The New Conduct Rules Are Now in Force. Have You Updated These Three Parts of Your Practice?

The amended Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules commenced on 1 July 2026 and apply to every solicitor, not only practices captured by the AML/CTF regime. There are three key areas practitioners need to review: client acceptance under Rule 8, ceasing to act under Rule 13, and engagement letters under the new Rule 12.

Changes to the Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules commenced on 1 July. For many practitioners, the next step is ensuring their processes reflect the new requirements.

Much of the profession's attention leading up to 1 July focused on AML/CTF compliance and AUSTRAC enrolment.

However, the commencement of the amended Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules, together with a new legal practice rule on the content of retainer agreements, affects a much broader group of practitioners.

Unlike the AML/CTF regime, which applies only to practices providing designated services, the amended conduct rules apply to every solicitor.

If you have not yet reviewed your client intake procedures, retainer documentation and approach on ceasing to act, now is the time.

What Are the Key Areas Affected by the 2026 Conduct Rules Amendments?

Here are three areas you need to review.

1. Client assessment is an ongoing obligation

The amended Rule 8 reinforces that solicitors must be satisfied a client's instructions are lawful, proper and competent before accepting them.

Importantly, the obligation does not stop there.

The rule makes clear that solicitors should continue to assess whether instructions remain lawful, proper and competent throughout the life of a matter.

For many practitioners, this reflects what good professional judgment has always required. The difference is that the expectation is now more clearly expressed within the Rules.

A practical question to ask is whether your current intake process treats client acceptance as a one-time administrative step or as an ongoing professional assessment.

Where circumstances change during a matter, practitioners should be prepared to revisit earlier assumptions and consider whether continuing to act remains appropriate.

The requirement to be satisfied that instructions are lawful, proper and competent applies to both new and existing clients.

2. Greater clarity around when you can cease acting for a client

The amended Rule 13 provides additional guidance on what may constitute 'just cause' for terminating a retainer.

The rule recognises circumstances including:

• where continuing to act would place a solicitor in breach of professional or ethical obligations;
• where the solicitor can no longer act in the client's best interests; or
• where a client fails to provide information required to satisfy a solicitor's statutory obligations.

For sole practitioners and small firms, this clarification is particularly valuable.

Decisions about ceasing to act are rarely straightforward. Many practitioners are understandably reluctant to terminate a retainer unless the position is clear.

The amended rule provides greater certainty around circumstances where continuing to act may itself create professional risk for the practitioner, either through potential breach of ethical duties or statutory obligations.

3. Your standard engagement letter may need updating

For many practices, this is the most immediate compliance task.

New Rule 12 of the Legal Profession Uniform Legal Practice (Solicitors) Rules recommends that client engagement terms address certain statutory reporting and disclosure obligations from the outset of the retainer.

In particular, client engagement documentation should explain that:

• the solicitor may be subject to statutory reporting or disclosure obligations;
• those obligations may, in some circumstances, require termination of the retainer; and
• the law may prevent the solicitor from providing further information about the reason for that termination.

These provisions are designed to help manage client expectations and provide greater clarity where legal obligations may affect the solicitor-client relationship.

Rule 12 applies directly in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia, the Uniform Law jurisdictions. In other states and territories, the local regulatory bodies have either made an equivalent rule or issued updated guidance on client retainer agreements, so the practical effect is similar wherever you practise.

For firms relying on standard engagement templates that have not been reviewed recently, now is an appropriate time to revisit that client-facing documentation.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

As practitioners and firms work through the implementation of the new and amended rules, several themes are emerging.

The Practical Takeaway

The conduct rule amendments that commenced on 1 July are not simply technical drafting changes.

They reinforce key professional obligations relating to accepting client instructions, exercising ongoing independent judgment and expanding the circumstances in which a solicitor may need to cease acting.

For most firms, implementation does not require a major compliance project. However, it does require a careful review of client engagement documents, intake processes and subsequent client management processes.

Understanding the reasoning behind the reforms is just as important as understanding the wording of the rules themselves.

LawCPD's ethics training and AML/CTF courses provide practical, CPD-accredited guidance designed to help solicitors apply these changes confidently in day-to-day practice.

If you have not yet reviewed your firm's approach to client onboarding, retainers and professional obligations under the new framework, now is an ideal time to start.

What to Do This Week

The rules are now live. This week is about quick validation, not a full rewrite of your systems.