Studying Law in Australia - Australia as your study destination

Australia’s multicultural society
Australia is a safe, friendly, sophisticated and harmonious society in which you can learn and travel in an English-speaking country. More than 100 ethnic groups are represented in Australia, making Australia one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world.

Australians value the wealth of cultural diversity and social sophistication that international students bring to our campuses and our communities. International students also gain great benefits from their education in Australia, even after they return home. Friendships are made for life.

Australia’s high quality tertiary education system
Australia has world-class education and training institutions. There are over 300,000 international students studying in Australia. They have chosen to study at Australian institutions as they are a recognised source of high quality education.

International students in Australia receive an education that is guaranteed by a rigorous and independent quality assurance framework. The framework reflects world’s best practice in quality assurance for the protection of students and the international reputation of Australian education and training.

Australia’s education and training system is subject to ongoing checks and controls by government, educational institutions and professional bodies to maintain and improve its high standards.

The Department of Education, Science and Training regulates the provision of education to international students. There is legislation, the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act 2000, which protects the interests of all people coming to Australia on student visas, by providing tuition and financial assurance and by ensuring a nationally consistent approach to providing registration.

Institutions must be registered with the Australian Government and meet special registration conditions enabling them to deliver courses to international students in Australia. To qualify an institution must meet high standards of quality and ethical practice. These standards apply equally to public and private institutions and take into account such issues as curriculum, qualifications of teaching staff, and facilities including specialist equipment.

The Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) is an independent, national quality assurance body that audits the key activities of teaching, learning, research and management in Australian universities. Where an Australian university offers courses at an offshore campus or through an agent, the institution will be expected to maintain standards at least equivalent to those provided in Australia and carry full responsibility for all aspects of delivery.

International students and parents have access to AUQA audit reports. The Australian Government also publishes university quality assurance and improvement plans annually which can be referred to.

Support services available to you
Australia is an international leader in support services for international students. Specialist services for international students are well resourced, quality assured and can be enjoyed in a safe and welcoming society. Among the excellent range of services supporting the personal and academic achievements of international students in Australia are –

- language tuition
- designated international student advisers
- application and visa-processing assistance
- on-arrival reception and orientation programs
- health, counselling, accommodation and employment services
- social support and pastoral care.

Further information about studying in Australia can be found at: http://studyinaustralia.gov.au

Studying in the English language
Law is taught in the English language at all Australian law schools.

Australian education institutions can only accept students with an appropriate level of English proficiency. Thus, usually you will need to satisfy an English language requirement for admission to the law course at the university of your choice. You will need to have your English language proficiency certified against one of the major internationally recognised tests, such as –

- Cambridge test — preferred by European students.
- Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) — preferred by Asian students.
- International English Language Testing System (IELTS) — most popular with students aiming at further education in Australia, and the preferred test for entry into Australian universities. This test may also be required for Overseas Student Visa purposes.

The most commonly accepted indicator for University is an IELTS score of 6.5 or TOEFL score of 550 or better.

When you read about the law schools you are considering, you will see that they provide you with information on whether they have programs to assist you to improve your English. You will find that all universities provide this assistance.

Overseas students studying law/legal studies in Australia
- Regions of student provenance Enrolments 2007





