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GAZETTE
APRIL 1987
Reciprocity of Qualifications and
Employment Opportunities Abroad
The purpose of this article is to update and amend an article
bearing the same title which appeared in the April, 1986
Gazette. The objective is a more detailed examination of the
position in Australia.
Traditi onally, the State of
Victoria in Australia has been the
only other jurisdiction where an
Irish solicitor could be admitted and
could commence practice with
little difficulty. Last year, however,
new admission rules were intro-
duced by the Council of Legal
Education in Melbourne. Enquiries
should, in the first instance, be
addressed to:
Board of Examiners for Barristers
and Solicitors,
Federal Court Building,
450 Little Bourke Street,
Melbourne 3000,
Victoria,
Australia.
A solicitor recently qualified in
the Republic of Ireland must
present himself for examination in
Constitutional Law, Administrative
Law and the Law of Property and
then spend 12 months in a
so l i c i t o r 's o f f i ce in V i c t o r i a.
However, an Irish solicitor qualified
for at least five years would
be exempted from the requirement
of post-admission practice and
will be admitted to the Roll of
Solicitors in the State of Victoria
once
he has passed
the
examination in the three subjects
mentioned and observed the
admission procedure.
None of the other Australian
States recognise Irish legal qualifi-
cations but it is possible for a
solicitor admitted in the State of
Victoria to move to other states on
meeting the requirements of those
states.
No one, however, may enter
Australia without a visa. Visas are
of three types. A visitor's visa is
the one given to people making a
holiday trip to Australia but the
holder of such a visa may not
engage in employment in Australia.
A working holiday visa is available
to those in the 18 — 25 year age
bracket. The purpose of the
working holiday scheme is to
enable young people to work for
short periods in different locations
in Australia and to fund such visits
by
Professor
Richard Wou l fe
Director of Education,
The Law Society
— at least in part — by taking
t empo r a ry emp l oymen t. The
working holiday visa may not last
beyond 12 months. The last type
of visa is the migrant visa. An Irish
solicitor wishing to live in Australia
and take up employment there
would require a migrant visa.
The following categories of
migration visa are identified: —
1. Family Migration
The spouse, fiance, dependent
child or parent of an Australian
citizen or resident can migrate to
Australia but must be sponsored.
The Australian Authorities must be
satisfied as to the good character
and sound health of the proposed
migrant and this applies across the
board to all categories.
The independent and conces-
sional category includes brothers,
sisters, adult children, nieces and
nephews of an Australian citizen or
resident. People w i t h in this
category must satisfy a points
score and they are considered
under the headings of employ-
ability, age (between 18 and 35 is
the easiest t ime to move),
education and skills — they must
have a trade or profession which
can be recognised in Australia.
Sponsorship by persons within the
listed degree of kindred gives extra
points and all candidates must pass
the points test based on these
criteria. The sponsor must have
been resident in Australia for at
least t wo years and if the sponsor
is an Australian citizen an extra five
points are available.
2. Migration by skilled workers
If the skills of the proposed migrant
lie within an area already well
served by the existing Australian
workforce then his prospects of
obtaining a migrant visa are not
good. If, on the other hand, he is
on the list of occupations in
demand in Australia then he gets
an extra five points. It is within this
area that employer nomination
comes in. If an employer can prove
to the Australian Authorities that a
post cannot be filled by an
Australian then the employer can
nominate a migrant. This can go as
far as group nominations for certain
categories of persons in short
supply in Australia such as nurses.
Unhappily the profession of
solicitor is not one where demand
exceeds supply in Australia and it
will be seen that lawyers are not
included in the following list of
persons whose professions or
trades bring them within this
category: —
Computer Programmer
Nurse
Chef
Mechanic
Accountant
Electrical Mechanic
Plumber
Skilled Waiter
Cabinet Maker
Physiotherapist
Tool Maker
Electrical Fitter
Panelbeater
Upholsterer
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