Top online CPD providers for family law practitioners in Australia

Family law is one of the fastest-developing legal practices in Australia. With regular legislative changes, case law updates and emerging issues, legal professionals in the field need to be aware of best practices, specialist advice and all the information necessary for giving the most effective support to their clients. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) has also changed, and is no longer just about counting hours – it must offer value by providing practical, targeted and relevant insights into legal practice.

This article will highlight a number of the best online providers for family law practitioners, including webinars, courses, and online conferences. We also include information on where to find family law CPD points, trusts in family law property matters, and mandatory requirements for solicitors.

Where to find family law CPD points

Finding accredited providers may sometimes seem like a challenge in and of itself. The best providers make it easy to track and report your professional development, as they will clearly indicate the points available under the law in Australia.

These include some of the more trusted national and state-based law societies, specialist family law institutes, and providers who offer education in a variety of online formats. These sources often provide a mix of short and sharp webinars with more comprehensive courses and events, allowing you to make regular use of points and ensure professional learning is practical, relevant and on target.

Several online CPD providers continue to offer the highest value learning to family law practitioners, including:

Law society CPD portals - Law societies in each state and territory provide a collection of accredited family law CPD courses online. These courses are regularly updated to keep pace with changes in the law, and typically help solicitors meet their mandatory CPD requirements. Professional responsibility and ethics are usually included in these courses, and each state and territory has its own portal for completing and tracking.

Specialist family law institutes - institutes often run several webinars, workshops, and online mini-conferences each year. These cover a range of topics such as trusts in family law property matters, dispute resolution and emerging legal issues and reforms. A practical approach ensures that new information and strategies can be applied directly to current cases.

Legal CPD platforms - Online platforms like CLE Online and the Practising Law Institute Australia offer both live and on-demand CPD for lawyers in a range of fields. This includes providing flexibility and the opportunity to study in between other work and complete points at your own pace. These resources also offer the convenience of learning from a single source across a number of different practice areas.

Family law webinars - webinars are available for lawyers, including parenting law reform, property settlements, and financial information. Many of these webinars are available on demand and can be reviewed as often as needed, to give family lawyers the flexibility they need to practice.

Family law conference (Online Attendance)- Online courses often have a number of parallel streams which can be accessed throughout the day, covering everything from property settlements to parenting matters and complex financials. As these tend to be one-day events, they can offer the opportunity to complete a significant number of CPD points at once, to keep abreast of new developments and trends.

Trusts in family law property matters

Trusts can be a complex area for practitioners to deal with in the context of property matters. Discretionary trusts, family trusts and other corporate structures can have a range of different elements and potential benefits and drawbacks for clients.

Online CPD that focuses on trusts in family law property matters is a great way to gain information about practical strategies, useful case law and any regulatory issues that could be encountered. These CPD sessions will also usually include case studies, which highlight how courts are treating trust assets, and how these situations can be dealt with both from an advising and a settlements point of view.

Mandatory CPD requirements for family law solicitors in Australia

Family law solicitors have to comply with mandatory legal CPD requirements as set out by state and territory law societies or other regulatory and professional development authorities. This can include the number of hours to be completed, approved areas of study, and rules for reporting. Mandatory professional development must usually include areas such as ethics, professional responsibility and practice management, in addition to more technical areas of legal practice.

Online CPD providers will usually make this information available for users to make it simple to choose CPD that is accredited. These sites will also typically display CPD points available for each course, and have some method of tracking completion to make it simple to store records for reporting later on. Finally, certificates of completion should be available for each course as evidence of attendance and learning.

Selecting the right online CPD provider

Several factors can help to indicate a high-quality online CPD provider, and these include:

Accreditation and Compliance – Courses should be available that meet the mandatory CPD requirements for family law solicitors in Australia.

Practical Application – It’s much more beneficial to complete CPD sessions that include case studies, examples and practical information rather than just theory.

Flexibility – On-demand access to courses and a structure that fits around work commitments is vital.

Specialist Focus – Providers who have a specialist knowledge of family law, trusts and property matters will have more relevant and in-depth information to offer.

Variety of Formats – A good online provider will have a mix of webinars, workshops and conferences to offer both foundational and more advanced CPD.

Online CPD can have the dual benefit of being relevant to your practice and ensuring your mandatory professional development is quickly and easily completed. By using a variety of providers that have different areas of focus, family law practitioners can cover a wide range of relevant topics in a practical and efficient way.

Maximising the value of online Family Law CPD

Online CPD for family law can be an easy and time-efficient way to keep legal professionals current, while also building new skills. Mixing webinars, courses and conferences allows lawyers to cover both foundational topics and gain more specialised knowledge, as well as to stay current on legal reforms.

By focusing on accredited, practical and flexible sources of Family Law CPD, it’s possible to earn CPD points in a quick and efficient way while also developing a deeper and more expert understanding of complex property, parenting and financial matters. This builds confidence, supports compliance and ensures that professional excellence is maintained across all areas of practice.