{"id":"tas:sr-2018-031","name":"Legal Profession (Prescribed Authorities) Regulations 2018","slug":"legal-profession-prescribed-authorities-regulations-2018","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"31 of 2018","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":184910,"registerId":"tas-tas:sr-2018-031-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"### 1 Short title\n\n> These regulations may be cited as the [Legal Profession (Prescribed Authorities) Regulations 2018](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/sr-2018-031) .","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"### 2 Commencement\n\n> These regulations take effect on 9 July 2018.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interpretation","content":"### 3 Interpretation\n\n> In these regulations –\n> \n> > ***Act*** means the [Legal Profession Act 2007](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-2007-024) .","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Prescribed authority","content":"### 4 Prescribed authority\n\n> > (1)  The Law Society is the prescribed authority for the purposes of the provisions of the Act specified in [Schedule 1](#JS1@EN) .\n> \n> > (2)  The Board is the prescribed authority for the purposes of the provisions of the Act specified in [Schedule 2](#JS2@EN) .","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"SCHEDULE 1 - Provisions of Act","sectionType":"part","heading":"SCHEDULE 1 - Provisions of Act (Law Society)","content":"# SCHEDULE 1 - Provisions of Act SCHEDULE 1 - Provisions of Act (Law Society)\n\n[Regulation 4(1)](#GS4@Gs1@EN)\n\n| 1. | Section 21 (Register of approvals and prohibition orders) |\n| 2. | Section 35 (Roll of local lawyers) |\n| 3. | Section 42 (Local practising certificates) |\n| 4. | Section 43 (Suitability to hold local practising certificate) |\n| 5. | Section 44 (Duration of local practising certificate) |\n| 6. | Section 45 (Requirement for professional indemnity insurance) |\n| 7. | Section 46 (Continuing obligation for professional indemnity insurance for local practising certificate) |\n| 8. | Section 48 (Application for grant or renewal of local practising certificate) |\n| 9. | Section 50 (Advice relating to grant or renewal of local practising certificates) |\n| 10. | Section 51 (Timing of application for renewal of local practising certificate) |\n| 11. | Section 53 (Grant or renewal of local practising certificate) |\n| 12. | Section 54 (Advice to Board of grant, renewal or refusal to grant or renew local practising certificate) |\n| 13. | Section 55 (Conditions generally) |\n| 14. | Section 56 (Conditions imposed by prescribed authority) |\n| 15. | Section 57 (Imposition or variation of conditions pending criminal proceedings) |\n| 16. | Section 59 (Statutory condition regarding legal practice) |\n| 17. | Section 60 (Statutory condition regarding notification of offence) |\n| 18. | Section 65 (Amending, suspending or cancelling local practising certificate) |\n| 19. | Section 66 (Advice to Board of decision to amend, suspend or cancel local practising certificate) |\n| 20. | Section 68 (Immediate suspension of local practising certificate) |\n| 21. | Section 69 (Advice to Board of immediate suspension of local practising certificate and revocation of suspension) |\n| 22. | Section 70 (Other ways of amending or cancelling local practising certificate) |\n| 23. | Section 72 (Applicant for local practising certificate – show cause event) |\n| 24. | Section 73 (Holder of local practising certificate – show cause event) |\n| 25. | Section 74 (Refusal, amendment, suspension or cancellation of local practising certificate – failure to show cause) |\n| 26. | Section 75 (Restriction on making further applications) |\n| 27. | Section 77 (Surrender and cancellation of local practising certificate) |\n| 28. | Section 78 (Return of local practising certificate) |\n| 29. | Section 80 (Extent of entitlement of interstate legal practitioner to practise in this jurisdiction) |\n| 30. | Section 81 (Additional conditions on practice of interstate legal practitioners) |\n| 31. | Section 84 (Appeal against decisions about local practising certificates) |\n| 32. | Section 85 (Appeal against decisions about interstate legal practitioners) |\n| 33. | Section 86 (Protocols) |\n| 34. | Section 87 (Consideration and investigation of applicants or holders) |\n| 35. | Section 88 (Register of local practising certificates) |\n| 36. | Section 90 (Supreme Court orders about conditions) |\n| 37. | Section 92 (Fees) |\n| 38. | Section 99 (Prescribed authority to notify other jurisdictions of certain matters) |\n| 39. | Section 100 (Lawyer to give notice of removal in