CLE Requirements for NSW Lawyers
The mandatory continuing legal education (CLE) requirements are different for barristers and solicitors in New South Wales. Click on the links below to find out more about the rules for:
NSW Solicitors
Law Society of NSW’s mandatory CLE scheme is set out in full in Rule 42 of the Solicitors’ Rules and Regulation 176 of the Legal Profession Regulation 2005. Complying with the requirements of the CLE scheme is a mandatory condition for the renewal of a NSW practising certificate.
CPD Activities
Under the Law Society of NSW’s CLE scheme, a legal CLE activity must:
- be of significant intellectual or practical content and must deal primarily with matters directly related to the practice of law;
- be conducted by persons who are qualified by practical or academic experience in the subject covered;
- be relevant to a practitioner's immediate or long term needs in relation to the practitioner's professional development and to the practice of law;
A legal CLE activity must consist of one of the activities set out in Rule 42.1.1 of the Solicitors’ Rules to comply with the Law Society of NSW’s CLE Scheme.
LawCPD’s online legal CLE courses are classified as an online or website based program under Rule 42.1.1. This means that NSW practitioners can earn 1 legal CLE unit per hour and all 10 legal CLE units annually by completing LawCPD’s online legal CLE courses.
Annual Requirements
According the Law Society of NSW’s CLE scheme, practitioners must earn 10 legal CLE units every CLE year (1 April – 31 March annually).
NSW practitioners must earn a minimum of one unit from each of the following three mandatory fields:
- Ethics and Professional Responsibility;
- Practice Management and Business Skills; and
- Professional Skills.
Practitioners may determine which field a legal CLE activity fits according to the context and content of the activity. LawCPD has allocated fields (or competency areas) to each course on the website to assist practitioners with this task.
As per Regulation 176 of the Legal Profession Regulation 2005, NSW practitioners must also earn at least one unit from one of the following areas every three years:
- Equal employment opportunity;
- Discrimination and harassment;
- Occupational health and safety law;
- Employment law.
LawCPD does not currently have any online legal CLE courses which satisfy the requirements of Regulation 176.
Record Keeping and Auditing
Under the Law Society of NSW’s CLE scheme, practitioners must maintain a record of their own legal CLE activities. Practitioners should also keep supporting documentation of their legal CLE activities.
Practitioners will be required to declare whether or not they have complied with the Law Society of NSW’s CLE scheme when they renew their practising certificates.
The Law Society of NSW conducts an annual CLE audit of practitioners’ CLE records to monitor compliance with the CLE scheme. Practitioners who are chosen as part of the audit are required to submit details of their legal CLE activities to establish proof of compliance with the Solicitors’ Rules and Legal Profession Regulation 2005.
LawCPD provides practitioners with a personalised page (MyCPD) which tracks all their learning in real time and provides a record of all legal CLE units earned through LawCPD. Practitioners can print a copy of this page and provide it to the Law Society of NSW in the event that they are audited for compliance with the CLE scheme.
LawCPD also provides printable certificates for each course completed which can be downloaded from the MyCPD page. These certificates may also be provided to prove compliance with the CLE scheme if the practitioner is audited by the Law Society of NSW.
Further Information
For full details of the Law Society of NSW’s CLE scheme and the requirements for NSW practitioners, visit the Law Society of NSW website.
NSW Barristers
The NSW Bar Association’s mandatory CLE scheme is set out in full on the Bar Association home page. Under this scheme, barristers are required to earn 10 legal CLE units each year.
CPD Activities
Under the NSW Bar Association’s CLE scheme, a legal CLE activity must be:
- of significant intellectual or practical content and must deal primarily with matters directly related to the practice of law;
- conducted by persons who are qualified by practical or academic experience in the subject covered; and
- relevant to a barrister’s immediate or long term needs in relation to the their professional development as a barrister and practice of the law.
A legal CLE activity may be a face-to-face activity or an individual professional development activity. Barristers may earn 10 legal CLE points from face-to-face activities, and a maximum of 6 legal CLE points from individual professional development activities.
LawCPD’s online legal CLE course are classified as an individual professional development activity under Rule 13 of the NSW Bar Association’s CLE scheme, as they involve active engagement in online legal programmes. This means that NSW barristers can earn 1 legal CLE unit per hour and up to 6 legal CLE units annually by completing LawCPD’s online legal CLE courses.
The NSW Bar Association has undertaken that it will accredit LawCPD's courses on a post-course completion basis. This means that barristers who are members of the NSW Bar Association who complete LawCPD courses will need to contact the Professional Development Department directly to get this activity accredited.
Annual Requirements
According the NSW Bar Association’s CLE scheme, barristers must earn 10 legal CLE points every CLE year (1 April – 31 March annually).
NSW barristers must earn a minimum of one unit from each of the following four mandatory strands:
- S1: Ethics and Regulation of the Profession;
- S2: Management;
- S3: Substantive Law, Practice and Procedure, and Evidence; and
- S4: Advocacy, Mediation, and other Barristers’ Skills.
LawCPD’s online legal CLE courses are classified as an individual professional development activity, which means that they do not count towards any of the mandatory strands.
As per Regulation 176 of the Legal Profession Regulation 2005, NSW barristers must earn at least one unit from one of the following areas every three years:
- Equal employment opportunity;
- Discrimination and harassment;
- Occupational health and safety law;
- Employment law.
LawCPD does not currently have any online legal CLE courses which satisfy the requirements of Regulation 176.
Record Keeping and Auditing
Under the NSW Bar Association’s CLE scheme, barristers must maintain a record of their own legal CLE activities. Barristers should also keep supporting documentation of their legal CLE activities.
Barristers will be required to declare whether or not they have complied with the NSW Bar Association’s CLE scheme when they renew their practising certificates.
LawCPD provides barristers with a personalised page (MyCPD) which tracks all their learning in real time and provides a record of all legal CLE units earned through LawCPD. Barristers can print a copy of this page and provide it to the NSW Bar Association in the event that they are audited for compliance with the CLE scheme.
LawCPD also provides printable certificates for each module completed which can be downloaded from the MyCPD page. These certificates may also be provided to prove compliance with the CLE scheme if the barrister is audited by the NSW Bar Association.
Further Information
For full details of the NSW Bar Association’s CLE scheme and the requirements for NSW barristers, visit the NSW Bar Association website.
