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How to renew a Practising Certificate

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

The renewal period for 2023/24 opens on 27 March. Please see the LSB Online FAQs for answers to frequently asked questions.

How to apply

Login to your LSB Online account and follow the prompts. The application process explains all the information we need from you, and the fees you have to pay.

View the 'Renewing my practising certificate' user guide to help you with your application.

Fees

There are three types of fees that may apply to your practising certificate. These are:

Please note: we can't process your application if you have not paid your fees. You cannot practise law without a current practising certificate.

Practising certificate fees for the 2023-24 practising year

The practising certificate fees for the 2023-24 practising year (from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024) are listed below.  

How are payments made?

All payments are made through LSB Online and can be made by credit card or BPay. Organisations are no longer able to make bulk payments for their lawyers. We accept Visa, Master Card and Amex.

For assistance with paying practising certificate fees, please contact us via our Lawyer Enquiry form.

How much do you need to pay?

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

Fees are scaled on a pro rata basis. Your fee will be based on when your certificate commences. Note: Fees do not attract GST.

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

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

Practising certificate type 
(select which certificate type applies to you)

Commencing between
1 July 2023 – 30 Sept 2023

Commencing between
1 Oct 2023 – 31 Dec 2023

Commencing between
  1 Jan 2024 – 31 Mar 2024

Commencing between
1 Apr 2024 –30 Jun 2024

Principal of a law practice authorised to receive trust money (includes foreign lawyers)

$669

$513

$342

$171

Principal of a law practice not authorised to receive trust money (includes foreign lawyers)

$467

$357

$238

$119

Employee of a law practice with or without trust money authorisation (includes foreign lawyers)

$436

$334

$223

$111

Barrister

$378

$289

$193

$96

Corporate legal practitioner

$262

$201

$134

$67

Principal legal practitioner of CLS with or without trust money authorisation

$240

$183

$122

$61

Employee legal practitioner of CLS (includes foreign lawyers)

$240

$183

$122

$61

Government legal practitioner

$240

$183

$122

$61

Volunteer at a CLS / pro bono (includes foreign lawyers)

Nil

Nil

Nil

Nil

 

Practising certificate fees for the 2022-23 practising year

The practising certificate fees for the 2022-23 practising year (from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023) are listed below.  

Practising certificate type 
(select which certificate type applies to you)

Commencing between
1 July 2022 – 30 Sept 2022

Commencing between
1 Oct 2022 – 31 Dec 2022

Commencing between
  1 Jan 2023 – 31 Mar 2023

Commencing between
1 Apr 2023 –30 Jun 2023

Principal of a law practice authorised to receive trust money (includes foreign lawyers)

$656

$492

$328

$164

Principal of a law practice not authorised to receive trust money (includes foreign lawyers)

$458

$343

$229

$114

Employee of a law practice with or without trust money authorisation (includes foreign lawyers)

$428

$321

$214

$107

Barrister

$371

$278

$185

$92

Corporate legal practitioner

$257

$192

$128

$64

Principal legal practitioner of CLS with or without trust money authorisation

$235

$176

$117

$58

Employee legal practitioner of CLS (includes foreign lawyers)

$235

$176

$117

$58

Government legal practitioner

$235

$176

$117

$58

Volunteer at a CLS / pro bono (includes foreign lawyers)

Nil

Nil

Nil

Nil

Fidelity fund contributions for the 2023-24 year

There are different fidelity fund fee requirements for Victorian lawyers, foreign lawyers and approved barristers’ clerks. See below for the fee category that applies to you.

Please note: where we refer to the amount of trust money handled below, we do not include ‘controlled money’ or ‘transit money’ that your practice may handle.

Trust money received for year ending 31 October 2022 If you or your law practice received $0 - $750,000 in trust money If you or your law practice received more than $750,000 in trust money
Principal, employee or foreign lawyer authorised to receive trust money  $310 $616
Principal NOT authorised to receive trust money  $310 $616
Employee NOT authorised to receive trust money $150 $150
Foreign lawyer NOT authorised to receive trust money $150 $150
Approved barristers’ clerks $310 $616


 

 

 

 

Exempt lawyers

  • You do not have to pay a contribution if you are a barrister, a government lawyer, a corporate lawyer, an interstate lawyer, an employee or volunteer of a community legal service, or a principal or employee of a law practice that does not handle trust money.

Exempt foreign lawyers

  • You do not have to pay a contribution if you hold a registration certificate that does not authorise you to receive trust money, and you work for a law practice that is not authorised to receive trust money.
  • You do not have to pay a contribution if you hold a registration certificate that does not authorise you to receive trust money and you are not, and reasonably expect not to be, an associate of a law practice.

If you are a lawyer working in private practice or for a community legal service, you must be covered by a PII policy before you can practise law in Victoria. Corporate and government lawyers do not need to hold PII, except under certain circumstances.

Please view our professional indemnity insurance page for more information.

Deadlines and surcharges

You must renew by 30 June. If you don't renew by 30 June, you will need to apply for a new practising certificate. You will incur a 200% surcharge on the practising certificate fee if you apply between 1 July and 30 September. We may also ask you for a declaration that you have not practised law since your last certificate expired. We may refund all or part of a surcharge paid if there are special circumstances. 

We cannot backdate practising certificates.

Not renewing?

If you don’t intend to continue to practise law, please log in to LSB Online and complete the ‘Not renewing’ form. This will take you off our follow-up and reminder mailing lists.

Need help with your renewal?

We have developed a range of resources to assist you to renew. Please visit the LSB Online resources page for more information.

Renewing my practising certificate

Watch this video to find out how to renew a practising certificate
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