About the Council
The Council of Legal Education and the Board of Examiners jointly regulate entry into the Legal profession in Victoria.
The role of the Council is to determine the requirements for admission, approve law courses and practical legal training providers and assess the qualifications of overseas practitioners.
The Council was established by an Act of Parliament. Hence, section 6.5.1(1) of the Legal Profession Act 2004 states “that there continues to be a Council of Legal Education”.
Section 6.5.2(1) provides that the functions of the Council are to determine the qualifications and training required for admission to the legal profession under the Act. The Council also has functions conferred on it by the Legal Profession (Admission) Rules 2008:
- To approve, monitor and review academic courses and institutions (Part 2)
- To approve, monitor and review practical legal training providers and courses (Part 3)
- To assess the qualifications of qualified overseas applicants and overseas practitioners (Part 4)
Many of the functions of the Council have been delegated to various Committees of the Council under section 6.5.7(2).
Membership of the Council
The composition of the Council is provided for by Section 6.5.1(2) of the Legal Profession Act 2004. At present, the membership of the Council is:
The Chairman – The Hon. The Chief Justice Marilyn Warren AM
Chairman of the Legal Services Board – Ms Fiona Bennett
| Member | Nomination |
|---|---|
| Mr Joseph Santamaria QC | The Victorian Bar |
| The Hon. Justice Kyrou | The Chief Justice |
| The Hon. Justice Davies | The Chief Justice |
| Professor Sandford Clark | The Attorney General |
| Dr Elizabeth Boros | The Victorian Bar |
| Mr Reynah Tang | The Law Institute of Victoria |
| Ms Caroline Counsel | The Law Institute of Victoria |
| Mr John Cain | The Attorney General |
| Mr Michael Holcroft | The Law Institute of Victoria |
| Professor Carolyn Evans | University of Melbourne |
| A. Prof. Anthony Forsyth | RMIT University |
| A. Pf. MaryAnne Noonan | La Trobe University |
Secretary – Mr Richard Besley
Academic Course Appraisal Committee (ACAC)
ACAC’s responsibilities relate to:
- Recommendations to the Council on applications by institutions in Victoria to be “approved institutions” under Rule 2.02
- Recommendations to the Council on applications for approval of courses in Victoria under Rule 2.04
- Monitoring and reviewing approved courses under Rule 2.03
- Determination of applications by approved institutions for endorsement of subjects under Rule 2.05.
The following institutions are approved institutions in respect of the following courses:
University of Melbourne - Bachelor of Laws program
University of Melbourne - JD program
University of Melbourne - JD/MBA program
Monash University - Bachelor of Laws program
Monash University - JD program
Deakin University - Bachelor of Laws program
La Trobe University - Bachelor of Laws program
Victoria University - Bachelor of Laws program
RMIT University - JD program
RMIT University - JD (Distance Mode) program
Australian Catholic University - Bachelor of Laws program
The Committee is comprised of:
- Mr Joseph Santamaria QC (Chairman)
- Dr Ian Hardingham QC
- Professor Margaret Jackson
- Associate Professor Simon Evans
Practical Legal Training Committee (PLT Committee)
This Committee’s responsibilities are:
- Recommendations to the Council on applications by institutions in Victoria to be approved PLT providers under Rule 3.02
- Recommendations to the Council on applications for approval of PLT courses in Victoria under Rule 3.04
- Monitoring and reviewing approved PLT courses under Rule 3.03
- Determination of applications for approval for overseas work experience.
The Council has accredited the following institutions as approved PLT providers in respect of the following courses:
Leo Cussen Institute - full time program
Leo Cussen Institute - online program
Monash University - full time program
Monash University - LLM (Legal Practice)
Monash University - online program
College of Law (Victoria) - online program
The Committee is comprised of:
- Professor Sanford Clark
- Mr Hugh Murray
- Professor Breen Creighton
- Professor Adrian Evans
Overseas Applications for Admissions Committee
The responsibility of this committee is to determine the academic qualifications and practical legal training required for admission by Overseas Practitioners and Qualified Overseas Applicants, pursuant to Rule 4.05.
The Committee is comprised of:
- Professor Sandord Clark
- Ms Gail Owen
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Related Pages
Click for links to speeches by The Honourable Chief Justice (PDF 13KB), Deputy Premier and Attorney General (PDF 17KB), Chair of the Board (PDF 15KB), CEO (PDF 17KB) at the launch of the Secretariat on 1 October 2008.
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