Between 2004 and 2008, all states and territories with the exception of South Australia enacted legal profession legislation on the basis of a model Bill developed by a committee of the Attorneys-General (Model Law). The National Legal Profession Reform Taskforce (subsequently formed by COAG) proposed amended draft legislation which was adopted by New South Wales and Victoria in 2014 (Uniform Law).

Both the Model Law and the Uniform Law contain almost identical definitions of Australian lawyer and Australian legal practitioner, which are then subsequently referred to in other legislation across the various jurisdictions.

An Australian lawyer is a person who is admitted to the legal profession under the Uniform Law, the relevant Model Law for a jurisdiction or a corresponding Model Law.

An Australian legal practitioner is an Australian lawyer who holds a current practising certificate from an Australian jurisdiction.

The relevant legal profession statutes in each Australian jurisdiction are: