Continuing Professional Development

In New South Wales all practising solicitors are required to complete 10 units of mandatory continuing legal education (MCLE) each year. The MCLE year runs from 1 April to 31 March the following year.

All practising barristers in New South Wales are required to accrue 10 continuing professional education (CPD) points each practising certificate year. The period for accumulating CPD points commences on 1 July each year and ends on 30 June the following year.

How MCLE/CPD units are calculated

One unit/point is achieved for each hour of face-to-face contact in lectures or class participation. Both the Law Society of New South Wales and the New South Wales Bar Association will approve a small proportion of content accessed remotely (such as podcasts, webinars, etc.) as acceptable for part of the requirement.

Lawyers and barristers should check their individual organisational requirements in respect to this and other components. 

Acceptable MCLE/CPD activity

Any educational activity which is relevant to the immediate or long-term needs of the individual practitioner – their professional development and practice of the law – will satisfy this requirement.

CPD courses do not lead to further qualifications.

However, 'certificates of attendance' are issued to participants in some annual seminar series, including Employment Relations and the Law and the Australian Centre for Climate and Environmental Law (ACCEL) Seminar Series.

Practitioners are advised to check with the CPD governing body in their jurisdiction for the most accurate and up-to-date information.

• Law Society of New South Wales
• ACT Law Society
• Law Institute of Victoria
• Queensland Law Society
• Legal Practice Board of Western Australia
• Law Society of South Australia
• Law Society of Tasmania
• New South Wales Bar Association
• Victorian Bar
• Queensland Bar Association
• Western Australian Bar Association
• South Australian Bar Association

The University of Sydney Law School is an accredited external provider for the purposes of the continuing professional development scheme by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in the United Kingdom.

Unless otherwise stated, all unit offerings are accredited by the SRA and each unit of study may offer up to 22 CPD hours for solicitors practising in the United Kingdom.

Our programs meet the needs of several professional non-law groups. More information is available about the requirements for CPD from the organisations below.

• Chartered Accountants Australia-New Zealand
• Chartered Practising Accounts (CPA)
• Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)
• Engineers Australia