HKU SPACE Law: Guaranteed Pathway to Australia

"I’ve been studying to qualify as a lawyer in Sydney after completing the Graduate Diploma in English and Hong Kong Law and LLB (Hons) Hong Kong at HKU SPACE.

There’s no need to complete the PCLL in Hong Kong since it is your studies on the Graduate Diploma in English and Hong Kong Law and LLB (Hons) Hong Kong—not the PCLL—which help you qualify as a lawyer in Australia. So if you’re not sure whether you can get a place on the PCLL, qualifying as a lawyer in Australia might be a good fallback option.

Whilst different states have different requirements, in the state of New South Wales, once we finish the Graduate Diploma in English and Hong Kong Law and LLB (Hons) Hong Kong,  we only need to spend another three months full-time to take three top-up exams in Australian Administrative Law, Federal Constitutional Law and Ethics and also achieve a specific score for reading and writing in the IELTS test. As soon as we have done that, we can apply for academic exemption from the Legal Profession Admission Board for applying to the Practical Legal Training course. 

Unlike the PCLL where admission is competitive, the Practical Legal Training course in Australia is a mandatory training course where entry is non-selective and accepts applications all year round. Therefore it’s guaranteed you’ll be able to practise as a lawyer once you graduate from the LLB (Hons) Hong Kong.

If you want to move to Australia, you may even be able to apply for a visa to study the Practical Legal Training course and then use this as a pathway to apply for a job and residency in Australia, although this is subject to relevant visa requirements at the time of your application."

Shirley Yau

Click here for more on HKU SPACE's pathways to a legal career in Australia.