another jurisdiction) |\n| 40. | Section 101 (Lawyer to give notice of interstate orders) |\n| 41. | Section 102 (Lawyer to give notice of foreign regulatory action) |\n| 42. | Section 105 (Peremptory cancellation of local practising certificate following removal of name from interstate roll) |\n| 43. | Section 107 (Show cause procedure for cancellation of local practising certificate following foreign regulatory action) |\n| 44. | Section 115 (Notice of intention to start providing legal services) |\n| 45. | Section 117 (Notice of termination of provision of legal services) |\n| 46. | Section 120 (Incorporated legal practice without legal practitioner director) |\n| 47. | Section 134 (Disclosure of information to Australian Securities and Investments Commission) |\n| 48. | Section 135 (External administration proceedings under Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth) |\n| 49. | Section 136 (External administration proceedings under other legislation) |\n| 50. | Section 138 (Incorporated legal practice that is subject to receivership under this Act and external administration under other legislation) |\n| 51. | Section 146 (Notice of intention to start practice in multi-disciplinary partnership) |\n| 52. | Section 163 (Definitions) |\n| 53. | Section 221 (Rules for Australian legal practitioners) |\n| 54. | Section 222 (Rules for Australian-registered foreign lawyers) |\n| 55. | Section 224 (Prior consultation with professional associations and Board) |\n| 56. | Section 225 (Public notice of proposed legal profession rules) |\n| 57. | Section 226 (Rules) |\n| 58. | Section 228 (Availability of rules) |\n| 59. | Section 230 (Purposes) |\n| 60. | Section 233 (Determinations about status of money) |\n| 61. | Section 235 (Protocols for determining where trust money is received) |\n| 62. | Section 251 (Intermixing money) |\n| 63. | Section 254 (Reporting certain irregularities and suspected irregularities) |\n| 64. | Section 260 (Appointment of investigators) |\n| 65. | Section 263 (Investigator's report) |\n| 66. | Section 264 (When costs of investigation are debt) |\n| 67. | Section 265 (Designation of external examiners) |\n| 68. | Section 266 (Trust records to be externally examined) |\n| 69. | Section 268 (Designation and appointment of associates as external examiners) |\n| 70. | Section 269 (Final examination of trust records) |\n| 71. | Section 271 (External examiner's report) |\n| 72. | Section 272 (Law practice liable for costs of examination) |\n| 73. | Section 273 (Approval of ADIs) |\n| 74. | Section 275 (Reports, records and information) |\n| 75. | Section 280 (Disclosure of accounts used to hold money entrusted to law practice or legal practitioner associate) |\n| 76. | Section 281 (Regulations) |\n| 77. | Section 352 (Deposit of trust money into designated trust deposit account) |\n| 78. | Section 353 (Withdrawals) |\n| 79. | Section 355 (Interest on trust account) |\n| 80. | Section 356 (Division does not apply to controlled money accounts) |\n| 81. | Section 357 (Trust to invest interest) |\n| 82. | Section 367 (Prohibition on withdrawal of certain property) |\n| 83. | Section 370 (Advertisements) |\n| 84. | Section 409 (Interstate legal practitioner becoming authorised to withdraw from local trust account) |\n| 85. | Section 432 (Board to advise prescribed authority of complaint) |\n| 86. | Section 435 (Board to advise prescribed authority of dismissal or withdrawal) |\n| 87. | Section 446 (Interim order for suspension or non-issue of practising certificate) |\n| 88. | Section 447 (Board to advise prescribed authority of outcome of investigation) |\n| 89. | Section 452 (Board to advise prescribed authority of decision) |\n| 90. | Section 454 (Determination of Board) |\n| 91. | Section 457 (Notice of determination) |\n| 92. | Section 459 (Record of decision) |\n| 93. | Section 480 (Compliance with determinations and orders of Tribunal) |\n| 94. | Section 481 (Cost orders of Tribunal) |\n| 95. | Section 482 (Notification of result of proceedings, &c., before Tribunal) |\n| 96. | Section 489 (Supreme Court to notify Board) |\n| 97. | Section 493 (Making of compensation orders) |\n| 98. | Section 497 (Register of Disciplinary Action) |\n| 99. | Section 500 (Liability for publicising disciplinary action) |\n| 100. | Section 512 (Referral of matter involving crimes) |\n| 101. | Section 515 (Protection from liability) |\n| 102. | Section 523 (Circumstances warranting external intervention) |\n| 103. | Section 524 (Determination regarding external intervention) |\n| 104. | Section 525 (Appointment of supervisor of trust money) |\n| 105. | Section 526 (Notice of appointment) |\n| 106. | Section 528 (Role of supervisor