Practical Legal Training

Upon completion of your degree, in order to be eligible for admission to practice law, it is necessary to complete Practical Legal Training (PLT)

PLT is a structured training program that will develop your practical skills and proficiency in the day-to-day practice of law. It is usually undertaken at the completion of your law degree and is an essential requirement for admission as a lawyer in Australia. Successful completion of a PLT program leads to the award of a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice (GDLP), which makes you eligible to apply for admission as a legal practitioner in your jurisdiction.

In New South Wales the PLT requirements include both structured and supervised training and workplace experience. The training includes:

  • Lawyer's Skills
  • Problem Solving
  • Work Management and Business Skills
  • Trust and Office Accounting
  • Civil Litigation Practice
  • Commercial and Corporate Practice
  • Property Law Practice
  • Ethics and Professional Responsibility
  • Two of the following electives:
    • Administrative Law Practice
    • Banking and Finance 
    • Criminal Law Practice
    • Consumer Law Practice
    • Employment and Industrial Relations Practice
    • Family Law Practice
    • Planning and Environmental Practice
    • Wills and Estates Practice

The training takes approximately three months full-time or eight months part-time. Workplace experience requires around 75 working days (15 weeks) of supervised experience in the delivery of legal services.

Some universities incorporate PLT into the course requirements of your degree but if your university course does not offer this then you must attend a different organisation. PLT provides include: