Bachelor of Accounting/Bachelor of Laws

This is a five-year double degree that puts two professions side by side: accounting and law. You graduate with both a Bachelor of Accounting and a Bachelor of Laws. At Western Sydney University, that means you study the units an accountant needs and the units a lawyer needs, and you do it in one enrolment rather than two separate degrees.

Australian bachelor degrees are built on units of study, each worth credit points, and you need a set number of credit points to graduate. The academic year usually runs as semesters or trimesters, with exams at the end of each teaching period. Over five years you will cover financial accounting, management accounting, auditing, taxation and business law on the accounting side, and subjects such as contracts, torts, criminal law, constitutional law, property law, equity and trusts, administrative law and professional conduct on the law side. The law component of an Australian LLB includes the Priestley 11 subjects, the areas of knowledge the legal profession requires, plus elective law units. Check the official course page for the exact unit list and credit point rules.

Both fields use work-integrated learning. Accounting students often take a professional placement or industry project, and law students can take clinical legal education units where they work on real matters under supervision, sometimes at community legal centres. There is usually a capstone unit near the end that pulls the two disciplines together, and some students complete a research project or thesis in their final year. If you want to practise as a lawyer after graduating, you then complete Practical Legal Training (PLT) or a supervised traineeship to be admitted. To work as an accountant, you can pursue membership of a professional body such as CPA Australia, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, or the Institute of Public Accountants, which involves further study and mentored experience after you finish. Confirm the current accreditation and admission pathways on the official page, because they can change.

You gain skills that employers in both fields ask for: reading and interpreting legislation and standards, preparing financial statements and tax returns, researching case law, writing advice that a client can act on, and arguing a position clearly. The degree suits school leavers who are strong in English and maths and want a professional qualification with more than one door open. It also suits people already working in accounting, finance or a law-related role who want to formalise their knowledge. International students should note the English requirement, IELTS Academic 6.0–6.5 overall is the common undergraduate standard, but law sits higher at 7.0–7.5. The Student visa also has its own English threshold set by the Department of Home Affairs. While studying, a student visa generally allows work of up to 48 hours per fortnight during teaching periods. After graduating, the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream may be available, depending on your circumstances. Tuition is published on the CRICOS register; confirm fees, intake dates and English equivalents on the official course page before applying.

• Accountant in public practice, corporate finance, or government
• Tax adviser or tax consultant
• Auditor or assurance associate at an accounting firm
• Graduate lawyer or solicitor (after completing Practical Legal Training or a supervised traineeship and being admitted)
• Legal officer in a government department or regulator
• Compliance, risk and governance analyst in banking, insurance or superannuation
• Financial analyst or management accountant in private enterprise
• In-house counsel support roles and contract administrator
• Business services adviser in a suburban or regional accounting firm
• Community legal centre worker or policy officer in the not-for-profit sector

Australian industries that hire these graduates include professional services firms, the banking and financial services sector, government agencies such as the Australian Taxation Office and state revenue offices, corporate legal departments, insurance, superannuation, and community legal organisations. Western Sydney's economy, with its mix of small business, manufacturing, health, and professional services, is a common place for graduates to start.