The specified academic qualifications prerequisite is successfully completing a tertiary academic course in Australia which:
i. includes the equivalent of at least 3 years' full-time study of law,
ii. is accredited by the Board, and
iii. the Board determines will provide for a student to acquire and demonstrate appropriate understanding and competence in each element of the academic areas of knowledge set out in Schedule 1, or otherwise determined by the Admissions Committee after consulting each of the Boards.
Persons wishing to be admitted as an Australian lawyer must complete a course of study under Part 2 of the Rules.
The compulsory 'Priestley 11' subjects are:
- Administrative Law
- Civil Dispute Resolution
- Company Law
- Contracts
- Criminal Law and Procedure
- Ethics and Professional Responsibility
- Equity (including Trusts)
- Evidence
- Federal and State Constitutional law
- Property
- Torts
In the State of Victoria, eight universities have been approved by the Victorian Legal Admissions Board to provide academic law courses. These institution offer a course of study in either LLB (undergraduate law degree) or postgraduate JD (Juris Doctor) which satisfies the Board's academic requirement for admission.
- Australian Catholic University (External link) - LLB
- Deakin University (External link) - LLB & Deakin University (External link) - JD
- La Trobe University (External link) - LLB & La Trobe University (External link) - JD
- Monash University (External link) - LLB & Monash University (External link) - JD
- RMIT University (External link) - LLB & RMIT University (External link) - JD
- Swinburne University of Technology (External link) - Dual Award LLB & Leo Cussen Centre for Law
- The University of Melbourne (External link) - JD
- Victoria University (External link) - LLB
A full list of approved Priestley Subjects in Victoria 2012-2024 is available.
Academic institutions approved by other Australian jurisdictions that provide a course which satisfies the academic requirements for admission in that jurisdiction are also approved academic institutions for the purpose of the Admission Rules.
The Victorian Legal Admissions Board Academic Course Appraisal Committee's Accreditation Guide identifies the key matters covered by the Law Admissions Consultative Committee Accreditation Standards for Australian Law Courses, as amended in July 2018 (LACC Standards), to assist law schools to provide the information required for the purpose of an accreditation assessment.