Legal Profession Uniform Continuing Professional Development (Barristers) Rules 2015

These Rules are designated as Continuing Professional Development Rules and may be cited as the Legal Profession Uniform Continuing Professional Development (Barristers) Rules 2015.

These Rules come into operation on 1 July 2015.

The objective of these Rules is to set out provisions contemplated by the Uniform Law relating to continuing professional development for barristers.

These Rules are made under Part 9.2 of the Uniform Law or under other provisions of the Uniform Law, as specified in the relevant rule.

In these Rules—

CPD means continuing professional development.

CPD activity means an activity which meets the requirements of rules 6 and 6A.

CPD point means a point allocated to a CPD activity under these Rules.

CPD program means a seminar, course or other activity that satisfies rule 6 and includes the Bar CPD program.

CPD year begins on 1 April.

Designated local regulatory authority means a person or body specified or described in jurisdictional legislation as the relevant designated local regulatory authority for the purposes of section 44 of the Uniform Law.

Uniform Law means the Legal Profession Uniform Law as applied in a participating jurisdiction.

CPD activities must be—

of significant intellectual or practical content and must deal primarily with matters related to the practice of law, and

conducted by persons who are qualified by practical or academic experience in the subject covered, and

relevant to the barrister’s professional development needs in relation to the barrister’s practice of the law.

Individual barristers are responsible for ensuring that the CPD activity in question meets the CPD criteria, set out in rule 6(1), before claiming CPD points for that CPD activity.

Each designated local regulatory authority has the power to make policies pertaining to these Rules including—

the power to impose a cap on the points that may be gained in any one CPD activity,

the format of CPD activity,

the audit process,

the rectification plans for non-compliance.

A CPD activity may consist of—

a seminar, workshop, lecture, conference, discussion group, multimedia or web-based program, private study of audio/visual material or any other educational activity, or

the research, preparation or editing by a barrister of—

an article published in a legal publication (including a loose-leaf service), or

a legal article published in a non-legal publication, or

a book related to the law, or

a law report, or

the preparation and/or presentation by a barrister of written or oral material to be used in a CPD activity or in other forms of education provided to barristers and/or to other professionals and/or to other persons including those undertaking practical or supervised legal training, or

membership of a committee, working group, taskforce or practice section of a professional association or designated local regulatory authority or the Australian Bar Association or the Law Council of Australia or of other committees, provided that the barrister regularly attends its meetings, or

postgraduate studies relevant to the practice of law, or

the writing or marking of examinations conducted by a professional association or designated local regulatory authority for the purposes of admission of persons to the practice of a barrister, or

the preparation and/or presentation by a barrister of written or oral material to be used in a course conducted by a professional association or designated local regulatory authority for persons intending to commence the practice of a barrister, or

any other activity approved by the designated local regulatory authority.

One CPD point is earned for each completed hour of engagement in a CPD activity.

Unless exempted in whole or in part by the designated local regulatory authority under rule 13, or unless a pro rata calculation applies under this rule, a barrister must in each CPD year engage in CPD activities sufficient to earn at least ten CPD points.

Barristers who commence or recommence practice after the start of the CPD year may have their CPD requirement proportionately reduced in accordance with the following table—

Practising certificate issued in—

January

1 point required

February

0 points required

March

0 points required

April

10 points required

May

9 points required

June

8 points required

July

7 points required

August

6 points required

September

5 points required

October

4 points required

November

3 points required

December

2 points required

A barrister must, unless otherwise exempted, in each CPD year engage in CPD activities in each of the categories set out below—

Ethics and Professional Responsibility,

Practice Management and Business Skills,

Substantive Law, Practice and Procedure, and Evidence,

Barristers’ Skills,

Equality and Wellbeing.

These categories are subject to any requirement of the designated local regulatory authority or legislation.

If the designated local regulatory authority or the person or organisation who conducts a CPD activity has assigned a particular CPD activity to one or more of the categories identified, a barrister who participates in that CPD activity may not assign CPD points in respect of that activity to any other category. In any other case, a barrister may assign CPD points to any category that the barrister reasonably considers to be appropriate.

The designated local regulatory authority may, in addition, require that a barrister within the first three years of practice undertake additional CPD activities as determined, from time to time, by the designated local regulatory authority. This may include CPD activities specifically directed to new barristers.