New South Wales Consolidated Acts

LEGAL PROFESSION ACT 2004 - SECT 24

24 Eligibility for admission

(1) A person is eligible for admission only if the person is a natural person aged 18 years or over and:

(a) the person has attained:

(i) approved academic qualifications, or

(ii) corresponding academic qualifications, and

(b) the person has satisfactorily completed:

(i) approved practical legal training requirements, or

(ii) corresponding practical legal training requirements.

(2) In this section:
"approved academic qualifications" means academic qualifications that are approved, under the admission rules, for admission to the legal profession in this jurisdiction.
"approved practical legal training requirements" means legal training requirements that are approved, under the admission rules, for admission to the legal profession in this jurisdiction.
"corresponding academic qualifications" means academic qualifications that would qualify the person for admission to the legal profession in another jurisdiction if the Admission 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 person for admission to the legal profession in another jurisdiction if the Admission 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.

(3) The admission rules must not require a person to satisfactorily complete before admission a period of supervised training that exceeds in length a period or periods equivalent to one full-time year (as determined in accordance with the admission rules).

(4) The Admission Board may exempt a person from the requirements of subsection (1) (a) or (b) or both if satisfied that the person has:

(a) sufficient academic qualifications, or

(b) sufficient relevant experience in legal practice or relevant service with a government department or government agency,

or both so as to render the person eligible for admission, whether the qualifications or experience were obtained wholly or partly in Australia or overseas.

(4A) An exemption under subsection (4) may be given unconditionally or subject to such conditions relating to the obtaining of further academic qualifications or further legal training as the Admission Board thinks appropriate.

(5) For the purposes of subsection (2), the Admission Board may satisfy itself regarding the minimum criteria for the approval of academic qualifications, or legal training requirements, for admission in another jurisdiction by considering appropriate advice from an authority of the other jurisdiction that those criteria were established consistently with relevant agreed standards, and accordingly the Admission Board need not examine (in detail or at all) the content of courses of legal study or legal training requirements prescribed in the other jurisdiction. The regulations may identify or provide a means of identifying those agreed standards.