Bachelor of Laws

The Bachelor of Laws at Charles Darwin University is a three-year qualification for people who want to practise law or use legal training in another career. You study the areas every Australian law degree must cover, contract, torts, criminal law and procedure, property, equity, constitutional law, administrative law, evidence and civil procedure, alongside electives that let you follow your own interests. At CDU the Northern Territory setting shapes some of that choice. Native title, land rights, Indigenous legal issues and the way law works in remote communities come up in the classroom in a way they do not at most southern universities, and there are opportunities to study those areas closely.

The degree is built on units of study, each carrying credit points, delivered across semesters. You need to pass the core units, complete the required number of elective units and finish with the total credit points the degree specifies. A capstone unit in your final year lets you pull the threads together, often through a research or applied project. The degree includes practical legal training components and placement opportunities, so you spend time in a legal workplace, a community legal centre, a firm, a government department or a court, applying what you have learned to real files and real clients. If you already hold a degree in another field, credit for prior study may shorten the law component; ask CDU to assess your previous units.

You graduate with the analytical and research skills to read a case, find the relevant statute, build an argument and write it clearly. You learn to interview a client, draft documents, negotiate and appear in a moot court. Those skills travel. Australian law graduates work in private practice, government, community legal services, in-house legal teams, policy, compliance and beyond. The Bachelor of Laws is an academic qualification for admission to legal practice, but admission in Australia also requires a practical legal training course or supervised workplace training, plus admission through the relevant state or territory admitting authority. CDU can tell you how its degree maps to those requirements in the Northern Territory and elsewhere.

This course suits school leavers and mature-age students who want a professional qualification with a strong social justice thread. It also suits people already working in law-adjacent roles, paralegals, police, public servants, community workers, who want to move into practice. International students should check the English language requirement carefully. Law sits at the higher end of the university's published English standards, so plan for an IELTS Academic score in the 7.0–7.5 range or an accepted equivalent. The Department of Home Affairs sets its own English threshold for the Student visa, which is separate from the university's requirement. Once enrolled, a student visa allows you to work up to 48 hours per fortnight during study periods, and after you finish you may be eligible for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream. Confirm all details, including tuition, on the official CRICOS register and the CDU course page.

• Solicitor or barrister in private practice, after completing practical legal training and admission
• Legal officer or policy adviser in federal, state or territory government
• Lawyer or advocate in community legal centres and Aboriginal legal services
• In-house counsel or compliance officer in corporations, banks and insurers
• Native title and land rights officer, or legal researcher for Indigenous organisations
• Industrial relations or human resources adviser
• Legal publisher, researcher or academic
• Roles in policing, corrections, immigration and border protection, and regulatory agencies
• Contract and procurement specialist in construction, mining and resources