How do I set up as a sole practitioner lawyer in Australia?
The core sequence is the same in every state: qualify for a principal practising certificate, arrange approved professional indemnity insurance, sort your business registrations, decide how you will handle trust money, and set up where you will practise from. The details differ by state, so here is the path for NSW, Victoria and Queensland.
Sole practices are not a niche choice: they make up 78% of all private law practices in Australia.
What is a sole practitioner, legally speaking?
A sole practitioner is a legal practitioner who engages in legal practice on their own account, as a sole trader rather than through a company or partnership.
You are personally responsible for the legal services you provide and personally bear the debts of the business. In NSW you practise under your own legal name unless you register a business name with ASIC.
Many lawyers start here for simplicity and later restructure into an incorporated legal practice as the firm grows; the two are different legal animals, so if you want limited liability from day one, look at the incorporated route instead.
Setting up in New South Wales
You need a practising certificate authorising practice as a principal, which the Law Society of NSW grants once you have completed your supervised legal practice period and an approved practice management course.
Supervised practice
Confirm your supervised practice condition has been removed, or apply to remove it.
Practice management course
Complete an approved practice management course.
Principal certificate
Apply to vary your practising certificate to principal of a law practice.
Insurance through Lawcover
Arrange professional indemnity insurance through Lawcover. A new law practice needs its own policy, priced on your estimated gross fee income, and the Law Society issues the principal certificate once Lawcover confirms the premium is paid.
Business name
Register a business name with ASIC if you will not trade under your own name.
Setting up in Victoria
Victoria uses the Uniform Law framework, but its principal-certificate pathway is assessed by VLSB+C. An approved practice management course is one pathway; applicants can also demonstrate the required skills and experience under its policy. Check any supervised-practice conditions separately.
Practice management course
Complete an approved practice management course (providers include the Law Institute of Victoria and Leo Cussen; typically $1,600 to $2,400), or have VLSB+C assess your skills and experience under its principal-certificate policy.
Principal authorisation
Apply through LSB Online to vary your certificate to principal.
Insurance through the LPLC
Arrange PII through the Legal Practitioners’ Liability Committee (LPLC). Premiums are tied to your estimated fees, which works in a new firm’s favour in year one.
Business name and liability capping
Register your business name if needed, and consider the LIV Professional Standards Scheme for liability capping.
Setting up in Queensland
Queensland operates under its own Legal Profession Act 2007 rather than the Uniform Law. The Queensland Law Society issues principal practising certificates, and principals must complete an approved practice management course.
Eligibility and course timing
Check your eligibility and the current practice management course timing requirements directly with QLS, as the sequencing differs from the Uniform Law states.
Insurance through Lexon
Arrange PII through Lexon, the captive insurer for most private practices in Queensland.
Business name
Register your business name if needed.
Do I need a trust account from day one?
Whether you need a general trust account depends on the money your practice receives or controls and the applicable rules. Advance fees, settlement funds and disbursement money are common examples to check. Invoicing in arrears alone does not establish that no trust obligations apply.
Before handling trust money, confirm the required authorisation, notifications, approved banking arrangements, record keeping and external examination with your regulator. Choose systems that meet the applicable rules.
Getting this wrong is the fastest way for a new practice to meet its regulator, so if in doubt, get advice before your first matter, not after.
Where should a sole practitioner work from?
Isolation is the sole practitioner’s occupational hazard. Working alone is one of the most common challenges sole practitioners name, and it takes a toll, which is why where you base yourself is a wellbeing decision as much as a financial one.
The options in ascending order of cost: home (cheapest, loneliest, and watch your home insurance if clients ever visit), virtual office (a CBD address, phone answering and meeting rooms on demand), and a serviced office or chambers (a full professional base without the lease or fit-out).
A legal-specific environment adds something none of the generic options have: other lawyers down the corridor for the corridor conversations, referrals and sanity checks you used to get for free at the firm.
“I have an impressive looking office with professional and friendly staff at reception and support, at a reasonable price.”
Annelie Hovler, Forseti Law, Brisbane
Clarence workspaces in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney were created by lawyers, for lawyers, with reception, meeting rooms, IT and on-site paralegal support through Clarence Legal Services.
Your first-week admin checklist
The full fifteen-point version is in the Going Solo guide.
- Certificate varied
- PII confirmed
- ABN active
- Business name registered if needed
- Bank accounts open
- Software chosen
- Letterhead and email disclaimers compliant with your state’s requirements
- Your law society notified of your practice details
Book a tour of a Clarence workspace.
This guide is general information, not legal advice, and requirements change. Confirm current requirements with your law society before acting.
Jurisdiction and legal sources
This page provides general information, not legal advice. It does not consider your circumstances. Check the current law and obtain advice from a qualified professional before making decisions about your rights or practice.
A workspace arrangement does not itself establish that a law practice complies with its professional obligations. Practising certificates, insurance, trust money, confidentiality and supervision must be checked separately for your jurisdiction.
NSW and Victoria
Queensland
Practical regulator guidance
Sources checked 11 September 2026. Laws, regulator requirements and commercial terms can change. The links above are selected sources for this page, not an exhaustive compliance checklist.