Bachelor of Laws (Honours), Bachelor of Business

The Bachelor of Laws (Honours), Bachelor of Business is a five-year double degree at Adelaide University. You come out with two qualifications: an honours-level law degree and a business degree. That's a lot of ground covered, and it's structured so the two halves feed each other. You'll study contract, torts, criminal law, constitutional law, property, equity and trusts, evidence and procedure, plus legal research and writing. On the business side you choose a specialisation, accounting, finance, marketing, management or international business are the usual picks, and build up the commercial literacy that legal employers actually want. The honours component means a research thesis or a substantial research project in your later years, supervised by an academic. That's what makes it an AQF level 8 honours degree rather than a plain bachelor.

Australian law degrees are structured around units of study, each with a credit point value. You need a set number of credit points to graduate, and the law degree also has to cover the "Priestley 11", the eleven core areas of legal knowledge that every Australian law graduate must have before they can be admitted to practice. The double degree runs over five years full-time, usually across two semesters a year, though some institutions use trimesters. You'll do law and business units side by side, particularly in the first three years, then focus more heavily on law and your honours research toward the end. Work-integrated learning is built in: clinical legal education placements, internships with law firms, community legal centres, government departments and in-house legal teams. Those placements are where you find out whether you actually like practising law, and they count toward your degree.

Admission to legal practice in Australia is a two-step process: you finish your degree, then complete practical legal training (PLT) or a supervised traineeship, then apply to the Supreme Court in the state where you want to practise. This degree covers the academic stage. The honours research project develops the analytical and writing skills that legal employers and judges care about. You'll learn to read a case, find the ratio, apply it to new facts, draft advice, negotiate a settlement, and argue a position in writing and in person. The business half gives you the language of balance sheets, market analysis and organisational strategy, useful whether you end up in commercial law, corporate advisory, or running your own practice.

This degree suits school leavers and mature-age students who want a professional qualification with a commercial edge. It's demanding: five years is a long commitment, and law involves a lot of reading. If you're interested in how rules shape behaviour, how businesses make decisions under legal constraints, or how to argue a case clearly, it's worth a look. English proficiency matters here, law sits at the higher end of the IELTS scale, typically 7.0–7.5 overall, because you'll be reading and writing at a professional level. International students should check the official page for the exact English requirement, tuition and application dates. While studying, a Student visa allows 48 hours of work per fortnight during term. After graduating, the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream lets you stay and work in Australia for a period that depends on your qualification level.

• Solicitor or barrister (after completing practical legal training and admission)
• In-house legal counsel for corporations, banks or government agencies
• Commercial lawyer in private practice, focusing on contracts, mergers or corporate governance
• Policy adviser in state or federal government departments
• Compliance or risk analyst in financial services, insurance or healthcare
• Business analyst or management consultant with legal expertise
• Legal officer in community legal centres or legal aid
• Entrepreneur or business owner with legal training

Australian industries that hire law and business graduates include private law firms, the banking and finance sector, government (state and federal), professional services firms, technology companies, and not-for-profits. Many graduates also work in-house for large organisations. The combination of law and business opens doors in commercial law, corporate advisory, regulatory affairs and management.