Clinic and Legal Internship are law electives available for students enrolled in the Juris Doctor or Bachelor of Laws, seeking opportunities for industry-based learning within their program.
What courses are available?
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LAW2608 Undergraduate Legal Internship (ULI)
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LAW2583 Undergraduate Clinical Legal Practice
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LAW2554 Postgraduate Legal Internship (PLI)
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LAW2434 Clinical Legal Education (CLE)
Who can apply?
- You can apply for this elective if you:
- LAW2554 Postgraduate Legal Internship: are a postgraduate student within the Juris Doctor program offered by the College of Business and Law
- LAW2608 Undergraduate Legal Internship: are an undergraduate student within the Bachelor of Laws program offered by the College of Business and Law
- LAW2583 Undergraduate Clinical Legal Practice: are an undergraduate student within the Bachelor of Laws program offered by the College of Business and Law
- LAW2434 Postgraduate Clinical Legal Education (CLE): are a postgraduate student within the Juris Doctor program offered by the College of Business and Law
- You have an unused/available LAW-elective in your program (please contact Business Connect to receive confirmation via a program map) AND
- You have completed courses in your program equivalent to at least 96 credit points (completed your first year of study, full time equivalent)
UG and PG Legal Internships: What does LAW2608 / LAW2554 involve?
These courses provide students with the opportunity to gain industry-experience by completing an internship at an organisation (private corporation, non-profit organisation, government authority etc.) that carries out research, tasks or projects that are connected to the law in some way. Students may obtain an internship by:
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Approaching and/or applying to an organisation of their choosing, or
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Applying for an RMIT organised internship with an industry partner (via Career Centre Jobs Board – you will need to search for the relevant course code to bring up current roles)
Students will undertake the internship under the guidance of a workplace mentor at the relevant organisation, and with the support of an academic and professional University staff.
Internships can be paid OR unpaid for LAW2554 Postgraduate Legal Internship and LAW2608 Undergraduate Legal Internship.
Note: Unpaid internships that are outside of an accredited University program may be in breach of the Fair Work Act and therefore might be illegal. For further information please refer to the Fair Work Ombudsman website.
How many hours am I expected to do for LAW2608 / LAW2554?
The minimum duration of an internship in the postgraduate legal internship and undergraduate legal internship electives (12 credit points) is 10 days. However, your internship must not exceed 30 days.
We recommend that you complete your internship 1-2 days per week over a 12-week period. Other schedules can be arranged between yourself and the organisation.
UG and PG Clinic: What does LAW2583 / LAW2434 involve?
LAW2434 introduces students to the practice of law. Under the supervision of the Course Coordinators, students are directly involved in: the provision of pro bono legal services to clients through a specially designed legal practice operating within an inner-city community legal centre. Clinical Legal Practice will also introduce students to the regulatory framework which applies to legal practitioners in Victoria and engage with some of the theory behind, and issues relevant to, contemporary legal practice.
LAW2583 introduces students to the practice of law through the provision of legal services to real clients at partner legal organisations, including community legal centres, courts, and tribunals under the supervision of qualified legal practitioners. Students are introduced to the regulatory framework for legal practice in Victoria and acquire a range of practical legal skills. They also develop an understanding of current challenges relating to social justice and access to justice, and the scope for law and policy reforms.
Students may obtain a clinic place by:
- Applying for an RMIT organised internship with an industry partner (via CareerCentre – you will need to search for the relevant course code to bring up current roles)
LAW2583 Undergraduate Clinical Legal Practice and LAW2434 Clinical Legal Education roles must be unpaid.
Note: Unpaid internships that are outside of an accredited University program may be in breach of the Fair Work Act and therefore might be illegal. For further information please refer to the Fair Work Ombudsman website.
How many hours am I expected to do for LAW2583 / LAW2434?
The duration requirement for LAW2583 and LAW2434 is a total of 80 hours. The role will be unpaid.
When can I undertake a placement?
You can commence your placement once you have enrolled in the course and have worked through the administrative steps listed on the following pages. This includes having your placement approved by the Course Coordinator and ensuring the WIL Agreement has been completed.
1. Find an internship
Some ideas of where to start seeking your own opportunities include:
- approach an organisation directly (LAW2608 and LAW2554 only)
- apply for an internship advertised by a private or government organisation (LAW2608 and LAW2554 only)
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apply for an RMIT organised internship with an industry partner via RMIT Career Centre Jobs Board (subject to availability) (LAW2608, LAW2554, LAW2434 and LAW2583)
2. Complete the WIL Internship Enrolment Form
Once you have secured an internship, please open an enquiry with Business Connect requesting a Program Map in order to confirm you have space to enrol in the relevant internship course.
After confirming you are eligible, please complete the WIL Internship Enrolment Form, ensuring you have the following information ready:
- Position description or offer letter on company letterhead with details of your internship – if there is no official Position Description, you may use the RMIT Legal Internship Position Description template (hyperlink)
- Start and end dates of your internship (ensuring it fits within the relevant term/semester dates)
- Total number of days or hours you will be interning for
- Organisation name, ABN and address
- Supervisor’s contact details
- What course you want to enrol into e.g. LAW2608
- Proof you have space in your program to enrol into the elective (confirmed via Business Connect)
The WIL Team will then review your application and get back to you with an outcome. If your placement is self-sourced, the WIL Team seeks approval from your course coordinator.
3. Complete the RMIT WIL Agreement and WIL Ready Credential
- Complete the WIL Agreement as provided and advised by the WIL team.
- If you have sourced the placement yourself, you will need to ask your host organisation to sign the partner section of the WIL Agreement. If you have secured a placement advertised on RMIT Career Centre Jobs Board, there will likely already be a WIL Agreement in place, and you may only need to complete the Student Undertaking section.
- The WIL Team will then have the WIL Agreement signed on behalf of RMIT and send you the final version to keep a copy for yourself and provide a copy to your employer/supervisor.
- You must also complete the WIL Ready Credential to ensure you are adequately prepared for your internship.
4. Enrol into the course
Once your placement has been approved, the WIL Team will provide you with approval and instructions to enrol into the internship course.
Note: You cannot directly enrol into an internship course without prior approval.
5. Record your placement using InPlace
InPlace is RMIT’s central system for managing and recording WIL activity. The WIL Team will provide you with instructions for completing your InPlace submission and registering your placement.
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Refer to the Quick Reference Guide (PDF) for step-by-step instructions.
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Ensure you upload your WIL agreement and contract before submitting.
6. For International placements
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If you are undertaking a placement overseas you must register your details with RMIT’s Global Mobility system Mobi in order to qualify to receive complimentary RMIT student travel insurance and access to International SOS.
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Ensure you complete all steps within Mobi.
You’re all set!
Commence your placement and complete required assessments
Once you have completed the above steps and secured an approved internship, you can commence your internship:
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Induction: Attend a pre-internship induction with your host organisation and the Course Coordinator.
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Assessment Plan: You and your course coordinator will agree on an Assessment Plan that sets out how the tasks in your internship relate to the set assessment for your elective, and identify the due dates for each task that align with your specific internship dates.
Note: Once you are successfully been enrolled in this course and completed all compliance steps, your course coordinator becomes your point of contact. The details of your course coordinator can be found on the Course Guide and the Canvas site for this course.
Note: By enrolling into Clinic and/or Legal Internship electives, you acknowledge the following:
- These courses are optional Law electives, and you must have 1 Law elective space (per course) in your program to be eligible
- GPA linked assessments are still required to be completed via Canvas
- RMIT College of Business and Law (CoBL) standard fees (per 12 credit unit) apply