of trust money) |\n| 107. | Section 530 (Termination of supervisor's appointment) |\n| 108. | Section 532 (Notice of appointment) |\n| 109. | Section 554 (Conditions on appointment of external intervener) |\n| 110. | Section 562 (Reports by external intervener) |\n| 111. | Section 564 (Provisions relating to requirements under this Part) |\n| 112. | Section 566 (Protection from liability) |\n| 113. | Section 573 (Provisions relating to requirements under this Part) |\n| 114. | Section 581 (Inspection of books) |\n| 115. | Section 582 (Power to hold hearings) |\n| 116. | Section 583 (Failure to comply with investigation) |\n| 117. | Section 586 (Obligation of Australian lawyers) |\n| 118. | Section 587 (Permitted disclosure of confidential information) |\n| 119. | Section 598 (Funds of Board) |\n| 120. | Section 601 (Annual report) |\n| 121. | Section 602 (Confidentiality) |\n| 122. | Section 614 (Confidentiality) |\n| 123. | Section 638 (Accounts, reports and audit) |\n| 124. | Section 640 (Service on the Board or prescribed authority) |\n| 125. | Section 643 (Evidentiary matters) |\n| 126. | Section 649 (Duty to report suspected offences) |\n| 127. | Section 653 (Prescribed authority to report to Board) |\n| 128. | Section 655 (Confidentiality of prescribed authority) |\n| 129. | Section 656 (Protection from liability for prescribed authority) |","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"SCHEDULE 2 - Provisions of Act","sectionType":"part","heading":"SCHEDULE 2 - Provisions of Act (Board)","content":"# SCHEDULE 2 - Provisions of Act SCHEDULE 2 - Provisions of Act (Board)\n\n[Regulation 4(2)](#GS4@Gs2@EN)\n\n| 1. | Section 106 (Show cause procedure for removal of lawyer's name from local roll following foreign regulatory action) |\n| 2. | Section 130 (Audit of incorporated legal practices) |\n| 3. | Section 132 (Banning of incorporated legal practices) |\n| 4. | Section 133 (Disqualification from managing incorporated legal practice) |\n| 5. | Section 158 (Prohibition on partnerships with certain partners who are not Australian legal practitioners) |\n\nDisplayed and numbered in accordance with the *[Rules Publication Act 1953](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1953-050)*.\n\nNotified in the *Gazette* on 27 June 2018","sortOrder":5}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulations do not expand the legal scope or introduce new substantive duties beyond the Legal Profession Act 2007. They perform an administrative function: allocating which body is the \"prescribed authority\" for particular powers and duties contained in the Act (Reg 4; Schedules 1–2). Any substantive change in scope would arise from amendments to the Act itself, not from this instrument. The practical effect is administrative concentration of implementation with the Law Society for most day‑to‑day regulatory functions and with the Board for a small set of matters (see Schedules 1–2), but that is an allocation of responsibility rather than an expansion of the Act’s subject matter."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument: 4 substantive clauses only (short title, commencement, interpretation, prescribed authority)","Two schedules that list Act provisions: Schedule 1 lists 129 distinct provisions; Schedule 2 lists 4 provisions","Single defined term in regulation (\"Act\" meaning Legal Profession Act 2007) — low interpretive burden","High cross‑referencing: the regulations work entirely by cross‑reference to many sections of the Act rather than creating standalone rules","No nested conditions or exceptions within the regulation itself — mechanical allocation only","Operational complexity depends on the referenced Act provisions (trust account, investigation and external intervention provisions add substantive complexity outside this instrument)"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this instrument does (mechanically)\n\n- This regulation names who is the \"prescribed authority\" under many parts of the Legal Profession Act 2007.  In short: the Law Society is the prescribed authority for the long list of functions set out in Schedule 1; the Board is the prescribed authority for the (shorter) list in Schedule 2. (Regulation 4(1)–(2); Schedules 1–2.)\n\n**Who it affects\n\n- All lawyers and law practices operating under the Legal Profession Act 2007 in the jurisdiction covered by that Act. That includes: local lawyers, interstate practitioners working locally, incorporated legal practices, and legal practitioners who hold or apply for local practising certificates. (See many specific provisions listed in Schedule 1, eg. ss 35, 42–46, 48–56, 72–75.)