Legal Clinic and Internships are law electives available for students enrolled in the Bachelor of Laws and LLB double degrees, and Juris Doctor, providing opportunities for Work Integrated Learning (WIL) within these programs.
What courses are available?
- LAW2583 Undergraduate Clinical Legal Practice (12 credit points)
- LAW2608 Undergraduate Legal Internship (12 credit points)
- LAW2434 Clinical Legal Education (12 credit points)
- LAW2554 Postgraduate Legal Internship (12 credit points)
Intakes
The above Legal Clinic and Legal Internship courses will be available across four flex intakes, starting with Flex intake 1, 2027.
Please note that enrolment in a Flex intake course is additional to your regular Semester enrolment and will increase your overall study load.
2027 Flex intakes
| Intake | Start date | End date |
|---|---|---|
|
Flex Intake 1 |
Monday, 18 January 2027 |
Friday, 30 April 2027 |
|
Flex Intake 2 |
Monday, 26 April 2027 |
Sunday, 25 July 2027 |
|
Flex Intake 3 |
Monday, 19 July 2027 |
Friday, 15 October 2027 |
|
Flex Intake 4 |
Monday, 11 October 2027 |
Friday, 28 January 2028 |
Who can apply?
- LAW2583 Undergraduate Clinical Legal Practice: undergraduate students within the Bachelor of Laws program or LLB double degrees offered by the College of Business and Law
- LAW2608 Undergraduate Legal Internship: undergraduate students within the Bachelor of Laws program or LLB double degrees offered by the College of Business and Law
- LAW2434 Postgraduate Clinical Legal Education (CLE): postgraduate students within the Juris Doctor program offered by the College of Business and Law
- LAW2554 Postgraduate Legal Internship: postgraduate students within the Juris Doctor program offered by the College of Business and Law
You must have an available LAW elective in your program (please contact Business Connect to receive confirmation via a program map)
AND
You must have completed at least 96 credit points of LAW courses in your program (one year of study, full time equivalent LAW courses).
Note: you cannot be concurrently enrolled in both a Clinic and a Legal Internship course.
Legal Internships: What do LAW2608 and LAW2554 involve?
These courses provide students the opportunity to gain practical experience in the legal profession by completing an internship at an organisation (private corporation, non-profit organisation, government authority, etc.) undertaking research, tasks or projects connected to the law in some way.
How to obtain your Legal Internship
- Approach and/or apply to a relevant organisation or company, or
- Apply for an RMIT sourced internship with an industry partner (via Career Centre Jobs Board – please search relevant course code to view current opportunities)
Students will undertake the internship under the guidance of a Supervisor at the relevant organisation, and with the support of an academic and professional University staff.
Duration
The recommended duration for an internship is 12 to 15 days across the Flex study period you will be enrolled in.
It is recommended that you complete your internship 1-2 days per week wherever possible, aligning with the required assessments. Other schedules may be arranged with the host organisation.
Important note:
- Existing or new employment relationships cannot be approved for enrolment in WIL courses for credit.
- Internships can be paid OR unpaid.
- 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.
Legal Clinic: What do LAW2583 and LAW2434 involve?
Clinical Legal Practice introduces students to the practice of law.
Under the supervision of the Clinic Supervisor and Course Coordinator, students are directly involved in the provision of pro-bono legal services to clients within a community legal centre or law firm.
Legal Clinic will also introduce students to the regulatory framework which applies to legal practitioners in Victoria. Students will engage with some of the theories and issues relevant to contemporary legal practice. Students will develop an understanding of current challenges relating to social justice and access to justice, and the scope for law and policy reforms.
How to obtain a Clinic place:
- Apply for an RMIT-sourced Clinic role by submitting your Expression of Interest (via Career Centre Jobs Board – please search relevant course code to view current opportunities)
Duration
Legal Clinic requires students to intern 1 day per week, for each week of the Flex term you will be enrolled in - days and hours vary.
Total duration of Clinic depends on the duration of the intake you are enrolled in.
NB: Students must attend Clinic handover days which occur in the first and last week of their Clinic enrolment. Attendance on these days are critical for onboarding, peer mentoring, and physical file handover from the outgoing to the incoming student intern.
Important note: Legal Clinic roles are unpaid.
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.
1. How to secure your Legal Internship
Some ideas of where to start seeking your own opportunities include:
- approach an organisation directly
- apply for an internship advertised by a private or government organisation
- apply for an RMIT sourced internship with a partner organisation via RMIT Career Centre Jobs Board.
How to secure your Legal Clinic role
- Apply for an RMIT-sourced Clinic role by submitting your Expression of Interest (via RMIT Career Centre Jobs Board – please search relevant course code to view current opportunities).
2. Complete the Legal Clinic and Internship Enrolment Form
Once you have secured an internship, please complete the Legal Clinic and Internship application form, ensuring you have the following information ready:
- Position description 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 (DOCX 49KB)
- Start and end dates of your internship (ensuring it fits within the relevant Flex term dates)
- Total number of days or hours you will be interning
- 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.
Legal Clinic application
- Please submit your Expression of Interest for the available Clinic roles (see Career Centre Jobs Board and search relevant course code to view current opportunities ahead of the intake).
- We encourage you to submit multiple EOIs as you may not be successful with your first preference.
- The Course Coordinator will then review and match the EOIs and applications to the available Clinic roles.
- Please note due to high number of applications, not all applicants are matched to a Clinic role on their first attempt. If you are keen keep applying!
- Priority is given to later year law students
3. Complete the Student Undertaking and WIL Ready credential
- Once your application has been provisionally approved, you will be provided with steps on how to complete your two student compliance tasks: a Student Undertaking and WIL Ready credential.
- The Student Undertaking outlines important terms and conditions related to your internship, including intellectual property, privacy and confidentiality obligations, and professional conduct expectations. By acknowledging this agreement, you help ensure a transparent, professional, and mutually beneficial placement experience for both yourself and the industry partner.
- The WIL Ready Credential prepares you for your work experience opportunity by explaining the professional expectations, behaviour and responsibilities in the workplace.
- A WIL Agreement between RMIT and your host organisation will be finalised and signed. If the WIL team do not have a current WIL Agreement with your host organization, your supervisor will be contacted by our team with a request to complete and sign the WIL Agreement. We may reach out to you should we require assistance contacting your host.
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.
-
Refer to the Quick Reference Guide (PDF) for step-by-step instructions.
6. For International placements
-
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.
-
Ensure you complete all steps within Mobi.
You’re all set!
Commence your placement and complete required assessments
You can now commence your internship!
Once you have completed your compliance and you’re successfully enrolled in the course, 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 the course.
Please note you are expected to attend Academic Supervision meeting via Collaborate Ultra in the Course Canvas space.
Supervision meetings are held weekly for Undergraduate Clinic and Internship students, and fortnightly for Postgraduate students. Dates and times will be posted on canvas ahead of your intake.
Academic assessments can also be found on Canvas.
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 required to be completed via Canvas
- RMIT College of Business and Law (CoBL) standard fees (per 12 credit unit) apply.
