
Travelling to Australia to study law will bring on many questions that you’ll want answered. Whether it’s understanding the degrees or knowing your options post-graduation, the Bond University Law School has collaborated a number of the Frequently Asked Questions students ask about studying law in Australia:
What is the difference between the LLB and JD?
The Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and the Juris Doctor (JD) are both professionally recognized degrees. The JD entry is restricted to graduate students while the LLB has no such restriction.
Law has traditionally been taken as a first degree in Australia and ‘LLB’ is the traditional label for that degree. However, a number of universities have introduced ‘JD’ degrees for graduate entrants. The compulsory law units for the two Bond University Law School degrees cover the same content and students in these subjects may be taught together.
The LLB comprises 32 subjects in total, including 19 compulsory law units and 4 compulsory non-law units.
The JD comprises 24 subjects in total, all being law units, with 19 of the units being compulsory. Electives for the JD are taken from the LLM (Master of Laws) list rather than the LLB list.
Canadians who possess a first degree generally enrol for the Bond University Law School JD.
After I graduate, what do I have to do in order to be eligible to practise law in Canada?
To practise law in Canada, you will need to complete a Canadian bar admission course. To be eligible for a bar admission course in any of the common law provinces (ie excluding Quebec), you will need a Certificate of Qualification from the National Committee on Accreditation (the ‘NCA’) of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. The certificate will state that you have education and training equivalent to that of a graduate from a Canadian law school.
Application is made to the NCA at the end of your degree at Bond. The NCA will review your record and prescribe a number of examinations in Canadian law. Click to view the NCA’s guidelines.
The NCA makes its decisions on an individual basis, taking account of academic performance, and will not issue advance rulings.
The NCA introduced a new scheme in early 2009. Most recent Bond graduates have been required to take four examinations in Canadian law: Constitutional Law, Criminal Law and Procedure, Principles of Administrative Law, and Foundations of Canadian Law. Bond currently teaches electives in Canadian Constitutional Law, Canadian Administrative Law and Canadian Criminal Law and Procedure which, subject to certain conditions, have been recognised by the NCA as satisfying its requirements for these subjects.
How can I take the examinations in Canadian law?
There are two ways of taking these examinations if they have not been taken as part of a Bond University Law School degree.
You may seek admission to a Canadian law school for this purpose. Places are limited. Alternatively, you may take ‘challenge exams’ set by the NCA. The more popular route is the challenge exams.
How much difference is there between Australian and Canadian law?
The principles and methodology of Australian and Canadian law are similar. The details of statutory provisions and case-law obviously differ but an Australian law degree provides a good basis for taking examinations in Canadian law and for legal practice in Canada.
Can I take some of the examinations by going on exchange to a Canadian law school?
Our Canadian students are permitted to credit one semester at a Canadian law school toward their Bond degrees (usually the elective component). However, there is no guarantee that the subjects needed will be available that semester or visiting students will be permitted to take them.
Will I be able to stay in Australia and practise law there?
There are two separate issues here: qualification as an Australian Lawyer and possession of a visa entitling you to work in Australia. Admission to the legal profession in Australia requires, depending on the State, the completion of either articles or a six-month Practical Legal Training program. Australian immigration operates on a ‘points’ system for working visas. Some points are awarded for having an Australian degree but additional points are required. Some of our graduates have qualified and are working in Australia. For further information, you should contact the Department of Immigration or an Australian consulate in Canada.
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