Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal
Legal practitioners in the Northern Territory are regulated by the Legal Profession Act 2006. The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal is an independent body that determines whether legal practitioners in the Northern Territory have engaged in unsatisfactory professional conduct or professional misconduct.
Lodging a complaint with the Law Society of the Northern Territory
If you have a complaint against a legal practitioner, you can lodge a complaint with the Law Society of the Northern Territory.
The Law Society website has more information in relation to this process, including the Complaints Form and Complaints and Discipline Guide.
The Law Society will look into your complaint and decide what further action, if any, will be taken.
Appeal against a Law Society decision to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal
If you are not satisfied with the decision the Law Society has made in relation to your complaint, you may appeal to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal.
To appeal you must file a Form 1 – Notice of Appeal PDF (103.2 KB) with the Tribunal within 28 days of receiving the Law Society's decision. You need to write the grounds of your appeal in the form. The Supreme Court Civil Registry accepts filings on behalf of the Tribunal.
After certain steps have been undertaken (like the Form 1 being served on the legal practitioner) the Tribunal will conduct a directions hearing. The Tribunal may make orders about things like timeframes for the filing of documents, affidavits, subpoenas and other relevant matters.
The Tribunal will then hear the appeal and make a decision. It will either affirm the Law Society’s decision or set it aside. If it is set aside the Disciplinary Tribunal can direct the Law Society to start disciplinary action or take action itself.
The Tribunal may make an order as to costs of the appeal as it considers appropriate.
The process for appealing a Law Society decision to the Disciplinary Tribunal is set out in part 4.10 of the Legal Profession Act 2006 and also part 2 of the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal Rules 2011.
Forms
The following are the forms you should use in proceedings brought before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal:
| Form | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Form 1 – Rule 5 Notice of Appeal PDF (103.2 KB) | Use this form to appeal a decision of the Law Society before the Tribunal. |
| Form 2 – Rule 8 Disciplinary Application PDF (120.1 KB) | Law Society to use this form to commence a disciplinary proceeding against a legal practitioner before the Tribunal. |
| Form 3 – Rule 19 Interlocutory Application PDF (114.8 KB) | Use this form for all applications during a proceeding. |
| Form 4 – Rule 12 Notice of Address for Service PDF (93.9 KB) | Use this form to advise the Tribunal of any change of address for service or other contact details in a proceeding. |
| Form 5 – Rule 7 and Rule 10 Notice of Address for Service of Respondent PDF (94.6 KB) | Respondent to use this form to advise the respondent’s address for service and other contact details in a proceeding. |
Decisions of the Disciplinary Tribunal
The Disciplinary Tribunal has made the following decisions in proceedings brought before it:
| Decision title | Decision date |
|---|---|
Calabro v Law Society NT and Farmer  (339.2 KB) |
18 Dec 2023 |
| Bayram v Story and Law Society NT (331.1 KB) |
15 Aug 2023 |
| Lewis v De Silva LSNT (1.4 MB) |
16 Sep 2021 |
| Godfrey v Law Society NT & Gray 2 (1.2 MB) |
29 Jul 2021 |
| Godfrey v Law Society NT & Gray (580.3 KB) |
12 May 2021 |
| Goodwin v Law Society NT & Barry (346.6 KB) |
07 Sep 2020 |
| Law Society NT v Clift (808.5 KB) |
18 Jun 2020 |
| Cameron v Law Society of the NT & Spurr (405.2 KB) |
08 Nov 2018 |
| Law Society NT v Farmer (803.6 KB) |
30 Aug 2018 |
| Law Society NT v Lee (61.2 KB) |
29 Jul 2011 |
| Hendrikse v Phoo & Law Society NT (159.7 KB) |
09 Feb 2010 |
| Ogilvie v Law Society NT (508.9 KB) |
26 Nov 2009 |
| Hunt v Law Society NT (31.8 KB) |
12 Jun 2009 |
| Law Society NT v McLaren (787.0 KB) |
27 Apr 2009 |
| Law Society NT v Rowbottam (977.5 KB) |
15 Oct 2008 |
| Kennedy v Law Society NT (429.9 KB) |
02 Jul 2008 |
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