Overseas Applicants
Practitioners who have been admitted overseas, or who have not been admitted overseas but hold qualifications obtained outside Australia which are recognised as qualifying them to be admitted in an overseas jurisdiction, may apply to the Board of Examiners (Board) pursuant to the Rules of the Legal Practitioners Education and Admission Council 2018 (LPEAC Rules 2018) for a direction as to what additional (if any) academic, practical and English language requirements must be complied with in order to satisfy the requirements for admission in South Australia.
Assessments for South Australian applicants are completed by the Victorian Legal Admissions Board (VLAB). Applications for assessment are to be made directly to VLAB. Information regarding the application process can be located on their website.
Once VLAB have completed their assessment (which can take up to 4-6 weeks) they will provide it to the Society, who will then reach out to you to confirm receipt and advise you to begin making your application to the Board of Examiners.
To make your application to the Board of Examiners you must complete a statutory declaration and provide annexures as required.
If you have not been admitted overseas please use this template Statutory Declaration. You will need to ensure that you have read and understood LPEAC Rules 2018 r16 & r18.
If you have been admitted overseas please use this template Statutory Declaration. You will need to ensure that you have read and understood LPEAC Rules 2018 r17 & r18.
Once you have completed your application, please email it to admissions@lawsocietysa.asn.au for checking.
If your application does not require any corrections, then it will be placed before the Board of Examiners for consideration at their next available meeting. Please ensure that you familiarise yourself with the application cut off dates and Board of Examiners meeting dates located on our admissions page.
The Law Society will contact you within 5 business days after the meeting of the Board to advise you of the outcome. You will need to retain the outcome letter as it is required to be exhibited in your application for admission.
All overseas applicants should expect to complete some academic and/or practical qualifications before being entitled to apply for admission. Many overseas applicants will be required to complete academic subjects in all areas of knowledge referred to in Appendix A of the LPEAC Rules 2018, and practical subjects in all areas of knowledge referred to in Appendix B of the LPEAC Rules 2018.
All overseas applicants whose first language is not English should expect to be required to complete IELTS testing to the required level of competency.
The Board will tell you the time within which you need to complete the requirements and apply for admission. You will need to apply to the Board for an extension of time if you will not be able to comply with the Board's direction within the allocated timeframe.
Once all prescribed subjects/testing have been completed within the prescribed timeframe, you may then apply for admission in South Australia.