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Should you have any questions regarding Criminal Law Duty Lawyer Accreditation, please call 3917 0403 or email criminallaw.dutylawyer@legalaid.qld.gov.au
Criminal law duty lawyer accreditation is open to practitioners who hold a current practising certificate from the Queensland Law Society (QLS) or Bar Association of Queensland and have appropriate experience.
An experienced practitioner is a practitioner who has a minimum of 6 months post admission experience in general criminal law.
Practitioners wanting to attain accreditation will need to:
- View the Criminal law duty lawyer video.
- Become familiar with the Criminal Law Duty Lawyer Handbook, published by Legal Aid Queensland.
- Attend two sessions in an adult Magistrates Court with an accredited duty lawyer, as an observer. And one further attendance as the duty lawyer, under supervision of an accredited duty lawyer, and/or
- Attend two sessions in a Childrens' Court with an accredited Childrens' Court Duty Lawyer, as an observer. And one further attendance as the duty lawyer under supervision of an accredited Childrens' Court duty lawyer.
- Provide declarations specifying the required court attendances, from the applicant and accredited duty lawyers who attended court.
- Provide details of relevant criminal law experience ie number of guilty pleas, bail applications etc that the applicant practitioner has represented (please ensure details of admission are provided).
Legal Aid Queensland will only approve accreditation when satisfied the above criteria has been met and applicants have sufficient experience to provide ‘stand alone’ duty lawyer service in the appropriate court.
For more information about duty lawyer accreditation, call Legal Aid Queensland on 3238 3430 or email criminallaw.dutylawyer@legalaid.qld.gov.au