By -

Practical legal training has been a hot topic this year. At the Opening of Law Term Dinner in February, the Chief Justice of NSW Andrew Bell, referred to the high cost of PLT, which he said may pose a “significant barrier” to entry to the legal profession.

Following the Chief Justices’ remarks, the Legal Profession Admission Board (LPAB) sent out a survey as part of a review of PLT in NSW. Over 4,500 responses were received and 43 per cent of respondents felt that assignments were practical and relevant to their careers. Only 40 per cent of the respondents felt the methods of teaching were satisfactory and just 13 per cent of recent graduates thought the course was ‘reasonably priced.’

Over the past five months, a working group consisting of members of the LPAB and senior practitioners across NSW, has met with practitioners from regional and rural areas, boutique and Big Law firms, as well as legal practitioners in government and public sectors, and NSW law schools and PLT providers over this issue.

The purpose of the review was to examine ways to improve the quality of PLT and reduce its cost. According to the Chief Justice, the feedback received as part of the review process so far suggests “too much is currently being sought to be achieved under the existing PLT framework with the consequence that too little is achieved in terms of meaningful skills training and education.

“And the cost of that is largely being borne by young lawyers who are already likely to have accumulated very heavy HECS debts in their university studies,” he said.

The LPAB has released a detailed discussion paper which outlines the options for reform. It notes that PLT is ‘no longer fit for purpose’ and in its current form, the training does not prepare law graduates for different forms of practice.

The discussion paper identified that while online learning can be beneficial for students, face to face or in person education is crucial to the formation of connections amongst the profession. The paper identified that “[p]articularly where PLT is completed by cohorts who have not studied their law degree together, the time spend together face to face during PLT can perform an important role in maintaining and building the sense of camaraderie and belonging which is essential for a profession.”

The Chief Justice, along with Justices Payne, Kirk and Emeritus Professor Michael Quinlan will be holding a consultation and information session for the profession on Wednesday 5 November 2025 in the Banco Court. A copy of the Chief Justices’ statement on the release of the PLT discussion paper can be found here.

Submissions for the discussion paper will close on 30 October 2025.