Passing the bar exam is a recognizable and essential step in a lawyer’s career if they want to advance to the next rank.
You can become a lawyer in Australia without first passing the bar exam. This differs from other countries like the United States, where every lawyer must pass the bar before being allowed to practice law.
You can have a fulfilling and successful law career without taking and passing the bar exam, but if you want to become a barrister or Senior Counsel (aka Queen’s Counsel or King’s Counsel), you’ll need to pass that exam.
So, what do you need to know about the bar exam and how to pass it? Let’s find out!
What Is the Bar Exam?
The bar is required to advance from lawyer or solicitor to barrister.
While the distinction between positions varies slightly from territory to territory, The Bar is a nationwide network of regional Bar Associations. To become a barrister (and therefore a member of the Bar), you must pass the exam.
To become a barrister, you must first become a fully qualified lawyer.
Afterwards, you can work as a lawyer for as long as you’d like before applying for your Barrister’s Practising Certificate. You can receive the certificate by passing the bar.
You’ll need to complete additional education and training before you can apply for and pass the bar.
You’ll need to register for an exam date with the State Bar Association that relates to you to sit the exam. These associations are:
- Australian Capital Territory Bar Association
- Bar Association of Queensland
- New South Wales Bar Association
- Northern Territory Bar Association
- South Australian Bar Association
- The Tasmanian Bar
- Victorian Bar
- Western Australian Bar Association
After passing the exam, you need to register and sit the Bar Practice Course or Bar Reader’s Course. After successfully completing that course, you can apply with the Bar Association for your barrister’s practising certificate.
Here's how you can work in law across Australia. Remember that states have different requirements and formats.
Step 1
Complete a Law Degree or Equivalent Qualification
Earn a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) or Juris Doctor (JD).
Step 2
Complete Practical Legal Training (PLT)
Undertake PLT through a recognized provider to gain practical skills.
Step 3
Apply for Admission to the Legal Profession
Apply to the Supreme Court of the relevant state or territory to be admitted as a solicitor.
Step 4
Obtain a Practising Certificate
Secure a practising certificate through the state or territory's Law Society or regulatory body.
Step 5
Pass the Bar Exam to Become a Barrister
If you wish to become a barrister, complete additional education, pass the bar exam (if required), and undertake a Bar Practice Course or equivalent.
Note that each state or territory may have specific rules for barrister certification, so be sure to check with the state you want to practice in and meet their requirements!
Bar Exam Format
The entry registration fee for the bar exam and the reader’s course fee are quite hefty. In the reader’s course, you’ll also be taking a financial hit since you will be studying full-time with no income with a mentor for a few months.
So, ensure that you have all the resources you need before you embark on your quest to pass the bar exam. You must also ensure complete availability during these times to successfully complete the course.
Each state runs their bar examination and subsequent course a little differently.
Remember to check that any information you find on becoming a lawyer is specific to your state or the state you wish to practise law.
Victoria
Victoria has one entrance exam date per year, in October. Upon passing the entrance exam, candidates will be placed in the March or September Reader’s course for the following year.
The exam is entirely remote so you can complete it at home. You will use exam software by ExamSoft, and you’ll be able to use hard copies of information in an open-book fashion. You cannot use electronic resources.
There are multiple-choice, short-answer, and long-answer questions. Most questions can be considered ”application” type questions, but some will be “pure rule.” There will also be case studies in the preparation reading guide that you will need to be able to answer questions about.
The exam is three hours long, and the software will not accept late answers. You need 75% to pass. Results are given after about 8 weeks.
New South Wales
New South Wales has two exam entrance dates per year: one in February and one in June. There are also two Bar Practice Courses per year: one in April-May and one in August-September.
The bar exam consists of two papers. Each paper must be completed in two hours, with an additional 30 minutes for reading and preparation beforehand. There is a break between the papers.
You must sit the exam in a designated exam facility unless you make alternate accommodations in advance. You will use your own laptop or request one be provided. You’ll write all your answers in the ExamSoft program, and you can use hard reference materials but no electronics.
Queensland
In Queensland, you register for the Bar Exam and the subsequent Bar Practice Course simultaneously. There are two exams per year, one in May and one in October. The following Bar Practice Course cohorts occur from August to October and March to May.
The exam consists of three papers that test legal ethics, evidence, practice, and procedure. All three exams occur on the same day, and breaks are included. You must pass all three with at least 65% to be allowed to enter the Bar Practice Course.
for all three exams!
The exams are all short and long-answer questions, and some are based on scenarios. You are allowed certain provided resource materials during the exam.
Results are reported about five weeks after the exam.
Western Australia
There is no bar exam in Western Australia. Instead, you must be admitted to the Supreme Court of Western Australia and have completed Supervised Legal Practice.
Then, you may apply to become a bar member, provided you can supply two letters of recommendation from current Western Australian bar members who have known you professionally for at least 5 years.
To maintain admission to the Bar, you must complete annual Continuing Professional Development credits.
South Australia
There is no bar exam in South Australia.
To become a barrister, you must already hold a South Australian Practising Certificate, undertake to practice exclusively as a barrister, and complete the Bar Readers Course.
Tasmania
There is no bar exam in Tasmania.
Instead, you must complete satisfactory education, apply to the Supreme Court and be admitted to the legal profession, complete at least two years of supervised legal practice, and then apply to the Law Society of Tasmania. If you have less than 10 years of law experience, you may need to undertake two years of pupillage with two different Pupil Masters.
5 Study Tips for the Bar Exam
If you’re applying to become a barrister in a state with a bar exam, you’ll want to ensure that you try to pass the exam the first time.
The application fees can cost upwards of $750 and are nonrefundable, so you likely don’t want to pay to sit the exam again!
Here are the best tips for passing the bar regardless of the state in which you sit your exam.
1. Use the Reading Guide
After registering for the bar exam, you’ll likely receive a Reading Guide (Information for Applicants Booklet in Queensland). Read it thoroughly and multiple times.
These materials typically contain information like case studies that you may need to reference on the exam.
You’ll also learn valuable information about the exam itself, what is expected of you, and other procedural information you need in order to perform the exam properly and well.
2. Use the Practice Exam
Find old exams for practice! On many Bar Association sites, you can find examples of past years’ question booklets and sample answers.
Use these practice papers to see what questions you can expect and the types of answers that scored well.
The exception is Queensland, which does not provide examples of past years’ questions.
3. Read Case Studies and Follow Current Events
To familiarise yourself with practical application and the letter of the law, keep up with current judicial cases in the news or at your current law job.
Note what makes for good and bad ethics by the lawyers and barristers. How do they deal with conflict and stress? How do they gather and present information?
4. Keep Up with Continuing Education
Just because you may not be required to take continuing education courses doesn’t mean you can’t.
Enrol in a reputable bar exam prep course, take legal workshops, and attend seminars to stay sharp on the information and skills you need.
5. Ensure Your Materials are Sound
Triple-check that the materials you plan to bring to the exam are allowed!
The exams only allow certain reference materials under certain circumstances.
You must also ensure that your laptop reliably runs the ExamSoft program for the entirety of the exam, or you risk forfeiting your score.
The bar exam is full of nuance in Australia and differs across the country. No matter which process you need to follow, the steps are all laid out online, and some people can explain the process to the respective bar associations.
To become a barrister, you must study hard and commit to earning your certificate. But it’s nothing you’re unfamiliar with already!
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