent under administration. “show cause notice” , for chapter 2, see section 62. “sole practitioner” means an Australian lawyer who engages in legal practice on his or her own account. “solicitor” — (a) for chapter 2, part 6—see section 121; and (b) for chapter 4, part 3—see section 267; and (c) for chapter 4, part 5—see section 303; and (d) otherwise—see section 8. “solicitors complaints tribunal” see the Queensland Law Society Act 1952 , section 3. “solicitors rule” see section 133. “staff” , in relation to the ofﬁce of the commissioner, see section 240. “subject person” , for chapter 5, part 1, see section 322. “suitability matter” , in relation to an individual, see section 10.

276 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 5 (continued) “suitability report” , for chapter 5, part 1, see section 322. “supervised legal practice” means legal practice by an individual— (a) as an employed lawyer of a law practice if— (i) a least 1 partner, lawyer director or other employee of the law practice is an Australian lawyer who holds an unrestricted practising certiﬁcate; and (ii) the individual engages in legal practice under the supervision of an Australian lawyer mentioned in subparagraph (i); or (b) as a partner in a law ﬁrm if— (i) at least 1 other partner is an Australian lawyer who holds an unrestricted practising certiﬁcate; and (ii) the individual engages in legal practice under the supervision of an Australian lawyer mentioned in subparagraph (i); or (c) in a capacity approved under an administration rule. “Supreme Court” , for chapter 2, part 3, see section 24. “tax offence” means an offence under the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cwlth), whether committed in or outside this jurisdiction. “this jurisdiction” means this State. “tribunal” means the Legal Practice Tribunal established under section 246. “tribunal member” means a member of the tribunal constituting the tribunal to hear and decide a discipline application. “tribunal rules” see section 250. “trust account” , for chapter 2, part 6, see section 121. “unrestricted practising certiﬁcate” means an Australian practising certiﬁcate that— (a) is not subject to a condition under section 53 177 or a similar condition under a corresponding law; and 177 Section 53 (Statutory condition regarding legal practice as solicitor)

277 Legal Profession Act 2003 No. 97, 2003 SCHEDULE 5 (continued) (b) does not limit or is not subject to a condition that limits the holder to practise as or in the manner of a barrister; and (c) is not subject to another condition, other than a condition requiring the certiﬁcate holder to participate or complete continuing legal education or a condition prescribed under a regulation for this deﬁnition; and (d) for an interstate practising certiﬁcate—is not subject to a condition similar to a condition under section 53 178 and whose holder would not be subject to a condition under that section if the holder were to apply for and be granted a local practising certiﬁcate. “unsatisfactory professional conduct” see section 162. “unsupervised legal practice” means legal practice engaged in by an Australian legal practitioner who is entitled to engage in legal practice as a solicitor and whose practising certiﬁcate is not subject to a condition requiring the practitioner to complete a period of supervised legal practice as a solicitor. © State of Queensland 2003 178 Section 53 (Statutory condition regarding legal practice as solicitor)