CPD requirements for Australian lawyers

Last reviewed: 9 October 2026

Plan your continuing professional development with this guide to annual requirements, compulsory topics and online learning across Australia's states and territories.

This page summarises the standard requirements for solicitors and other legal practitioners subject to the relevant law society scheme. Separate rules may apply to barristers. Approved exemptions, part-year practising certificates and additional certificate conditions can also affect individual obligations.

Choosing CPD that counts

Choose activities with significant intellectual or practical content relevant to your practice of law and professional development. Where required, activities must be delivered by appropriately qualified presenters.

For eligible seminar and webinar participation, one hour generally equals one CPD unit or point. Count the learning time you actually complete; exclude breaks.

Live interactive webinars and recordings can be treated differently. A recording does not become interactive simply because it is available online. Check the relevant jurisdiction's rules before claiming units.

The legal CPD category depends on the session's content. An event advertised as Category A CPD for registered migration agents does not, by that designation alone, satisfy a lawyer's compulsory ethics, practice management or professional skills requirement.

Australian Capital Territory

Annual requirement: 10 CPD units.

CPD year: 1 April - 31 March.

Complete at least one unit in each of these four core areas:

Legal ethics and professional responsibility.
Practice management and business skills.
Professional skills.
Substantive law and procedural law.

Live webinars and recordings: Eligible seminars, audio/video presentations and online presentations attract one unit per hour, with no annual cap for this activity type. Ordinary private reading or research outside an educational course or program does not qualify simply because it relates to legal practice.

Carry-over: Up to three units completed in January - March may count towards the following CPD year if you have completed more than ten units in the current year. Do not count the same units twice.

ACT Law Society - CPD Guidelines

New South Wales

Annual requirement: 10 CPD units.

CPD year: 1 April - 31 March.

Complete at least one unit in each of these four compulsory fields:

Ethics and professional responsibility.
Practice management and business skills.
Professional skills.
Substantive law.

Live webinars: Eligible interactive webinars attract one unit per hour. There is no annual cap on this activity type.

Recordings: Passive private study of qualifying audio/visual material attracts one unit per hour, capped at five units per CPD year. Qualifying interactive web-based programs are treated differently and are not subject to that private-study cap.

Carry-over: Up to three units completed in January - March may be carried into the next CPD year. Do not double count them.

Records: Keep your CPD activity records and supporting evidence for at least three years.

Law Society of NSW - CPD requirements

Queensland

Annual requirement: 10 CPD points.

CPD year: 1 April - 31 March.

Complete at least one point in each of these three mandatory core areas:

Practical legal ethics.
Practice management and business skills.
Professional skills.

Live webinars and recordings: Eligible participation and private study of qualifying audio/visual material attract one point per hour. Queensland Law Society confirms there is no annual cap on private study of audio/visual material. General private study does not qualify as an approved CPD activity.

Carry-over: Eligible activities completed in January - March may be allocated to the current or following CPD year, but cannot be counted in both.

Queensland Law Society - CPD resources and guidance

South Australia

Annual requirement: 10 CPD units.

CPD year: 1 April - 31 March.

Complete at least one unit in each of these four required areas:

Practical legal ethics.
Practice management and business skills.
Professional skills.
Bullying, discrimination and harassment.

Live webinars: An eligible webinar that allows interactive participation with the presenter is treated as attendance and attracts one unit per hour.

Recordings: Viewing or listening to multimedia, web-based or recorded programs attracts one unit per hour, capped at five units per CPD year. The interactive-webinar exception above applies.

Carry-over: Surplus units completed in January - March may be assigned to the next CPD year. Keep a record of the allocation.

Records: Retain your activity records and supporting evidence for three years after the end of the relevant CPD year.

Law Society of South Australia - Mandatory CPD

Victoria

Annual requirement: 10 CPD units.

CPD year: 1 April - 31 March.

Complete at least one unit in each of these four compulsory fields:

Ethics and professional responsibility.
Practice management and business skills.
Professional skills.
Substantive law.

Live webinars: Eligible interactive online activities attract one unit per hour and are not subject to the private-study cap. Interaction may include questions, discussion, quizzes, polls or scenarios requiring participant responses.

Recordings: Passive private study of qualifying audio/visual material attracts one unit per hour, capped at five units per CPD year.

Records: Keep your CPD records for at least three years.

Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner - CPD obligations

Western Australia

Annual requirement: 10 CPD units.

CPD year: 1 April - 31 March.

For solicitors, complete at least one unit in each of these four fields:

Ethics and professional responsibility.
Practice management and business skills.
Professional skills.
Substantive law.

Interactive learning: At least five units must involve interactive activities. The Legal Practice Board recognises live webinars, activities with a testing component and face-to-face activities where questions may be asked as interactive.

Recordings: Passive private study of qualifying audio/visual material is capped at five units per CPD year under the Uniform Solicitors' CPD Rules. One completed hour attracts one unit; a completed 30 minutes attracts half a unit.

Accreditation: Confirm that the provider or activity is accredited by the Legal Practice Board. For an unaccredited activity, solicitors may apply using the Board's current CPD Form 3S; barristers use Form 3B. Approval should not be assumed.

Records: Check that accredited providers have correctly recorded your completed units in the Board's CPD management system.

Legal Practice Board of WA - CPD FAQs and accreditation information

Northern Territory

Annual requirement: 10 CPD points.

CPD year: 1 April - 31 March.

Complete at least one point in substantive law and at least one point in each of these four prescribed core competencies:

Professional ethics and responsibility.
Practice management and business skills.
Professional skills in legal practice.
Skills relating to identifying, addressing and preventing bullying, discrimination and harassment in the workplace.

Live seminars and webinars: Eligible attendance attracts half a point per 30 minutes, equivalent to one point per hour.

Recordings: Private study using qualifying audio or visual material attracts half a point per 30 minutes, capped at five points per CPD year.

Carry-over: Points earned in January - March may count towards the current or following CPD year, but only once.

Reporting: Submit the annual CPD certificate to the Law Society NT by 31 March. Separate supplementary reporting requirements apply if you have a shortfall.

Law Society NT - Mandatory CPD

Law Society NT - CPD Guide for Practitioners

Tasmania

Annual requirement: 10 CPD points.

CPD year: 1 May - 30 April.

Complete at least one point in each of these five mandatory categories:

Practical legal ethics.
Practice management or business skills.
Professional skills.
Substantive law.
Equality and wellbeing.

Live webinars: Eligible interactive livestreamed webinars are treated as attendance, attracting one point per hour rather than falling within the recordings cap.

Recordings: Viewing or listening to, or preparing material for, multimedia, web-based programs or recorded material is capped at five points per CPD year.

Daily limit: A maximum of six CPD points may be claimed from activities completed on any one day.

Carry-over: Surplus points earned in February - April may be assigned to the following CPD year.

Records: Maintain a written CPD record. The Society recommends retaining supporting evidence for 24 months after the end of each CPD year.

Law Society of Tasmania - Practice Guideline No. 4

Plan your CPD with Legal Training Australia

Review the topic, learning outcomes, delivery format and advertised legal CPD categories before booking. Choose sessions relevant to your practice and track both your total units and your compulsory categories throughout the year.

Keep evidence of participation and record the date, learning time, provider and category claimed. For recordings, use the date you complete the learning, rather than the purchase date.

For exemptions, part-year requirements, specialist accreditation obligations, other activity types or uncertainty about a claim, consult your law society, bar association or regulator using the links above. This page is a practical summary; the applicable rules and your individual practising certificate conditions determine your obligations.