Undertaking a Law Internship LAWS3555/JURD7555 gives students an opportunity to apply their knowledge gained from academic studies into genuine workplace experiences in areas such as legal practice, research or advocacy with a range of public interest organisations working across a variety of areas with the purpose of advancing the public good.

An editorial internship with the Australian Journal of Human Rights LAWS3183/ JURD7383 is also advertised to students each term through InPlace.

Internships require students undertake a minimum of 70 hours work experience with the host organisation and attend online classes once a fortnight.

Each term students can apply for advertised partner opportunities through InPlace or self-organise an internship with a public interest organisation that is not listed on our partner list. More information on self-organised placements can be found here.

Summer Term

For summer term 2027 the only advertised opportunity is the Legal Aid Regional Internship program (please see separate information below). All other internships for summer term are required to be self-organsied.  

Eligibility

To be eligible to undertake an internship LLB students must have completed 78UOC of LAWS courses; Juris Doctor students must have completed 72UOC of JURD courses prior to commencement of the internship and be in good academic standing.

It is important to note;

• Internships must be with public interest, non-profit organisations, in-line with the course learning outcomes.
• Internships may be paid or unpaid.
• Internships can generally not be completed with an organisation you are currently, or have previously, worked or volunteered with as the internship must provide new learning opportunities. Exemptions may be given in some circumstances.
• Internships completed overseas are generally required to be completed in a common law jurisdiction. Please contact law.wil@unsw.edu.au to request a country specific WIL agreement if planning to complete your internship overseas. (do not use the WIL agreement on InPlace) Exemptions may be provided for suitable internships in non-common law countries.

Note: To apply for any exemptions to the above, please email law.wil@unsw.edu.au with the details of your request. 

Please note a maximum of 2 applications can be submitted for advertised partner internships per term. (Clinic courses and the AJHR internship can be applied for, and undertaken, in addition to LAWS3555/JURD7555)

To apply to undertake a self-organised internship, please download a WIL host information form and WIL agreement from InPlace and have your host organisation complete these before submitting in InPlace for review and approval.  

We advise students to enroll in an alternative elective course in the event their WIL application is not successful. If successful, and you accept the internship, you will be given consent to enroll in the relevant course through myUNSW. 

Applications for Term 1 2027 partner opportunities, open Monday 21 September 2026 (Week 2) and close Sunday 11 October 2026 (end Week 4).

Applications for Summer term and Term 1 self-organised internships must be submitted by Friday 20th November (Week 10)

Law Internships: Extended LAWS3777/JURD7777 are undertaken in the term following completion of LAWS3555/JURD7555. With the approval of the Director WIL students may be approved to undertake the internship concurrently in the same term as LAWS3555/JURD7555.  

The extended Law Internship must be with the same host organisation as the internship undertaken for LAWS3555/JURD7555. Students, together with their host organisation supervisor, are required to identify a suitable research project that will have a requirement of at least 70 hours work. The extended internship cannot be a continuation of the same duties/activities undertaken in the initial internship. 

Students are required to submit an extended internship proposal to the Director WIL no later than Friday of Week 10. Once approval has been received students are required to submit an application through InPlace.  

A proposal template can be found under the document tab on InPlace. 

Students will be required to attend two online classes for this course at times advised by the Director WIL. 

If you are enrolled in a Term 3 LAWS3555/JURD7555 internship course, and would like to apply to complete an extended internship in summer term or term 1, your application must be submitted in InPlace by Friday 20th November 2026 (Week 10),