CPD Requirements for Queensland lawyers
The mandatory continuing professional development (CPD) requirements are different for barristers and solicitors in Queensland. Click on the links below to find out more about the rules for:
Queensland Solicitors
The Qld Law Society’s mandatory CPD scheme is set out in full in Part 6 of the Queensland Law Society Administration Rule 2005. Failure to comply with the requirements of the CPD scheme may amount to unsatisfactory professional conduct and/or professional misconduct under the Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld).
CPD Activities
Under the Qld Law Society’s CPD scheme, a CPD 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; and
- be relevant to a legal practitioner’s immediate or long term needs in relation to the practitioner’s professional development and to the practice of law.
A CPD activity must consist of one of the activities set out in clause 48(2) of the Queensland Law Society Administration Rule 2005 to comply with the Qld Law Society’s CPD scheme.
LawCPD’s online legal CPD courses are classified as a multimedia or website based program under clause 48(2). This means that Queensland practitioners can earn 1 CPD point per hour and all 10 CPD points annually by completing LawCPD’s online legal CPD courses.
Annual Requirements
According the Qld Law Society’s CPD scheme, practitioners must earn a minimum of 10 CPD points every CPD year (1 April – 31 March annually).
Queensland practitioners must earn a minimum of one point in each of the following three mandatory core areas:
- Practical Legal Ethics;
- Practice Management and Business Skills; and
- Professional Skills.
Although it is ultimately up to practitioners to identify which core area applies to a CPD activity, LawCPD has allocated core areas to each course to assist practitioners with this task.
Record Keeping and Auditing
Under the Qld Law Society’s CPD scheme, practitioners must maintain a record of their CPD activities. Practitioners must retain some supporting documentation to support their CPD record.
Practitioners will be required to declare whether or not they have complied with Part 6 (Continuing Professional Development) of the Queensland Law Society Administration Rule 2005 when they renew their practising certificates.
The Qld Law Society conducts annual random audits of practitioners’ CPD records to monitor compliance with the CPD scheme. If a practitioner is selected for audit, they will need to provide supporting documentation to the Qld Law Society to verify that they have complied with the CPD scheme.
LawCPD provides practitioners with a personalised page (MyCPD) which tracks all their learning in real time and provides a record of all CPD points earned through LawCPD. Practitioners can print a copy of this page and provide it to the Qld Law Society in the event that they are audited for compliance with the CPD 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 CPD scheme if the practitioner is audited by the Qld Law Society.
Further Information
For full details of the Qld Law Society’s CPD scheme and the requirements for Queensland practitioners, visit the Qld Law Society’s website.
Queensland Barristers
Currently, Queensland barristers are not able to earn CPD points by completing LawCPD’s online legal CPD courses.
