Starting a law firm in Victoria
The Legal Services Board and Commissioner issues the certificate, LPLC insures the practice, and the Board needs 14 days' notice of any new practice. Here are the steps in order, what each costs in 2026-27, and where each fact comes from.
A first-time principal completes an approved practice management course first. A practice that will not handle trust money pays the lower fee and no fidelity fund contribution; one that will pays $348 to the fund as well.
The steps in Victoria
1. Have the supervised practice condition removed
Supervised legal practice runs 18 months or two years depending on the admission pathway, pro rata if part time. A lawyer with the condition cannot generally apply for a principal certificate. Apply through LSB Online with your supervisor's letter; the Board says it takes several weeks.
2. Show the skills of a principal
Under the Board's policy for grants from 1 January 2019, a first-time principal, or one who has not held a principal certificate for more than three of the last ten years, must show skills in financial administration, governance and risk, planning and staff management. The usual route is an approved practice management course from the Law Institute of Victoria, Leo Cussen or the College of Law, and the provider tells the Board directly. Leo Cussen's August 2026 intake was $1,995 early bird or $2,200 with tax, over 15 to 20 hours online and three livestreamed days. A lawyer with equivalent experience can instead ask the Board to accept a statutory declaration and supporting letters.
3. Register the practice at least 14 days before you start
A sole practitioner or firm lodges the Notification of New Law Practice through the Board's Lawyer Enquiry Form at least 14 days before providing legal services; an incorporated legal practice lodges the ILP version, and an unincorporated practice its own. The Board issues an entity ID. Register a business name with ASIC if the practice will not trade under your own name.
4. Take the entity ID to LPLC
LPLC issues a certificate of insurance against the entity ID, and registration is complete only when you return it to the Board. The 2026-27 premium is set by the previous year's gross fee income, with a new practice rated on its estimate: $267.18 for nil income, $449.61 for up to $19,999, $1,066.36 for $20,000 to $39,999, $2,037.39 for $40,000 to $59,999, $3,353.27 for $60,000 to $79,999 and $5,011.67 for $80,000 to $99,999, all including GST and stamp duty, and a percentage of income above $100,000.
5. Apply for the principal practising certificate
Through LSB Online, once the practice is registered and insured. Choose the certificate authorised to receive trust money, $723 for 2026-27, or the one not authorised, $504, both without GST and pro rata for a later start. The trust-authorised version needs an approved trust account course or equivalent experience first. The fidelity fund contribution is $348 for a principal of a practice that received up to $750,000 in trust money in the year to 31 October 2025, and nothing for a practice that handles none.
6. Set up trust money if authorised
Open the general trust account at one of the Board's approved banks, lodge the opening form, and appoint an external examiner from the Board's register within a month of first receiving trust money. The Board then has the Commonwealth Bank open a statutory deposit account linked to the trust account, with the deposit calculated quarterly. The trust year runs 1 April to 31 March, with the examiner's report due by 31 May through LSB Online.
What it costs in 2026-27
The regulatory costs before rent, software and marketing.
| Item | Amount | Source, read 23 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Principal practising certificate, authorised to receive trust money | $723, no GST | VLSB+C, 2026-27 |
| Principal practising certificate, not authorised | $504, no GST | VLSB+C, 2026-27 |
| Fidelity fund contribution | $348 with trust money up to $750,000; none without trust money | VLSB+C, 2026-27 |
| Professional indemnity insurance | $267.18 for nil fee income, rising to $5,011.67 at $80,000 to $99,999, including GST and stamp duty | LPLC, 2026-27 |
| Practice management course | $1,995 early bird or $2,200 at Leo Cussen, tax included | Leo Cussen, August 2026 intake |
As published on 23 October 2026. Certificate fees are pro rata: $557 or $388 from 1 October, $371 or $259 from 1 January, $185 or $129 from 1 April.
If the practice will hold client money
Only if your certificate authorises it. Open the account with an approved ADI, lodge the opening form, appoint an external examiner within a month of first receiving trust money, and the Board opens a statutory deposit account at the Commonwealth Bank.
The part the regulator does not cover
The Board's 14 days' notice and LPLC's certificate get the practice registered. What the Board does not ask is which number you gave the first client, or who answers it while you are in the Magistrates' Court. 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 Victoria
At least 14 days, for a sole practitioner, a firm, an incorporated legal practice or an unincorporated one, each on its own form through the Board's Lawyer Enquiry Form. Registration is not complete until LPLC's certificate of insurance has been returned to the Board, so allow for that in the 14 days.
Yes, if you can show the Board the skills another way. The policy lets an applicant lodge a request to demonstrate the necessary skills with a statutory declaration, a certificate of fitness and letters from an insurer or auditor. The course is the usual route and the one the Board's FAQ describes.
The certificate is $504 instead of $723, there is no fidelity fund contribution instead of $348, and there is no trust account, external examiner or statutory deposit to manage. Transit money and controlled money rules still apply, and you cannot receive trust money until the certificate is varied.
The Board's approved list on its opening-a-trust-account page: Macquarie, ANZ, Bendigo, Bank of Melbourne and St George, Commonwealth Bank, NAB and Westpac. The statutory deposit account is opened by the Board at the Commonwealth Bank.
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.
- Becoming a principal lawyer, Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner. The skills test, the course and the alternative.
- Applying for a principal practising certificate, Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner. Approved providers and the LSB Online process.
- Setting up a law practice, Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner. The 14-day notices and the entity ID to LPLC flow.
- Supervised legal practice, Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner.
- Practising certificate fees, Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner. 2026-27 and 2025-26.
- Fidelity fund contributions, Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner. 2026-27.
- Opening a trust account, step by step, Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner. Approved banks, the external examiner and the statutory deposit account.
- Solicitor premiums 2026-27, Legal Practitioners' Liability Committee.
- Practice Management Course, August 2026, Leo Cussen Centre for Law. The fee.
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