CPD Points Requirements for WA lawyers
Barristers and solicitors in Western Australia must earn their CPD points with an approved QA Provider of continuing professional development for the WA legal profession to comply with the state's mandatory continuing legal education requirements. LawCPD is an accredited QA Provider of CPD for the legal profession in WA, and all of its online courses are recognised as approved CPD activities.
In 2022, the Uniform Law and Uniform Rules were adopted in Western Australia, including the Uniform CPD Rules. All of LawCPD’s online courses are recognised CPD activities under the Uniform CPD Rules.
WA solicitors and barristers can earn 1 CPD unit per hour and all 10 CPD units each year by completing LawCPD’s online CPD courses.
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CPD Rules for WA Lawyers
The Legal Practice Board WA's mandatory CPD scheme is set out in full in the Legal Profession Uniform Continuing Professional Development Rules. Compliance with the legal CPD rules is a requirement for the renewal of a practitioner’s WA practising certificate.
On 1 July 2022, the Uniform CPD Rules were adopted in Western Australia as it joined the Legal Profession Uniform Law Scheme. This brings the rules in WA into line with NSW and Victoria. All of LawCPD’s online courses are recognised CPD activities under the Uniform CPD Rules.
In 2021, the Legal Practice Board of WA launched a new online CPD management system (CPDMS) to measure the CPD scheme's effectiveness. As a registered QA Provider, LawCPD fully complies with these new reporting requirements.
Recognised CPD Activities
WA legal practitioners may only earn legal CPD points by completing approved CPD activities. An approved CPD activity must be provided by a QA provider of continuing professional development or be specifically approved by the Legal Practice Board WA to comply with the WA CPD scheme.
LawCPD has been approved by the Legal Practice Board WA as a QA Provider of continuing professional development for the WA legal profession. This means that all of LawCPD's online CPD courses are approved CPD activities.
Under the Uniform CPD Rules, online and virtual activities can be classified as ‘interactive web-based programs’ or ‘private study’. LawCPD’s online CPD courses are classified as ‘interactive web-based programs’ under the Uniform CPD Rules, which means WA lawyers can earn 1 CPD point per hour and all 10 CPD points each year by completing our online CPD courses.
LawCPD’s online CPD courses are classified as interactive web-based programs because they include quizzes that test knowledge and comprehension of each topic and/or scenarios that require a choice from various options to proceed.
LawCPD also reviews and updates all of its online CPD courses annually to make sure lawyers have the most up-to-date information. This ensures that all of LawCPD’s online CPD courses comply with the Uniform CPD Rules.
Annual CPD Requirements
According to the Uniform CPD Rules, practitioners must earn a minimum of 10 legal CPD points every CPD year (1 April-31 March annually). One point must be earned in each of the mandatory competency areas (listed below), and the remaining CPD points can be earned from any of the four mandatory CPD competency areas.
LawCPD has allocated competency areas to all of the online CPD courses on the LawCPD site to assist practitioners with the task of identifying which online CPD courses fall within the different mandatory CPD areas.
Western Australian practitioners must earn a minimum of 1 legal CPD point from each of the following mandatory CPD competency areas:
• Competency Area 1: ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY;
• Competency Area 2: PRACTICE MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS SKILLS;
• Competency Area 3: PROFESSIONAL SKILLS ; and
• Competency Area 4: SUBSTANTIVE LAW.
Record Keeping and Auditing
How does LawCPD comply with the Legal Practice Board’s new CPD management system?
LawCPD will upload a statement of CPD activity to the CPDMS on your behalf provided that your LawCPD account is updated with your Practitioner ID. You can update your profile today by following these simple steps.
What records should I keep?
Under the Legal Practice Board WA continuing professional development scheme, practitioners must maintain a record of their legal CPD activities. Practitioners must also retain some supporting documentation to support their legal CPD record. Practitioners are required to certify whether they have met their obligations under the WA CPD scheme when they renew their practising certificates.
Will I get audited?
The Legal Practice Board WA conducts annual random audits of practitioners’ CPD records to monitor compliance with the WA CPD scheme. If a practitioner is selected for audit, they will need to provide supporting documentation to the Legal Practice Board of WA to verify that they have complied with the legal CPD scheme.
How does LawCPD help me with my compliance?
LawCPD provides practitioners with a personalised page (MyCPD) which tracks all their learning in real time and provides a record of all legal CPD points earned through LawCPD. Practitioners can print a copy of this page and provide it to the Legal Practice Board WA in the event that they are audited for compliance with the legal CPD scheme.
LawCPD also provides printable certificates for each online CPD course completed which can be downloaded from the MyCPD page. These certificates may also be provided to prove compliance with the WA CPD scheme if the practitioner is audited by Legal Practice Board WA.