The Notice

The Notice is, in effect, the application to the Supreme Court. You must attach an original certificate from the High Court of New Zealand to your Notice. The certificate must state your date of admission and confirm that you are still on the New Zealand Roll. Please note that a Certificate from a Law Society is not sufficient. You should bear in mind that the date of issue on the Certificate must be within 28 days of the date you file your Notice ( Part 65C 4 (2)(f)(iii) )

The Notice needs to be lodged at the Supreme Court of NSW (in person or by post) and should be dated no more than 14 days before it is filed ( Pt 65C 4 (2)(e)).

You must serve the Notice and accompanying documents by personally delivering, or by sending, to the Law Society of NSW, NSW Bar Association and Legal Profession Admission Board either on or before the date you file your Notice with the Court, or within 14 days of filing ( Pt 65C 4 (3)).

You, the applicant, must personally sign every page of the Notice. 

Statutory Declaration

The information in the Notice and annexed original New Zealand High Court Certificate is to be verified by Statutory Declaration (see form in Practice Note SC Gen 8).  After making the declaration you as the applicant must personally sign the statutory declaration as well as ALL the pages of the Notice and the annexed original certificate.  You need to ensure that the person before whom declaration is taken also signs the declaration and each page of the Notice and the annexed certificate.

The certificate must state your date of admission and confirm that you are still on the New Zealand Roll. You need to ensure that the person before whom declaration is taken also signs the declaration and each page of the Notice and the annexed certificate.

The Statutory Declaration must be declared before a person with the legal authority to receive a statutory declaration in either New South Wales or New Zealand, depending on where the document is declared. If you are completing the declaration in New South Wales, it may be sworn by any solicitor with a practising certificate or a Justice of the Peace. If you are completing the Declaration in New Zealand, it is usually sworn before a Registrar of the New Zealand High Court or qualified lawyer.

Affidavit of Service

Under Pt 65C 4 (3) of the Supreme Court Rules you must serve the Notice and accompanying documents (being certificate and statutory declaration) on the the Law Society of NSW, NSW Bar Association and Legal Profession Admission Board. You must prove service by filing an affidavit of service. If the same person attended to serving the 3 bodies one affidavit of service can be sworn by the person who either delivered or sent the documents to these bodies. The affidavit should specify the addresses at which the documents were served and any other relevant information in proving service. The Affidavit must be filed within 14 days of filing the Notice.

Oath of Office

The provisions are set in Part 65C 4(4) of Supreme Court Rules.

In short, prior to or within 14 days after filing the Notice with the Court, you must attend the Registry of the Supreme Court of NSW to execute the Oath of Office and have the certificate completed. The Oath can by taken before the Duty Registrar who is located in the Court's civil registry on Level 5. You can find details of the registry's location on this page. You will need to make an appointment to see the Duty Registrar so that they can administer your Oath. Further information about booking an appointment and available timeslots is available on this page.

If you are executing your oath in New Zealand, you need to attend before a person authorised under New Zealand law to take Oaths. The Oath and accompanying Certificate is usually taken before a Registrar of High Court of New Zealand. They must be completed and filed when executed, or within 14 days.

Approximately how long will the Court take to process my application?

Assuming your application and accompanying documentation is correctly prepared, the Supreme Court will issue you with a sealed certificate of admission in New South Wales within 5-10 working days.