The Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice may be taken as a first degree in a minimum of four years full-time (or the equivalent part-time) or as a graduate-entry program in a minimum of three-and-a-half years full-time (or the equivalent part-time). The course is offered by the Faculty of Education, Humanities and Law.

Students who do not wish to undertake the Legal Practice component may complete a Bachelor of Laws as a first degree in three-and-a-half years full-time (or the equivalent part-time), or as a graduate-entry program in three years full-time (or the equivalent part-time). However, these students cannot be admitted to Legal Practice without completing further practical training.

Part-time students should note that minimum enrolment requirements apply in their first semester of study. Students must undertake both LLAW1211 Legal Research and Writing [Research I, Writing I] and LLAW1212 Criminal Law and Legal Method [Statutory Interpretation].

Note: Students who do not intend to undertake the Legal Practice component of the award are encouraged to notify the Faculty Administrative Officer (Academic and Student Services) via an Ask Flinders request only during their final 12 months to ensure that they are recorded as a graduate of the Bachelor of Laws .

Admission requirements

The minimum requirements for consideration for entry to all undergraduate courses are specified in detail in the University Entry Requirements. 

Law Pathway

The Bachelor of Justice and Society (Law Pathway) is an alternative entry option for students seeking admission into a Law degree at Flinders. Students who successfully complete this pathway may receive credit upon admission into the Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice. For details, see the Bachelor of Justice and Society (Law Pathway) course rule.

Course aims

The course aims to:

  • provide students with a sound training in law and legal skills
  • emphasise the acquisition on foundation legal skills through the integration of skills training with the teaching of substantive subjects
  • instil in students a desire for just outcomes, a broad outlook on law and a commitment to ethical conduct.

Learning outcomes

At the completion of the course, students will be able to demonstrate:

  • an extensive and well-founded knowledge of key areas of current Australian law, including new and developing areas;
  • the ability to find, interpret, understand and critique Australian law within its historical and comparative contexts, using effective learning strategies and appropriate methods, including both recent and traditional technologies
  • the ability to use their knowledge to plan, analyse and think critically, logically and creatively, including by reflecting upon and evaluating facts, ideas, options and resolutions to disputes and debates, and considering client instructions and the requirements of procedural and jurisdictional contexts
  • the capacity to use plain English vocabulary, legal terminology and conventions as appropriate to the situation, to convey their knowledge, reasoning and decisions in a clear and fluent manner
  • the capacity to listen well and respond constructively in written and spoken formats as they apply skills of oral advocacy, persuasion, interviewing, negotiation, argument and counter-argument, as appropriate to particular audiences and settings
  • professionalism and self-reliance in their learning and their work within legal contexts, including skills and attributes such as initiative, goal setting, organising activities, prioritising tasks and managing time productively
  • the capacity for, and a commitment to, lifelong learning: recognising that the world is dynamic and changing and therefore being prepared constantly to review, update and adapt their knowledge and skills
  • the willingness and ability to take responsibility for their decisions and actions and to operate effectively within any relevant contextual framework
  • the capacity to interact effectively with others in a variety of Legal Practice settings, including, where appropriate, working cooperatively and productively towards a common outcome as a team member and leader. This also includes group dynamics, showing respect for others and for their ideas and perspectives and learning to negotiate and resolve conflict or difficulties in a constructive manner
  • awareness of the philosophy and the social and global contexts of law, and willingness to uphold their community responsibility to advocate for justice and to act with integrity in all matters in their professional work and personal lives. As potential officers of the court, they must learn and apply ethical standards applicable to the legal profession and Legal Practice, and to show understanding of the complexity of ethical issues and debates, applying relevant decision-making models to arrive at ethical solutions to problems and taking responsibility for their actions
  • the capacity to recognise the colonial and immigrant context of Australian law and Legal Practice, and to engage positively with people and ideas beyond the limit of their own geographical, disciplinary, social and cultural background, including by synthesising ideas and principles across various legal doctrinal areas; critically analysing and taking appropriate action in complex global and cultural contexts; and forging constructive links between the world of study and the world of work.

Credit

Credit may be granted for topics taken at other institutions. However, except in exceptional circumstances approved by the Faculty Board, a majority of units towards the degree must be obtained from topics offered by Flinders University.

Program of study

To qualify for The Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice as a first degree student, a student must complete 144 units with a grade of P or NGP or better in each topic, comprising 90 units of compulsory topics, 22.5 units of Legal Practice core topics, and 31.5 units of option topics, as set out below.

Students who complete at least 75% of their degree at Flinders and have achieved an overall GPA of 5.5 or greater in the course may be awarded the degree ‘with distinction’.

All students must complete at least one option topic that has been designated by the Faculty Board as an international/comparative option; and at least one option topic that has been designated by the Faculty Board as an Indigenous/Social Justice option.

Option topics may be taken from topics not offered or cross-listed by the School of Law only with the written permission of the Faculty Board. Under no circumstances will permission be given to take topics where entry and course requirements are not met, or the Faculty Board has designated them as unacceptable.

Except with permission of the Faculty Board the program must be completed within ten consecutive years.

