Law and Justice Internships

A law or justice internship unit is a work placement opportunity for students to put into practice what they have learnt during their degree. It also allows students to build their knowledge, skills and attributes in a professional legal or justice environment.

• Learn new skills, develop your knowledge and gain experience in your chosen career.
• An opportunity to apply your theoretical knowledge to the ‘real world’ work environment.
• Work in a diverse environment that will increase your self-confidence, improve your communication skills, develop team building skills and extend leadership skills.
• Provide networking opportunities with industry partners and likeminded people.

Law and justice studies internship units are offered throughout the academic year - semesters 1, 2, winter and summer semesters.

• If you have completed 24 credit points within your law or justice studies degree.
• Allow at least one month prior to the commencement of the semester to apply for and secure your internship. (Note: university-arranged internships may take longer to be secured)

• You can find your own internship or placement. This is called a self-arrangement law and justice studies internship.
• Apply to do a university-arranged internship.

Self-arranged internships are where students organise their own placement with a professional supervisor. If you are doing a law internship under this initiative, then your supervisor must be a lawyer. Self-arranged internships can be undertaken at any time during the year, which allows students to complete a placement either in Australia or internationally.

Students sourcing their own internship should check University of Canberra CareerHub, the University’s online careers notice board, for current opportunities, or speak to Careers UC to discuss their ideas and options. Careers UC services are available to assist students with all aspects of sourcing and applying for internships. The best way to access this is via their daily drop-in sessions.

University-arranged internships are organised by the Canberra Law School. Opportunities for these types of internships are available every semester and are advertised through the UC Careers site and Canberra Law School, Law and Justice Canvas site a month prior to the commencement of each semester.  Those organisations include Legal Aid, ACT; Canberra Community Law; Environmental Defender’s Office; Citizen Centred Justice Clinic; and law firms. These opportunities are limited and require you to send an expression of interest with your resume, academic transcript, and area of interest to BGLWIL@canberra.edu.au.

If you are undertaking the Bachelor of Justice Studies SCB001 you are required to do an internship unit (at least 11253 Law and Justice Internship unit) in order to complete the Core Major in Justice Studies.

Students in the Bachelor of Laws SCB101 can select an internship as part of the Category A (Work Integrated Learning Unit) from the Law Electives Major SM0033.

Students must be enrolled into a Work Integrated Learning (WIL) unit for an internship to count towards their degree. Depending on the individual student’s degree and the appropriate unit undertaken, the student may complete 3, 6 or 12 credit points. The placement hours to be completed will depend on the internship unit you are enrolled into. Students will need to check their study plan to ensure that an internship unit meets the requirements for the course progression towards their degree.

If you are not sure or need to update your study plan, students should contact the BGL Student Support Team (BGLStudent@canberra.edu.au) for further advice.

• Obtain approval from the Unit Convenor to undertake your internship/placement.
• Enrol in a specific law and justice internship unit.
• Read the unit outline in Canvas and complete administrative tasks.

If you are unable to self-enrol into the unit you will need to complete a Unit Registration Form (URF) available through your MyUC website or contact the Canberra Law School Internship Team at BGLWIL@canberra.edu.au. The URF will need to be approved by the Unit Convenor. You will then be able to submit the form to the student centre for further processing.

Yes. It is possible to do an internship interstate or overseas. However, you must obtain approval by the Unit Convenor prior to enrolling in the internship unit.

The Canberra Law School internship team are very happy to provide support to students considering and participating in internship opportunities. This could include discussion and decision-making regarding opportunities, assistance with placement opportunities and building 'real world' experience.

Every student undertaking an internship placement will have a workplace supervisor who will provide support, guidance and clarification on the requirements and expectations within the host organisation’s work environment.

The Canberra Law School internship team run workshops over the course of each term and semester, along with a pre-placement activity to ensure that you have the tools necessary to undertake your placement. The workshops also provide opportunities for students to interact and connect with other students for social support.  A Canberra Law School team member will also connect with your supervisor throughout your placement providing additional support to you and your supervisor.

Yes, there is a Host Organisation WIL Agreement form (only required if your Host Organisation does not have a current agreement with the University) and an Internship Placement – Learning Agreement form.  These forms are available on your unit Canvas page or by contacting BGLWIL@canberra.edu.au.

Students should complete InPlace prior to the commencement of their placement. Here students are required to lodge the full details of their internship, including their Learning Agreement, into InPlace prior to the commencement of their placement. Your Unit Convenor will formally approve your placement and notify your host supervisor that you are ready to start your internship.

• Complete the required work hours in the organisation. The number of work hours will depend on the specific internship unit you are enrolled in.
• Each internship unit has an assessment criterion with assessment tasks to be completed by the student to pass the unit.
• Attend workshops during the semester. It is important that you attend these workshops as they provide information on requirements of the unit.

An application for extension must be made to the Unit Convenor. Each case will be considered individually. Due to the nature of the internship process and the availability of placements with Host Organisations there is a degree of flexibility applied when assessing extension requests.

The role and responsibilities will vary between organisations. This will depend and vary in each organisation but will also be dependent on the requirement of your workplace supervisor and your level of knowledge and skills.

You will need to obtain special permission from the Unit Convenor to be able to do this. It is possible to undertake your internship placement at your normal place of work. However permission will only be granted if the internship is in a new section of your workplace and you are learning new skills and knowledge with a different workplace supervisor to your regular job.

Generally, internships are unpaid, however, some organisations may offer paid opportunities, particularly for the longer 6 or 12 credit point opportunities.

If you are undertaking an unpaid internship, you must be enrolled in an academic internship unit, to meet relevant Fair Work legislation and have university insurance cover during your internship. If your internship is paid, you should still be enrolled to gain credit towards your degree, but insurance is covered by the organisation hiring you as a paid employee.

If you are unsure about any aspect of your internship, please contact your Unit Convenor or Careers UC.

It is possible for you to get a job when you complete your internship with the host organisation. This opportunity depends on the host organisation and if they have any positions that align with your skills available in their organisation. Many internship students have received an offer of employment after completing an internship however there is no requirement for the host organisation to provide an offer of employment upon completion of your internship.