Admission to Legal Practice Subjects in the Melbourne LLB

What is Admission to Legal Practice?
The admission of barristers and solicitors in Victoria is regulated by the rules of the Council of Legal Education and administered by the Board of Examiners appointed by the Supreme Court. The Council prescribes an academic requirement and a practical requirement to gain admission to legal practice.

What are the Academic Requirements for Admission to Legal Practice?
The Bachelor of Laws degree meets the academic requirements for admission to legal practice under the rules of the Council for Legal Education. The Council currently requires the following eleven areas of knowledge for admission: Administrative Law, Civil Procedure, Company Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Federal and State Constitutional Law, Professional Conduct (including basic trust accounting), Property both Real (including Torrens system land) and Personal, Equity (including Trusts), and Torts.

Pre-2006 LLB Students
Students who commenced their LLB degree prior to 2006 can check the Compulsory and Quasi-Compulsory subjects required for admission to legal practice by checking My Course Plan or by checking the pre-2006 subjects table, or by checking with the Undergraduate Studies Office.

Post-2006 LLB Students
From 2006, the admission to legal practice subjects will consist of the following compulsory and quasi-compulsory subjects:

Students are strongly recommended to undertake the quasi-compulsory subjects, even if they do not currently intend to practise law. If a graduate subsequently wishes to practise law and has not completed all the admission to legal practice subjects, these subjects must be undertaken as individual Community Access Program (CAP) subjects.

What are the Practical Requirements for Admission to Practise?
At present, the practical requirements for admission to practise can be satisfied in one of the following ways:

1. Articles of Clerkship - 12 months supervised work experience in a legal firm.
2. Leo Cussen Institute - 30 week Practical Training Course run between March and September each year. A further six months legal employment is required for a full practising certificate.
3. A Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice, Skills and Ethics is now available from Monash University. A further six months in legal employment is required for a full practising certificate.

Once admitted to practise law, you are eligible to be a barrister or solicitor. To apply to the Victorian Bar to practise as a barrister requires a nine months' readership including an initial three month full-time 'readers' course. Students wishing to practise overseas should refer to the following webpage for information regarding legal practice outside Australia.