On 11 December 2025, the Legal Practice Council published an important notice outlining the rollout of the new five-paper Competency-Based Assessment for candidate attorneys. The LPC confirmed that while the new syllabus will begin operating for training and preparation in 2026, the first examination sitting under this revised structure will take place in March 2027.
According to the LPC, the transitional approach is designed to ensure administrative fairness and create a clean break between the current and new assessment regimes. To prevent prejudice to candidates already in the system, the Council has resolved to provide one final opportunity for candidate attorneys to complete the current four-paper syllabus before it is fully discontinued.
Candidate attorneys must now plan around three critical milestones.
March 2026
The first of the final two sittings under the current four-paper structure. The LPC strongly encourages all candidates with outstanding papers to write all remaining exams at this session to avoid unnecessary risk.
August 2026
The last possible sitting under the legacy system. Any papers not completed by the release of the August 2026 results will lead to the forfeiture of all accumulated credits.
March 2027
The first sitting of the new five-paper competency-based exam. Candidates who fail to complete the legacy syllabus by August 2026 will transition into the new structure and be required to write all five papers in full.
The LPC has also published the revised 2026 Competency-Based Examination timetable on its website.
The new syllabus restructures all 15 modules under Regulation 6 (10) into a consolidated five-paper format. Due to the extent of the restructuring, there is no direct mapping between the old and new papers. As such, any candidate who has not successfully completed all four papers of the current syllabus by the release of the August 2026 results will forfeit all accumulated credits. Such candidates will be required to register for the full new five-paper syllabus for the March 2027 assessments.
Candidate attorneys entering Practical Vocational Training for the first time in 2026 will automatically be enrolled under the new syllabus. The LPC has confirmed that there will be no exam sittings under the new structure in 2026 to give new entrants sufficient time to train and prepare.
The LPC has urged all candidates with outstanding papers under the legacy system to take full advantage of the March and August 2026 sessions, as no further extensions will be granted.
