About the Board
The Council of Legal Education and the Board of Examiners (“the Board”) jointly regulate entry into the Legal profession in Victoria.
The Board determines the eligibility of individual applicants for admission and provides the certificate upon which the Supreme Court relies when admitting an applicant to practice as an Australian lawyer.
The Board is the body responsible for arranging admission to practice in the Supreme Court of Victoria by persons wishing to be Australian Lawyers. It was established in 1853 and its continued existence is provided for by the Legal Profession Act 2004 (ss.6.5.9 - 6.5.18).
The Board grants (or withholds) the Certificates upon which the Supreme Court relies when ordering that persons be admitted. The Board will grant a Certificate where it is satisfied that the applicant is eligible for admission and is a fit and proper person to be admitted. The onus of proof rests on the applicant; the Board has power to make inquiries, and may require applicants to appear before it. Eligibility is established by satisfying the requirements of the Legal Profession (Admission) Rules 2008 (the Rules).
The Board has three other functions:
- To approve and oversee Supervised Workplace Training under the Rules.
- To arrange the admission in Victoria of admitted practitioners from interstate or from New Zealand pursuant to the Mutual Recognition Principle.
- To arrange the appointment by the Supreme Court of qualified persons to be Public Notaries pursuant to the Public Notaries Act 2001 (No. 52 of 2001).
Board members are appointed by the Governor in Council on the nomination of the Council of Legal Education. The current composition of the Board is:
The Hon. Bernard Teague AO (Chairman)
Mr Paul Willee RFD QC Deputy - Mr Matthew Connock SC
Mr Ian Waller SC Deputy – Ms Aileen Ryan SC
Mr Peter Jopling QC Deputy – Ms Kerri Judd SC
Ms Joanne Cameron Deputy – Mr Philip Davies
Mr Damien Grave Deputy – Mr Peter Holloway
Mr Bruce Pippett Deputy – Ms Caroline Counsel
Secretary – Mr Richard Besley
Board Procedures
The following attachments provide a detailed discussion of the statutory basis for the existence and powers of the Board.
Acts & Rules (pdf 93 KB)
Powers and Policies (pdf 181 KB)
Privacy Policy
The Council of Legal Education and Board of Examiners are committed to the protection of information about individuals through compliance with the Information Privacy Act 2000 (Vic) and the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic). To access our Privacy Policy please click here.
Related Pages
Click for links to speeches from the launch of the Secretariat on 1 October 2008 by The Honourable Chief Justice (PDF 13KB), Deputy Premier and Attorney General (PDF 17KB), Chair of the Board (PDF 15KB), CEO (PDF 17KB).
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