\n\n**Why it matters (official purpose and immediate effect)\n\n- The instrument implements the Act’s administrative design by allocating decision‑making and administrative responsibilities to named bodies. The stated effect is to make clear which body (the Law Society or the Board) will exercise particular powers or receive particular notices required by the Act. Mechanically, that determines who issues or refuses practising certificates, who receives reports and notifications, who appoints examiners or interveners under the Act, and who enforces trust‑account and conduct requirements (see Schedule 1, which lists sections such as ss 42–55, 251, 266–273, 352–357, 409–430; and Schedule 2, which lists ss 106, 130–133, 158).\n\n**How it changes behaviour, who pays and who decides\n\n- Who decides: the Law Society and the Board act as the prescribed authority for the listed powers and functions. (Reg 4(1)–(2); Schedules 1–2.)\n- Who pays: costs arising from functions assigned by the Act will generally fall on regulated parties — for example, law practices may bear costs of external examinations, investigations, audits, or fees required under the Act (see ss 272 (liability for costs of examination), 92 (fees), 130 (audit of incorporated legal practices)).\n- Behaviour changes required of regulated parties: lawyers and practices must comply with the reporting, notification and record‑keeping obligations listed in Schedules (eg. trust account rules, notifications of removal from other rolls, professional indemnity insurance requirements, continuing disclosure obligations). The assigned authorities will be the ones to accept, refuse, vary or cancel practising certificates, impose conditions, order external intervention, receive investigation reports and take administrative steps listed in the Act (see, for example, ss 53–71, 230–236, 260–273, 523–532).\n\n**Practical consequences, trade‑offs and implementation risks (analytical notes)\n\n- Administrative allocation rather than new policy: the regulations do not create new substantive offences or duties; they allocate who implements and enforces duties set out in the Act. That means the main effect is administrative clarity about which body acts under particular sections (Reg 4 and Schedules).\n- Concentration of functions: Schedule 1 assigns a large bulk of the Act’s day‑to‑day regulatory functions to the Law Society (covering practising certificates, trust account oversight, most investigation and external intervention powers, registers, confidentiality and reporting duties). Schedule 2 gives the Board responsibility for a narrower set of powers (notably removal after foreign regulatory action, audits and bans of incorporated legal practices, and some partnership prohibitions). This design concentrates most operational responsibility with the Law Society while preserving certain wider powers with the Board (see Schedules 1–2). That allocation affects where regulated persons apply, whom they notify, and which body enforces particular rules.\n- Compliance costs and incentives: by designating an authority to exercise a power, the regulation shifts administrative costs (processing applications, conducting external examinations, providing reports) onto that authority — but many of those costs are recoverable from regulated entities under the Act (eg. ss 272, 92). Regulated entities therefore face direct compliance costs (fees, costs of external examiners, time and record‑keeping) and the prospect of certificate conditions, suspension or cancellation for non‑compliance (see ss 53, 65–70, 72–75).\n- Discretion and procedural risk: many of the listed sections grant the prescribed authority discretion (for example, to impose conditions, to suspend, to appoint investigators or interveners). The regulation does not add procedural safeguards beyond those in the Act, so procedural fairness and appeals provisions in the Act remain the primary check on that discretion (see ss 84–86 for appeals; ss 452–459 for determinations and records).\n- Market‑impact considerations: the regulation is procedural/administrative. Its immediate market effects are indirect and come through enforcement intensity, fee levels, and how the designated authorities exercise powers (for example, stricter trust‑account supervision or more frequent external examinations can raise compliance costs for law firms). Those effects arise from the underlying Act provisions that the authorities now administer (see many entries in Schedule 1, such as ss 251, 266–273, 352–357, 409).