Editing Call to the bar (section)

=== Australia===
In Australia, the status of the legal profession differs from state to state:

* Queensland and New South Wales formally split the legal profession between solicitors and barristers;
* South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory have "fused" the professions of barrister and solicitor, but each state maintains an independent bar for lawyers who solely practice as barristers; and
* Tasmania and the Northern Territory have fused professions, with a very small number of legal practitioners operating as an independent bar.<ref name="Australian Bar Association - What is the Bar?">{{cite web |title=What is the Bar? |url=https://austbar.asn.au/for-the-community/what-is-the-bar |publisher=[[Australian Bar Association]] |access-date=23 March 2019}}</ref>

Most Australian barristers will have previously worked as solicitors prior to becoming barristers.

Candidates wishing to become barristers may have to pass an examination and undergo further specialised training before those candidates are "called to the bar" or "sign the roll of counsel". Both the examination and the further training are administered by the state's bar association:

* in Queensland, candidates must pass "three 1.5 hour examinations, focusing on legal ethics, practice and procedure, and evidence", and then successfully complete the Bar Practice Course;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.qldbar.asn.au/barrister-becoming|title=The Bar Association of Queensland|website=www.qldbar.asn.au|language=en|access-date=2018-11-08}}</ref>
* in New South Wales, candidates must pass the NSW Bar Examination, and then successfully complete the Bar Practice Course;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nswbar.asn.au/coming-to-the-bar/bar-examination|title=Coming to the Bar {{!}} NSW Bar Association|website=www.nswbar.asn.au|language=en|access-date=2018-11-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140939/https://www.nswbar.asn.au/coming-to-the-bar/bar-examination|archive-date=2018-06-12|url-status=dead}}</ref> and
* in Victoria, candidates must pass the Victorian Bar Entrance Exam, and then successfully complete the Victorian Bar Readers' Course.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vicbar.com.au/public/about/becoming-barrister/victorian-bar-entrance-exam|title=Victorian Bar Entrance Exam {{!}} Victorian Bar|website=www.vicbar.com.au|language=en|access-date=2018-11-08}}</ref>

Upon completing the relevant training course, new barristers ("readers") are required to spend a period of months "reading" in the chambers of an experienced barrister, called the reader's "tutor" (in New South Wales) or "mentor" (in Victoria) (historically, this experienced barrister was called the new barrister's "pupil master"). This "reading" period serves as a kind of practical apprenticeship for the new barrister, who works in the same chambers as their tutor/mentor and is able to learn by observing their tutor/mentor, as well as actively seeking their guidance.