Western Australian Consolidated Acts Western Australian Consolidated Acts (1) An Australian
lawyer may apply to the Board for the grant or renewal of a local practising
certificate if eligible to do so under this section.
(2) An Australian
lawyer is eligible to apply for the grant or renewal of a local practising
certificate if the lawyer complies with any regulations and legal profession
rules relating to eligibility for the practising certificate and
if —
(a) in
the case of a lawyer who is not an Australian legal practitioner at the time
of making the application —
(i)
the lawyer reasonably expects to be engaged in Australian
legal practice solely or principally in this jurisdiction during the currency
of the certificate or renewal applied for; or
(ii)
if subparagraph (i) does not apply to the lawyer or
it is not reasonably practicable to determine whether it applies to the
lawyer — the lawyer’s place of residence in Australia is this
jurisdiction or the lawyer does not have a place of residence in Australia;
or
(b) in
the case of a lawyer who is an Australian legal practitioner at the time of
making the application —
(i)
the jurisdiction in which the lawyer engages in legal
practice solely or principally is this jurisdiction; or
(ii)
the lawyer holds a current local practising certificate
and engages in legal practice in another jurisdiction under an arrangement
that is of a temporary nature; or
(iii)
the lawyer reasonably expects to be engaged in legal
practice solely or principally in this jurisdiction during the currency of the
certificate or renewal applied for; or
(iv)
if subparagraph (i), (ii) or (iii) does
not apply to the lawyer or it is not reasonably practicable to determine
whether subparagraph (i), (ii) or (iii) applies to the
lawyer — the lawyer’s place of residence in Australia is this
jurisdiction or the lawyer does not have a place of residence in Australia.
(3) For the purposes
of subsection (2)(b), the jurisdiction in which an Australian lawyer
engages in legal practice solely or principally is to be decided by reference
to the lawyer’s legal practice during the certificate period current at
the time —
(a) the
application is made; or
(b) in
the case of a late application — the application should have been
made.
(4) An Australian
lawyer is not eligible to apply for the grant or renewal of a local practising
certificate in respect of a financial year if the lawyer would also be the
holder of another Australian practising certificate for that year, but this
subsection does not limit the factors determining ineligibility to apply for
the grant or renewal of a local practising certificate.
(5) An Australian
lawyer must not apply for the grant or renewal of a local practising
certificate if the lawyer is not eligible to make the application.
(6) An Australian
lawyer who —
(a)
engages in legal practice solely or principally in this jurisdiction during a
financial year; and
(b)
reasonably expects to engage in legal practice solely or principally in this
jurisdiction in the following financial year,
must apply for the
grant or renewal of a local practising certificate in respect of the following
financial year.
(7)
Subsection (6) does not apply to an interstate legal practitioner who
applied for the grant or renewal of an interstate practising certificate on
the basis that the practitioner reasonably expected to engage in legal
practice solely or principally in this jurisdiction under an arrangement that
is of a temporary nature.
(8) The exemption
provided by subsection (7) ceases to operate at the end of the period
prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this subsection.
(9) A reference in
this section to engaging in legal practice principally in this or any other
jurisdiction applies only to legal practice in Australia and, accordingly, an
Australian lawyer who is engaged or expects to be engaged in legal practice
principally in a foreign country is nevertheless eligible to apply for the
grant or renewal of a local practising certificate if the lawyer otherwise
meets the requirements of this section.
(10) An Australian
lawyer is also eligible to apply for the grant or renewal of a local
practising certificate if the lawyer is of a class of description prescribed
by the regulations. The regulations may provide that the Board has a
discretion as to whether or not to grant or renew a local practising
certificate to a person in his or her capacity as an Australian lawyer of that
class or description.