Starting a law firm in Western Australia

Two years by default, including for graduates of practical legal training, or 18 months after 12 months of articles or registered workplace training. The Board can reduce it under section 49(4) for practice overseas or in New Zealand. Apply to remove the condition on Form 5.

Once supervision is lifted, the Board imposes the course condition under section 53. Complete the College of Law's accredited Western Australian course and apply on Form 12 to revoke the condition, or apply on Form 13 to vary it for up to six months and start while completing the course. The Board expects you to start as a principal within two years of finishing, and the course counts for the full ten CPD points. The College does not publish the WA fee.

Law Mutual (WA) is the Law Society's compulsory arrangement, continued by the Application Act. Its 2026-27 booklet says a new practice must apply and pay before it provides legal services, and cover takes effect only when the invoice is paid. The contribution is a fixed $236 for nil fee income, 4.27% of the first $50,000, 3.64% of the next $50,000, 1.20% to $250,000 and lower rates above, plus GST; the booklet's example of $200,000 in fee income comes to $5,391 before discounts. Cover is $2 million a claim. Law Mutual tells the Board when you are covered.

Form 11 is your notice of intention to commence as a principal, asking for the course position, the start date and the trust arrangements. Form 7B is the notice of a new law practice for a sole practitioner or partnership, with the practice name, ABN, addresses, start date and the names of its practitioners. Both go to the Board before you start; neither states a number of days. An incorporated legal practice lodges Form 7A at least 14 days before, under section 104 of the Uniform Law.

Through the Board's Service Hub on Form 1. The fee is $1,250 for every category, plus $50 to the Solicitors' Guarantee Fund and $30 to the Legal Services Council for a principal or employee of a law practice, $1,330 in total and GST exempt; half the fee for a start from 1 January. The Board aims to decide a new grant within 30 days of a complete application. The certificate carries either the trust-authorised condition or the not-authorised one.

A practice receiving trust money needs a principal whose certificate authorises it. Open the general trust account at an approved bank, named as a law practice trust account, and lodge the Board's opening notification within 14 days with a bank statement. Appoint an external examiner who has completed the Legal Services Council's course and notify the Board. The examination year runs 1 April to 31 March; the 2026 report was due by 2 June. No statutory deposit requirement was found on the Board's pages.

Western Australia keeps Australian Western Standard Time, eight hours ahead of UTC, all year, with no daylight saving. Sydney and Melbourne are two hours ahead for most of the year and three hours ahead during eastern daylight saving, so an east coast client, insurer or solicitor on the other side is ringing from about 6 or 7am Perth time, and has gone home by mid afternoon. A sole practitioner who works Perth hours misses the start of the eastern day.

The Law Society of WA has run a Professional Standards Scheme since 1 July 2014. It caps a participating practitioner's occupational liability at $1.5 million, $5 million or $10 million, depending on the practice's insurance and its total annual fee income. It is for Law Society members: every eligible practitioner in the practice, and an incorporated legal practice itself, must be a member. A new practice joins by lodging the Society's participation form and paying the fee, $100 a participant on the 2025-26 form, and cover runs from the date of payment, not before. A participating practice must put “Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation” on its letterhead, emails, bills and website, and the Society warns of a fine of up to $5,000 for not disclosing it.

The practising certificate year starts on 1 July, but the Board's CPD year runs from 1 April to 31 March. Each CPD year needs at least 10 points, with at least one in each of the four fields for solicitors (ethics and professional responsibility, practice management and business skills, professional skills, and substantive law) and at least five hours interactive. Points are recorded in the Board's CPD Management System in the online practitioner portal.

The Law Society of WA's public Find a Lawyer search lets people look for a lawyer by region, category and language, and shows results in random order. A firm applies to be listed, and at least half of its legal practitioners must be Law Society members.