Starting a law firm in the Australian Capital Territory
The ACT Law Society issues the certificate under the Legal Profession Act 2006, the lawyer chooses an approved insurer rather than joining a scheme, and the Society's own three-day workshop is a condition of the certificate. Here are the steps in order and what each costs in 2026-27.
You tell the Society on its practice establishment form before opening; it gives no number of days. The certificate application goes in at least two weeks before the Council's monthly approval date.
The steps in the Australian Capital Territory
1. Finish supervised legal practice
Section 50 of the Act bars unsupervised practice until the period in regulation 13 is complete: 18 months if your practical legal training was done principally under the supervision of an Australian lawyer, otherwise two years. The unrestricted certificate application takes a statutory declaration covering five years of employment and, for fewer than five years in practice, a supervisor's declaration.
2. Complete or undertake the Legal Practice Management Workshop
Under a Council resolution made under section 47, a private unrestricted certificate requires the Society's workshop, completed or undertaken within six months of the grant. The Society runs it three times a year over three days in person with full attendance required; the spring 2026 workshop runs 10 to 12 November at $1,500 including GST for members. Completing it does not of itself guarantee the certificate.
3. Arrange insurance with an approved insurer
Section 311 makes professional indemnity insurance compulsory and the certificate carries it as condition C4, but the ACT has no single scheme. The Society approves Lawcover and Dual Australia for any firm, LPLC for a firm with a Victorian office, Law Mutual (WA) for a WA office, Lexon for a Queensland office and QBE for community legal centres. You arrange cover directly and tell the Society. Premiums are set by the insurer and not published.
4. Apply for the unrestricted certificate
Through the Member Dashboard, surrendering your current certificate and lodging at least two weeks before the Council's monthly approval date. The 2026-27 fee for a private unrestricted certificate is $1,380 under the Solicitors Practising Fees Determination 2026, GST exempt, plus the $225 fidelity fund contribution under section 323, $1,605 in total; an in-house certificate is $1,380 and a government one $982. Fees are halved for the second half of the year, renewals open 1 April and are due 31 May.
5. Advise the Society before you open
The Society's opening-a-practice page lists advising the Society as the first step, on its Practice Form for the establishment of a law practice in the ACT. No number of days is given. An incorporated legal practice gives notice under section 104 of the Act on the Society's ILP establishment form, and a multi-disciplinary practice under section 136. Update the Member Dashboard with your practice areas once open.
6. Decide on trust money
If needed, open the general trust account at an approved bank, ANZ, Bendigo and Adelaide, Commonwealth, Macquarie, NAB, St George or Westpac, named as a law practice trust account, and notify the Society within 14 days under regulation 50 whether or not money has been deposited. Notify the signatories. The trust year ends 31 March: appoint a designated external examiner by 8 April, notify within a month, and lodge the report by 31 May. The statutory deposit is calculated on the Society's spreadsheet and paid by 30 June.
What it costs in 2026-27
The regulatory costs before rent, software and marketing.
| Item | Amount | Source, read 23 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Private unrestricted practising certificate | $1,380, GST exempt | Solicitors Practising Fees Determination 2026, ACT |
| Fidelity fund contribution | $225 | ACT Law Society, 2026-27 |
| Legal Practice Management Workshop | $1,500 including GST for members | ACT Law Society, spring 2026 |
| Professional indemnity insurance | Not published; set by the approved insurer | Lawcover, Dual Australia and others the Society approves |
As published on 23 October 2026. Certificate fees are pro rata by half year. The Society's page does not state whether the $225 contribution attracts GST.
If the practice will hold client money
Only if needed. Open the account with an approved ADI, notify the Society within 14 days, appoint an external examiner by 8 April, and calculate the statutory deposit by 30 June.
The part the regulator does not cover
The Society's three-day workshop covers running a practice, and its establishment form takes the practice's details. A Canberra sole practitioner's phone during a hearing is the part neither covers. Our phone and intake checklist for a new law firm covers the number, who answers when you are in court, the questions the first call has to capture, and where the record of each call goes. EzyBiz LEX was built for a practice at this stage: an Australian business number in an app on the phone you already carry,
Questions about starting a law firm in the Australian Capital Territory
Yes, on an undertaking. The Council's resolution requires the workshop to be completed or undertaken within six months of the unrestricted certificate being granted, so a new principal can open and attend the next intake, which the Society runs three times a year over three days.
Any the Society approves: Lawcover and Dual Australia for any practice, and LPLC, Law Mutual (WA) and Lexon for a practice that also has an office in Victoria, Western Australia or Queensland. There is no ACT scheme and the Society does not publish premiums, so the quote is the first number.
The Society's page says to advise it on the practice establishment form before opening and gives no period. The unrestricted certificate itself needs to be lodged at least two weeks before the Council's monthly approval date, so a month before opening is a safe lead.
The Society's trust pages say to open a trust account if needed and list no nil declaration form, so none was found. Confirm with the Society; an annual declaration is required in some other states.
Primary sources and further reading
Every section reference and figure in this guide traces to one of these. They are listed so you can check the guide rather than take its word for it.
- Opening an ACT law practice, ACT Law Society. The step list and the forms.
- Apply for an unrestricted practising certificate, ACT Law Society. The statutory declaration, the workshop condition and the two-week lead.
- Practising certificate conditions, ACT Law Society. Section 50, conditions C3 and C4.
- Legal Practice Management Workshop, spring 2026, ACT Law Society. The fee and dates.
- Professional indemnity insurance, ACT Law Society. Section 311 and the approved insurers.
- Trust accounts, general information, ACT Law Society. Approved banks, the 14-day notice and the examination dates.
- Renew your practising certificate, ACT Law Society. 2026-27 fees and the $225 contribution.
- Legal Profession (Solicitors Practising Fees) Determination 2026, ACT legislation. The $1,380 fee and its GST exemption.
- Legal Profession Regulation 2007, ACT legislation. Regulations 10, 13 and 50.
- Legal Profession Act 2006, ACT legislation.
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