REQUEST TO SURRENDER AUSTRALIAN PRACTISING CERTIFICATE: SECTION 74(2) OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION UNIFORM LAW (NSW)

Complete this form to cancel your Australian practising certificate issued by the Council of the Law Society of New South Wales (Law Society Council) pursuant to s74(2) of the Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW) (Uniform Law).

NOTE: If you wish to cease practising, you may either:

Surrender your Australian practising certificate by completing this form; or,
Let your Australian practising certificate lapse on 30 June of the practising certificate year by choosing not to renew it.

Your details

LawID number *

First name *

Surname *

Other names

Name of practice/employer (if currently engaging in legal practice)

Email address *A copy of your completed form will be sent to this email address.

Reason/s for surrendering your Australian practising certificate

Please select one (or more) that apply *

Transferring to the NSW BarTransferring your practice interstateTransferring your practice overseasExtended leave (i.e. parental leave, carers leave, extended personal leave).Other (please specify below)

NOTE: If you intend to commence a period of extended leave from practice, you may continue to hold an Australian practising certificate while not practising. Please note that an Australian practising certificate is subject to the statutory condition of Continuing Professional Development (CPD), requiring the holder to comply with the Legal Profession Uniform Continuing Professional Development (Solicitors) Rules 2015 (NSW).For further information regarding your CPD requirements, please view our website here.

NOTE: If you would like to continue holding your Australian practising certificate but are not engaging in legal practice, you can update your employment details by completing the Change in employment details form.

Date you would like the surrender of your Australian practising certificate to be effective

NOTE: Regulation 61 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Regulation 2015 (NSW) requires you to notify the Law Society Council of any change in your practising arrangements within seven days of the change occurring.

If you hold a Principal of a Law Practice practising certificate

Closing a law practice: If you are the only principal of a law practice and you intend to close the law practice and transfer trust property, including client files to another law practice, the Regulatory Compliance Support Unit have prepared a helpful checklist to assist you with complying with your obligations under the Legal Profession Uniform Legal Practice (Solicitors) Rules 2015 (NSW). Further queries regarding winding up of a law practice can be sent to the Professional Support Unit at regulatory.compliance@lawsociety.com.au.

Trust account notification: Rule 51(1) of the Legal Profession Uniform General Rules 2015 (NSW) provides that a law practice must give written notice to the Law Society Council within 14 days of the law practice ceasing to hold trust money because it ceases to exist as a law practice, to engage in legal practice or to practise in such a way as to receive trust money. Further queries relating to trust accounting can be made to trust@lawsociety.com.au.

Additional Requirements for Incorporated and Unincorporated Legal Practices: Pursuant to s 104(3) of the Uniform Law, if a law practice ceases to engage in legal practice, it must give the Law Society Council notice of that fact within 14 days (see rule 29 of the Legal Profession Uniform General Rules 2015 (NSW)). If you are a principal of an incorporated or unincorporated legal practice that will also be ceasing to engage in legal practice, please complete the notice of cessation form to inform the Law Society Council of the current arrangements for the legal practice. You may find the incorporated legal practice form here, and the unincorporated legal practice form here.

Please provide details of the law practice's current arrangements; i.e. where files will be transferred and if the law practice's trust account has been closed (if applicable).

Declaration

I, the above-named practitioner, declare that:

I am an Australian legal practitioner. *

I currently hold an Australian practising certificate issued by the Law Society Council. *

I wish to surrender my practising certificate for the reasons outlined in this form pursuant to section 74(2) of the Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW). *

The contents of this notice are true and correct. *

I have read the Personal Information Collection Notice before providing my personal information and agree to the below terms:

The Law Society of New South Wales respects your privacy and the confidentiality and security of personal information provided by you to us. The information provided by you to the Law Society on this form will be used by the Law Society for the purposes of communicating with you in relation to our regulatory functions with our Personal Information Collection Notice.

Please also be aware that the information provided by you on this form will be processed using Snapforms, an online forms service provider owned and operated by a third party, Tiron Digital Pty Ltd ACN 165 730 594. Snapforms’ privacy policy is accessible at https://snapforms.com.au/privacy-policy/. If you prefer not to provide your information this way, please contact the Law Society Registry and we will be pleased to provide you with an alternative method.

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The Law Society of New South Wales
170 Phillip Street, Sydney NSW 2000
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