Australian Capital Territory Current Acts Australian Capital Territory Current Acts(1) A person (the legal practitioner ) commits an offence if—
(a) someone else (the client ) engages an incorporated legal practice to provide services (the required services ) that the client might reasonably assume to be legal services; and
(b) the practice provides services other than legal services in the ACT; and
(c) the legal practitioner is—
(i) a legal practitioner director of the practice; or
(ii) an employee of the practice who is an Australian legal practitioner and provides the required services on behalf of the practice; and
(d) the legal practitioner fails to ensure that a disclosure, complying with the requirements of this section, is made to the client in relation to the provision of the required services.
Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units.
Note A reference to an Act includes a reference to the statutory instruments made or in force under the Act, including any regulation (see Legislation Act
, s 104).
(2) The disclosure must be made by giving the client a written notice—
(a) setting out the services to be provided; and
(b) stating whether or not all the legal services to be provided will be provided by an Australian legal practitioner; and
(c) if some or all of the legal services to be provided will not be provided by an Australian legal practitioner—identifying those services and indicating the status or qualifications of the people who will provide the services; and
(d) stating that this Act applies to the provision of legal services but not to the provision of the nonlegal services.
(3) A regulation may make provision in relation to the following matters:
(a) how a disclosure must be made;
(b) additional matters required to be disclosed in relation to the provision of legal services or nonlegal services by an incorporated legal practice.
(4) The additional matters may include the kind of services provided by the incorporated legal practice and whether the services are or are not covered by the insurance or other provisions of this Act.
(5) A disclosure under this section to a person about the provision of legal services may relate to the provision of legal services once, more than once or on an ongoing basis.