Welcome	In this chapter –
Australia as your study destination Prerequisites for studying law in Australia Choosing the law school that is best for you Coming to Australia Living in Australia Legal education in Australia Practising law in Australia A guide to Australia’s law schools A guide to Australia’s practical legal training Programs A guide to Australia’s postgraduate law programs Acknowledgements	Is Australia the right study destination for you? Four families of law Will your Australian law degree be recognised in your home country? Australia’s legal system compared to its neighbours Australia’s multicultural society Australia’s high quality tertiary education system Support services available to you Studying in the English language Overseas students studying law/legal studies in Australia
	Is Australia the right study destination for you? To decide whether, for you, Australia is a suitable country in which to study law, at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you need to know something about its legal system. Will you study about a legal system similar to the one in your own country or will it be different? There are three main systems of law - Civil Law In a civil law system the law consists of codes and executive decrees. Opinions of judges and the work of scholars are persuasive only. Common Law In a common law system, although there are some codes, it is more usual for the law to be in statutes. The judgments of courts form part of the law and supplement the statutes. The opinions of scholars are only persuasive. Socialist In a socialist system there are civil law type institutions and processes, but they endorse socialist economic values and goals. In some countries there is also customary law, which comprise indigenous, personal or religious laws, usually operating alongside the dominant legal system. Australia has a common law system and so the common law is almost always what is taught in Australian law schools. Which system is the one in your country? Do you want to study a system the same as your own or, if it is different to the Australian system, is your plan to study the common law?
	Four families of law The different legal systems have surprisingly similar content in their laws but content does not determine to which family of law a particular country’s legal system belongs. The laws of a country can be said to belong to a family, depending upon the kinds of values and goals the society endorses, the roles and duties of the institutions and individuals empowered to pursue those goals, and the detailed processes through which the goals are implemented. From the vantage point of values, goals, roles and processes, therefore, the following four main families of legal systems have been identified – Common Law Originating in England and still retained, at least in part, by most of the countries which England colonised, including English-speaking North America. Civil Law Originating in Europe and based on Roman law, represented by codes from France and Germany and sometimes acquired through colonisation and sometimes adopted by choice. Customary Law Indigenous, personal or religious laws retained in countries which adopted either the common law or the civil system and coexisting with those systems. Socialist Civil law in institutions and process, but endorsing socialist economic values and goals. If you study the civil law you will focus heavily on how to read the codes and you will learn the content of the basic laws. The work of scholars is studied extensively. It is the same in socialist systems. But if you study the common law, there is much less emphasis on simply learning the content of a mass of legislation. The primary task is to research relevant legislation and judicial decisions and then determine the legal principles which must be applied to any given fact situation. Will your Australian law degree be recognised in your home country? In addition to qualifying you to practise law in Australia, Australian law degrees may be recognised as completely or partially meeting the knowledge requirements for admission to practice, or call to the bar, in a number of countries. You may be required to undergo further study or training in addition to your Australian qualification to be eligible for admission to practice. You should check with the relevant authority in your country for accurate and up-to-date information on what is required and if, and how, an Australian law degree will be recognised. The information below is about which degrees are currently recognised in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and India. More law schools may be recognised in the future. Malaysia If you have a law degree from a recognised Australian university you are also required to sit for and pass the Malaysian Certificate in Legal Practice (CLP) examination conducted by the Legal Profession Qualifying Board before you are deemed to be a qualified person for admission to practise in Malaysia. For further information about admission requirements in Malaysia contact – Legal Profession Qualifying Board Malaysia Tel: +60 3 2691 0054 (or +60 3 2691 0080) Fax: +60 3 2691 0142 Web: http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/content/view/195/92/ The Australian undergraduate law degrees currently recognised by the Malaysian Legal Profession Qualifying Board are:

	Australian Capital Territory Australian National University New South Wales Macquarie University University of New South Wales University of Sydney University of Technology, Sydney Queensland Bond University Queensland University of Technology University of Queensland	South Australia University of Adelaide Tasmania University of Tasmania Victoria Monash University University of Melbourne Western Australia Murdoch University University of Western Australia
	Brunei In effect, Brunei recognises the law degrees of all Australian universities. However, the important thing is that a citizen or permanent resident of Brunei who completes an Australian law degree must, in order to qualify for admission in Brunei, go on and become qualified as a barrister or solicitor (legal practitioner) in Australia – or in the United Kingdom, Singapore or Malaysia. This means that the law graduate who is a citizen or permanent resident of Brunei must be admitted to practice in an Australian jurisdiction (or in the United Kingdom, Singapore or Malaysia). The effect of this is that they would need to complete whatever practical training is required for admission in the Australian jurisdiction (or United Kingdom, Singapore or Malaysia) in which they planned to be admitted, and then be admitted. These changes came into effect on 22nd February 2006. Qualified persons are required to complete pupillage requirements in Brunei prior to admission. Law graduates who are not citizens or permanent residents of Brunei and wish to become qualified for admission there, must have qualified to practise in Australia, been in active practice in Australia for at least the preceding seven years, have a valid practising certificate and maintain a place of business in Brunei (personally or by the firm which employs them). For further information contact – The National Accreditation Council of Brunei Tel: +673 2381133 (ext 2209 or 2210) Fax: +673 238 1238 Web: http://www.moe.gov.bn/departments/accreditation/ Singapore Singaporean citizens or permanent residents who have obtained qualifications from recognised Australian law schools, and graduated in the top 30% of their cohort, are required to complete a year long Diploma in Singapore Law at the National University of Singapore in order to be considered a qualified person for the purposes of admission as an advocate. Persons can be exempted from the requirement to be in the top 30% of their cohort if they – - are ranked in the top 70% of their cohort - have three years relevant work experience - then undergo and pass an interview with the Board of Legal Education. Details of the work experience criterion can be found in the Ministry of Law’s announcement on its web site, http://www.minlaw.gov.sg. To gain admission to the Singapore Bar, Singaporean students with Australian qualifications and the Diploma in Singapore Law are required to undertake six months pupillage with a law firm as well as the Practice Law Course run by the Board of Legal Education. For further information contact – Board of Legal Education Tel: + 65 34 1831 / 2 Fax: + 6538 7757 Web: http://www.lawsociety.org.sg/ble The Australian undergraduate law degrees currently recognised by the admitting authorities in Singapore are:
	Australian Capital Territory Australian National University New South Wales University of New South Wales University of Sydney Queensland University of Queensland	South Australia Flinders University Tasmania University of Tasmania Victoria Monash University University of Melbourne Western Australia Murdoch University University of Western Australia
	India The undergraduate degrees of six Australian law schools are recognised by the Bar Council of India:
	Australian Capital Territory Australian National University New South Wales University of New South Wales	Queensland Bond University Griffith University Queensland University of Technology Victoria University of Melbourne
	Graduates in law from these universities who are Indian citizens are eligible to sit the Bar Examinations for enrolment as advocates in India. More Australian law schools are in the process of applying for recognition. For further information contact – Bar Council of India 21, Rouse Avenue Institutional Area New Delhi 110 002 INDIA Tel: +91 011 2323 1647 (or 2323 1648) Fax: +91 011 2323 1767 Email: bci.india@nic.in Web: http://www.barcouncilofindia.nic.in Internationalisation With the internationalisation of business there is an increasing need to consider the law of more than one country or culture.
	Australia’s legal system compared to its neighbours Australia is not the only country in the South East Asian region with a British heritage in its legal system. Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore have retained the legacy of the common law system from the time of British colonisation. The common law still applies in Hong Kong unless inconsistent with the Basic Law or laws promulgated by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Singapore and Malaysia have retained the common law system as former colonies of the British; but in matters of family law, Islamic law is applied through the Shariah courts for Muslims in both countries. In Malaysia customary law relating to land title is also applied. Other countries have adopted the civil law system from Germany or France. Japan adopted the civil law system by selecting parts of the codes of France and Germany and transmitted its mixed civil system to Korea. Indonesia is also regarded as having a civil law system as the result of its Dutch occupation of more than three centuries. Thailand has borrowed much from the civil law. Thailand was never subject to colonial rule yet adopted an essentially civil law system, basing its court structure on French judicial models, its Commercial Code on European models and its Civil and Criminal codes on English models. Vietnam and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are examples of a socialist system. The Vietnamese system has been influenced by the occupation of the French; the system of law in the PRC is influenced by the ancient Chinese legal tradition as well as by the writings of Mao Ze Dong and Soviet thought. But these four families of legal systems are only a starting point. Each country shapes its legal system to reflect its own history, culture, values and influences. In particular, the influence of the British and then the Americans in commercial law in the Pacific Rim region has also meant that even fundamentally civil law systems have adopted and are adopting Anglo-American commercial principles.