\n\n**Bottom line**\n\n- This regulation is an administrative allocation: it does not change substantive legal duties in the Act but specifies which body performs which regulatory and administrative roles. That allocation shapes where regulated persons apply, whom they notify, who enforces trust/accounting and practising‑certificate rules, and which body recovers or imposes costs linked to investigations, examinations and audits. (Reg 4(1)–(2); Schedules 1–2.)"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulation performs exactly the narrow, technical function it was designed for: designating which body is the 'prescribed authority' for specific provisions of the Legal Profession Act 2007. There is no scope creep or expansion beyond this original purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Only 1 defined term ('Act') in the interpretation section","No conditional logic or nested exceptions—just two straightforward assignments of authority","Content is essentially two long lists of section numbers cross-referenced to the parent Act","No operative provisions creating substantive obligations—purely administrative allocation of functions","Extremely short primary text (4 regulations) with schedules containing only tabular lists"],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation is a simple 'assignment list' that tells us which body does what under the Legal Profession Act 2007.\n\n**What it does**\n- It names two organisations as 'prescribed authorities' under the Legal Profession Act 2007.\n- A 'prescribed authority' is just a fancy term for an official body that has specific powers and duties under the Act.\n\n**Who does what?**\n- **The Law Society** (the professional association for lawyers) handles most day-to-day regulatory tasks. This includes issuing and renewing practising certificates (the licence lawyers need to work), setting conditions on those certificates, investigating complaints, supervising trust accounts (client money), and making rules about professional conduct.\n- **The Board** (the Legal Profession Board) handles the heavier disciplinary and structural matters. This includes removing lawyers from the roll (striking them off), banning incorporated legal practices, disqualifying people from managing law firms, and auditing incorporated legal practices.\n\n**Why it matters**\nIf you're a lawyer, this regulation tells you which organisation to approach for different tasks—whether you're applying for a practising certificate (go to the Law Society) or dealing with a serious disciplinary matter (the Board gets involved). It also ensures that regulatory powers are split between the professional body and the independent board, creating checks and balances in how lawyers are regulated."},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"There is no indication of scope change. The regulation has remained unamended since its commencement on 9 July 2018, suggesting it has operated as originally intended. Without access to the full operative text or an explanatory memorandum, no drift from original intent can be identified."},"complexity_factors":["The regulation appears to be a simple designation instrument — its primary function is just to list or name certain bodies as 'prescribed authorities', which is a straightforward drafting exercise","The actual operative content was not included in the provided text, making full analysis impossible, but designation regulations of this type are generally short and mechanical","No complex cross-referencing, exceptions, or multi-stage tests are apparent from the available information","Tasmania-specific but likely mirrors similar regulations in other Australian jurisdictions, reducing interpretive novelty"],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation designates certain organisations as \"prescribed authorities\" under Tasmania’s Legal Profession Act, affecting lawyers, firms and regulatory bodies by defining which external bodies may have oversight, reporting or compliance roles in the legal profession. \n\nThe provided text is mostly metadata and does not include the actual list of named authorities, so the specific impacts can’t be confirmed from this document alone. It has been in force since 9 July 2018 and appears unchanged."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/legal-profession-prescribed-authorities-regulations-2018","history":"/api/acts/legal-profession-prescribed-authorities-regulations-2018/history","analysis":"/api/acts/legal-profession-prescribed-authorities-regulations-2018/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/legal-profession-prescribed-authorities-regulations-2018/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/legal-profession-prescribed-authorities-regulations-2018/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/legal-profession-prescribed-authorities-regulations-2018/documents"}}