Criminal law duty lawyer accreditation

Magistrates Court Duty Lawyer Accreditation is open to practitioners who:

• hold a current Queensland Law Society practising certificate
• have a minimum of six months recent post-admission experience in general criminal law in Queensland
• are employed by a current LAQ preferred supplier or community legal centre, approved for inclusion on the Criminal law general list.

Practitioners who want to apply for Magistrates Court Duty Lawyer Accreditation must do the following:

1. View the Criminal Law Duty Lawyer training videos.
2. Familiarise themselves with LAQ’s Criminal Law Duty Lawyer Handbook and Case Management Standards (Criminal Law) Part B specific to Duty Lawyers.
3. Have a sound understanding of the Criminal Code 1899, Summary Offences Act 2005, Bail Act 1980, Penalties and Sentences Act 1992, and other related Acts referred to in the Criminal Law Duty Lawyer Handbook.
4. Attend at least two duty lawyer sessions in a Magistrates Court with an accredited Magistrates Court duty lawyer, as an observer.
5. Attend at least one duty lawyer session acting as the duty lawyer under supervision of an accredited Magistrates Court duty lawyer.
6. Complete an Application for Magistrates Court Duty Lawyer Accreditation(PDF, 106KB) form.
7. Provide a copy of their current Queensland Law Society practising certificate.
8. Provide a Statutory Declaration addressing the mandatory requirements above, and include:
   1. Their date of admission as a solicitor in the Supreme Court of Queensland.
   2. A summary of their relevant experience in general criminal law, including the number of guilty pleas, bail applications and other related applications the practitioner has conducted.
   3. The dates, court locations, and the name of the accredited Magistrates Court duty lawyer providing supervision for each duty lawyer session.
9. Provide a Statutory Declaration by the accredited Magistrates Court duty lawyer who observed and supervised the practitioner acting as duty lawyer, certifying the practitioner can independently provide Magistrates Court duty lawyer services.

Statutory Declaration templates are available on LAQ’s webpage here.

Legal Aid Queensland will approve accreditation when satisfied the above criteria have been met and applicants have demonstrated sufficient experience to independently provide  Magistrates Court duty lawyer services.

To submit an application for Magistrates Court Duty Lawyer Accreditation or for further information, please call Legal Aid Queensland on 3917 0404 or email criminallaw.dutylawyer@legalaid.qld.gov.au.

Childrens Court Duty Lawyer Accreditation is open to practitioners who:

• hold a current Queensland Law Society Practising Certificate
• have a minimum of 6 months recent post-admission experience in general/ youth criminal law in Queensland
• are employed by a current LAQ Preferred Supplier or Community Legal Centre, approved for inclusion on the Criminal law general and/or Criminal law youth list
• have completed Youth Practitioner Certification training.

Practitioners who want to apply for Childrens Court Duty Lawyer Accreditation must:

1. View the Criminal Law Duty Lawyer training videos.
2. Familiarise themselves with LAQ’s Criminal Law Duty Lawyer Handbook, Case Management Standards (Criminal Law) Part B specific to Duty Lawyers, and Best Practice Guidelines for working with children and young people.
3. Have a sound understanding of the Criminal Code 1899, Summary Offences Act 2005, Bail Act 1980, Penalties and Sentences Act 1992, and Youth Justice Act 1992.
4. Attend at least two duty lawyer sessions in a Childrens' Court with an accredited Childrens' Court Duty Lawyer, as an observer.
5. Attend at least one duty lawyer session acting as the duty lawyer under supervision of an accredited Childrens' Court Duty Lawyer.
6. Attend Youth Practitioner Certification Training conducted by LAQ.
7. Complete an Application for Childrens Court Duty Lawyer Accreditation(PDF, 108KB) form.
8. Provide a copy of their current Queensland Law Society Practising Certificate.
9. Provide a Statutory Declaration by the Applicant addressing the mandatory requirements above, and declaring:
   1. Their date of admission as a solicitor in the Supreme Court of Queensland.
   2. Date of attendance at Youth Practitioner Certification Training.
   3. Details of relevant experience in youth criminal law, including the number of guilty pleas, bail applications and other related applications the practitioner has conducted.
   4. The dates, court locations, and the name of the accredited Magistrates' Court Duty Lawyer providing supervision for each duty lawyer session.
10. Provide a Statutory Declaration by the accredited Childrens Court Duty Lawyer who observed and supervised the practitioner acting as duty lawyer, certifying that the practitioner can independently provide Childrens Court duty lawyer services.

View the Statutory Declaration templates.

Legal Aid Queensland will approve accreditation when satisfied the above criteria has been met and applicants have demonstrated sufficient experience to provide  ‘stand-alone’ Childrens Court duty lawyer services.

To submit an application for Childrens Court duty lawyer accreditation or for more information, please call us on 3917 0404 or email criminallaw.dutylawyer@legalaid.qld.gov.au.

All practitioners wanting to undertake youth crime file work on behalf of LAQ must complete Youth Practitioner Certification training. It does not replace Childrens Court Duty Lawyer Accreditation. Note: the Youth Practitioner Certification training only needs to be completed once.

Youth Practitioner Certification training is offered by LAQ several times each year, via  webinar and/or in person. The training provides 6 CPD points and is free of charge.

To enquire about an upcoming Youth Practitioner Certification training session, please email youth.certification@legalaid.qld.gov.au.

Documents

Magistrates Court Duty Lawyer Accreditation forms and templates

Application for Magistrates Court Duty Lawyer Accreditation (Fillable PDF Form)(PDF, 106KB)

Template – MC DL Accreditation - Statutory Declaration by Applicant(DOCX, 29KB)

Template – MC DL Accreditation - Statutory Declaration by Accredited Magistrates Court Duty Lawyer(DOCX, 21KB)

Childrens Court Duty Lawyer Accreditation forms and templates

Application for Childrens Court Duty Lawyer Accreditation (Fillable PDF Form)(PDF, 108KB)

Template – CC DL Accreditation - Statutory Declaration by Applicant(DOCX, 29KB)

Template – CC DL Accreditation - Statutory Declaration by Accredited Magistrates Court Duty Lawyer(DOCX, 20KB)

Last updated 25 March 2025