Cross-institutional study in law
Students from other universities can apply to enrol in units at Deakin. Similarly, you can apply to another university to enrol in units and gain credit for your degree.
It's important to be aware that within our Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and Juris Doctor (JD) there is limited availability for cross-institutional study.
Victorian Legal Admissions Board (VLAB) and the Board of Examiners jointly regulate entry to the legal profession in Victoria and as such approve law courses offered for admission. Deakin Law School is approved by VLAB to provide academic law courses that meet the academic requirement of the Priestley 11 and admission to practice law in Victoria.
Each approved university will offer a different course structure meeting their VLAB requirements. To maintain the integrity of our LLB and JD, and to ensure we continue to meet the VLAB approval process, Deakin LLB and JD students are not permitted to take core law or Priestley 11 units at any other university.
If another institution offers a non-core law unit or units not offered at Deakin that you want to undertake as part of your course (and it works with your enrolment pattern), you may be able to enrol and get credit towards your Deakin degree. Visit our apply for cross institutional study in law webpage for information.
It’s important to note that at present, to meet the requirements of admission to practice as a barrister and solicitor in Victoria, university graduates are required to firstly ensure their LLB or JD, and Priestly 11 subjects do not invoke the 'stale admission' policy.
If graduates completed their law degree and/or Priestly 11 and the law in that discipline has since changed substantially, a student will need to re-enrol in the relevant Deakin unit/s and assessment, fees will be incurred. This re-enrolment will depend upon the level of change that has occurred within the specific unit in issue, which must be assessed on an individual basis by an expert in the unit discipline.
Further, students who have received credit for prior learning (CPL) between the period of 2008 and 2014 may not satisfy the legal admission requirements for VLAB. This is because it is now required that the CPL unit be identical to the requirements under the legal admission rules. Deakin Law School has now amended its policy accordingly.
Any student who has or had CPL issued between 2008 and 2014, which is not accepted by VLAB for the purposes of admission must re-enrol in the unit/s and will be required to sit the assessment.
JD students are not permitted to undertake core JD units cross-institutionally and are only permitted to undertake electives cross-institutionally in instances where this is required for course progression purposes (i.e there are no Deakin alternatives available during a required period of study which would then delay course completion). This is subject to unit assessment and course director approval.