The award of a grade of Fail (F) on more than one occasion in the same topic, which may include attempts of the same topic undertaken in other awards, may constitute prima facie evidence of unsatisfactory progress for the purposes of the University's Policy on Student Progress.

Not all option topics are necessarily available in a given year.

The Faculty Board may specify that two or more topics represent unacceptable combinations.

Core - Year 1 topics

 LLAW1211  Legal Research and Writing [Research I, Writing I]  (4.5 units)
 LLAW1212  Criminal Law and Legal Method [Statutory Interpretation I]  (4.5 units)
 LLAW1213  Introduction to Public Law [Group Work]  (4.5 units)
 LLAW1214  Contract  (4.5 units)
 LLAW1221  Professional Skills and Ethics [Ethics I]  (4.5 units)
 LLAW1222  Issues in Criminal Law  (4.5 units)
 LLAW1223  Torts 1  (4.5 units)
 LLAW1224  Advanced Contract [Writing II]  (4.5 units)

Core - Year 2 topics

 LLAW2211  Torts 2 [Interviewing]  (4.5 units)
 LLAW2212  The Constitution and the Australian Federation [International / Comparative I]  (4.5 units)
 LLAW2213  Administrative Law 1: Judicial Review [Statutory Interpretation II]  (4.5 units)
 LLAW2214  Property, Equity and Trusts  (4.5 units)
 LLAW2221  The Constitution and the Australian People [Indigenous / Social Justice I]  (4.5 units)
 LLAW2222  The History of Legal Ideas [Research II]  (4.5 units)
 LLAW2223  Administrative Law: Merits Review  (4.5 units)
 LLAW2224  Corporate Law 1 [Drafting]  (4.5 units)

Core - Year 3 topics

 LLAW3211  Corporate Law 2 [Ethics II]  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3212  Civil Litigation  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3221  Real Property Law  (4.5 units)
 LLAW7000  Practical Legal Training: Civil Litigation Practice  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3223  Evidence  (4.5 units)

Core - Year 4 topics

 LLAW7001  Practical Legal Training: Legal Practice Management [Research III]  (4.5 units)
 LLAW7002  Practical Legal Training: Transactional Legal Practice  (9 units)
 LLAW7003  Practical Legal Training: Criminal Practice and Advocacy  (4.5 units)

Options - Year 3 & 4 topics

Not all topics are necessarily available in a given year.  

Students select 31.5 units of options from:

 BIOL7731 Evidence Evaluation (4.5 units)
 BUSN3054  Taxation Law and Practice (4.5 units)
 CRIM2201  Crime and Punishment  (4.5 units)
 CRIM2202  Policing and Law Enforcement  (4.5 units)
 CRIM3011B  Current Issues in Criminal Justice B - Organised Crime and Criminal Networks  (4.5 units)
 CRIM3203  Corporate Crime  (4.5 units)
 CRIM3301  Crime, Law and Trauma  (4.5 units)
 CRIM3302  International Criminal Justice  (4.5 units)
 CRIM3303  Psychology, Crime and the Law  (4.5 units)
 LEGL3113  Socio-Legal Research Methods  (4.5 units)
 LEGL3114  Introduction to India's Law and Legal System  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3230  Advanced Public Law  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3231  Australian Legal History  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3232  Banking and Finance Law  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3233  Children, Young People and the Law  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3234  Commercial Equity  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3236  Conflict of Laws  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3237  Consumer Protection Law  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3238  Current Issues in Law: Mining Law  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3239  Defamation Law and Policy  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3240  Disability, Mental Health and the Law  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3241  Dispute Management  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3242  Environmental Law  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3243  Family Law  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3244  Health Law  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3245  Immigration and Refugee Law  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3246  Indigenous Australians and the Law  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3247  Intellectual Property  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3248  International Criminal Law  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3249  International Humanitarian Law  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3250  International Law  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3251  The International Protection of Human Rights  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3252  International Trade Law and Development  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3253  Labour Law  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3254  Land Use Planning Law  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3255  Legal Aspects of Housing and Homelessness  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3256  Legal Theory  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3257  Occupational Health and Safety Law  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3259  Remedies  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3260  Securities Regulation  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3261  Selected Issues in Human Rights  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3262  Selected Issues in Media Law  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3263  Selected Issues in Law: Natural Resources and Climate Law  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3264  Social Justice Internship  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3265  Succession  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3266  Women's Rights and the International Protection of Human Rights  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3267  Workplace Compensation Law  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3268  Animal Law  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3269  Personal and Corporate Insolvency Law  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3270  Introduction to China's Law and Legal System (4.5 units)
 LLAW3271  Miscarriages of Justice – Australia, Canada, Britain  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3273  Mooting and International Appellate Advocacy  (4.5 units)
 LLAW3274  Indonesia’s law and legal system: an introduction (4.5 units)
 LLAW4042A  Legal Research Paper (Part 1)  (4.5 units)
 LLAW4042B  Legal Research Paper (Part 2)  (4.5 units)
 PHIL2601  Ethics for Professionals  (4.5 units)
 PHIL2608  Freedom, Law and Society  (4.5 units)
 PHIL3601  Moral Philosophy  (4.5 units)
 WMST2015  Sex, Gender and the Law  (4.5 units)

Combined degrees

The Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice may also be studied in a combined degrees program with a: