(1)  A person must not engage in legal practice in this jurisdiction unless the person is an Australian legal practitioner.

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 200 penalty units, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years, or both.

(2)  Subsection (1) does not apply to engaging in legal practice of the following kinds:

(a) legal practice engaged in under the authority of a law of this jurisdiction or of the Commonwealth;

(b) legal practice engaged in pursuant to employment under the State Service Act 2000 ;

(c) legal practice engaged in pursuant to employment in a council;

(d) legal practice engaged in by an incorporated legal practice in accordance with Part 2.5 (Incorporated legal practices and multi-disciplinary partnerships);

(e) the practice of foreign law by an Australian-registered foreign lawyer in accordance with Part 2.6 (Legal practice by foreign lawyers);

(f) legal practice engaged in by a complying community legal centre;

(g) conveyancing work carried out in accordance with a licence in force under the Conveyancing Act 2004 ;

(h) preparing or assisting in the preparation of any deed or will or any instrument in writing purporting to create or convey any estate or interest in real or personal property, or otherwise practising the business of a conveyancer, provided it is not done for fee or reward;

(i) publishing or selling information or material describing the procedures relating to the conveyance or transfer of property that does not involve the preparation of an instrument purporting to convey or transfer property;

(j) work performed by a property agent in respect of instruments he or she is entitled to draw, fill up or prepare, and to charge for, under the Property Agents and Land Transactions Act 2016 ;

(k) the drawing of instruments by an officer or employee in the service of the State in the course of his or her duties;

(l) work performed by –

(i) The Public Trustee established under the Public Trustee Act 1930 ; or

(ii) a trustee company as defined by the Trustee Companies Act 1953  –

in the course of preparing a will or carrying out any other activities involving the administration of trusts, the estates of living or deceased persons, or the affairs of living persons;

(m) appearing or defending in person;

(n) acting on one's own behalf in any legal proceedings or matters;

(o) legal practice engaged in by a complying community legal centre;

(p) legal practice of a kind prescribed by the regulations.

(3)  Subsection (1) does not apply to a person or class of persons declared by the regulations to be exempt from the operation of subsection (1) .

(4)  A person is not entitled to recover any amount in respect of anything the person did in contravention of subsection (1) .

(5)  A person may recover from another person, as a debt due to the person, any amount the person paid to the other person in respect of anything the other person did in contravention of subsection (1) .

(6)  The regulations may make provision for or with respect to the application (with or without specified modifications) of provisions of this Act to persons engaged in legal practice of a kind referred to in subsection (2) (other than subsection (2)(a) and (d) ).