	Australia’s multicultural society Australia is a safe, friendly, sophisticated and harmonious society in which you can learn and travel in an English-speaking country. More than 100 ethnic groups are represented in Australia, making Australia one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. Australians value the wealth of cultural diversity and social sophistication that international students bring to our campuses and our communities. International students also gain great benefits from their education in Australia, even after they return home. Friendships are made for life. Australia’s high quality tertiary education system Australia has world-class education and training institutions. There are over 300,000 international students studying in Australia. They have chosen to study at Australian institutions as they are a recognised source of high quality education. International students in Australia receive an education that is guaranteed by a rigorous and independent quality assurance framework. The framework reflects world’s best practice in quality assurance for the protection of students and the international reputation of Australian education and training. Australia’s education and training system is subject to ongoing checks and controls by government, educational institutions and professional bodies to maintain and improve its high standards. The Department of Education, Science and Training regulates the provision of education to international students. There is legislation, the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act 2000, which protects the interests of all people coming to Australia on student visas, by providing tuition and financial assurance and by ensuring a nationally consistent approach to providing registration. Institutions must be registered with the Australian Government and meet special registration conditions enabling them to deliver courses to international students in Australia. To qualify an institution must meet high standards of quality and ethical practice. These standards apply equally to public and private institutions and take into account such issues as curriculum, qualifications of teaching staff, and facilities including specialist equipment. The Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) is an independent, national quality assurance body that audits the key activities of teaching, learning, research and management in Australian universities. Where an Australian university offers courses at an offshore campus or through an agent, the institution will be expected to maintain standards at least equivalent to those provided in Australia and carry full responsibility for all aspects of delivery. International students and parents have access to AUQA audit reports. The Australian Government also publishes university quality assurance and improvement plans annually which can be referred to. Support services available to you Australia is an international leader in support services for international students. Specialist services for international students are well resourced, quality assured and can be enjoyed in a safe and welcoming society. Among the excellent range of services supporting the personal and academic achievements of international students in Australia are – - language tuition - designated international student advisers - application and visa-processing assistance - on-arrival reception and orientation programs - health, counselling, accommodation and employment services - social support and pastoral care. Further information about studying in Australia can be found at: http://studyinaustralia.gov.au Studying in the English language Law is taught in the English language at all Australian law schools. Australian education institutions can only accept students with an appropriate level of English proficiency. Thus, usually you will need to satisfy an English language requirement for admission to the law course at the university of your choice. You will need to have your English language proficiency certified against one of the major internationally recognised tests, such as – - Cambridge test — preferred by European students. - Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) — preferred by Asian students. - International English Language Testing System (IELTS) — most popular with students aiming at further education in Australia, and the preferred test for entry into Australian universities. This test may also be required for Overseas Student Visa purposes. The most commonly accepted indicator for University is an IELTS score of 6.5 or TOEFL score of 550 or better. When you read about the law schools you are considering, you will see that they provide you with information on whether they have programs to assist you to improve your English. You will find that all universities provide this assistance. Overseas students studying law/legal studies in Australia - Regions of student provenance Enrolments 2007

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