www.nzcle.org.nz

New Zealand Council of Legal Education

Increase in Overseas Completion Certificate Application Fee

Effective 1 January 2021 the New Zealand Council of Legal Education will be increasing the Overseas Completion Certificate Application fee to $150 (excluding GST).

Increase in Assessment of Stale Qualification Application Fee

Effective 1 January 2021 the New Zealand Council of Legal Education will be increasing the Assessment of Stale Qualification Application fee to $250 (excluding GST).

Increase in Assessment of Overseas Law Qualification Application and Related Fees

Effective 1 January 2021 the New Zealand Council of Legal Education will be increasing the Assessment of Overseas Law Qualification Application Fees as follows:

• Overseas Law Graduates - $1,650 (excluding GST)
• Overseas Law Practitioners - $1,995 (excluding GST)
• Reconsiderations - $350 (excluding GST)
• Review - $350 (excluding GST)
• Internal Credit Assessments - $250 (excluding GST)

The Council is increasing these fees to account for the increased administrative and operational costs to process and assess each application.

Increase in Assessment of Overseas Law Qualification Application and Related Fees

Effective 1 January 2021 the New Zealand Council of Legal Education will be increasing the Assessment of Stale Qualification Application fee to $250 (excluding GST).

Increase in New Zealand Law Practice Examination Fees

The New Zealand Council of Legal Education will be increasing the fee for each part of the New Zealand Law Practice Examination by $250 bringing the cost to $750.

Under Regulation 11 of the Conduct of the New Zealand and Practice Examination Regulations 1996, the cost of concession applications will also increase to $200 each for compensation passes (Reg 11.4), aegrotat passes (Reg 11.1) and compassionate passes (Reg 11.2).

The Council is increasing the NZLPE fee to account for the increased administrative and operational costs to process and assess each assessment script. The increase also includes some additional compliance costs required as a result of COVID-19 including increase in invigilation costs, venue hire, and charges associated with implementing contact tracing and other public health measure controls.

Fraudulent Documentation

The Council has adopted a policy setting out the consequences for a candidate seeking admission who provides forged or fraudulent documents in support of their application. The policy applies to all applications made to the Council, whether for an assessment of overseas qualifications, an assessment of a stale qualification or for a Completion Certificate.

The Council is entitled to ask a candidate for further information (including other supporting documents) in order to verify any document the candidate has provided to the Council. The Council may also contact the purported issuing person or institution directly in order to verify the document.

If the Council remains unsatisfied that the document is genuine, it may:

• Decline the candidate’s application (and retain the application fee);

• Retain the document (and any others provided in support of the application) for as long as the Council considers appropriate;

• Return the document to the purported issuing institution; and/or;

• Refer the matter and/or provide the document to the appropriate authorities at any time.

The Council will notify the candidate of its concerns in writing and invite the candidate to comment before it makes any final decision as to the veracity of the document.