The role of an in-house lawyer is unique. You will work to understand the pressure points, strategies and objectives of the business. And then you will guide decision-making using your cutting-edge legal expertise. As both a facilitator for client objectives and a guardian of their long-term interests, expect to apply your skills to a variety of stimulating situations.
With a Master of Laws (Applied Law) majoring in In-house Practice, you will deepen your expertise substantially – and truly set yourself apart as an industry specialist while learning to serve the interests of just one client, uphold an ethical commitment to serving the public interest in the administration of justice, influence good governance and compliance in their organisation, as well as broader risk-management concerns.
To complete this award, you must choose:
Plan your studies
Looking to plan your postgraduate program?
Follow these steps to complete your enrolment in a postgraduate program.
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For assistance, contact Customer and Student Engagement at 1300 506 402 or email postgrad@collaw.edu.au
Re-enrolling for your next subject is simple!
Once you've enrolled in your chosen Award program, re-enrolling for the next subject is easy. Simply follow these steps:
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StudyAssist FEE-Help
Good news! There’s no need to pay for your entire qualification upfront. Instead, you can pay as you learn – subject by subject. Which means, you can start off small by building your own Graduate Certificate, or Graduate Diploma, and then progress to a Master of Laws later, if you choose.
Please refer to our Policy Index - 1.3.11 Withdrawal policy.
Kay Smith Scholarship
The Kay Smith Scholarship honours one of the longest serving and most respected people of The College of Law. It is designed to support the education aspirations of outstanding law graduates and young lawyers. Learn more.
You must hold a recognised law degree (LLB, JD, or equivalent) to enrol in a Postgraduate Program.
Your assessments may vary from course to course. However, these are the most common assessments that you will need to complete:
For all student policies refer to our policy index.
THE SUBJECT HAS FOUR COMPONENTS
This subject has been developed around the core issues faced by in-house lawyers and the unique environment in which they must discharge their legal and professional obligations. Serving the interests of just one client brings both opportunities and tensions. With their professional qualifications, training, experience and ethical commitment to serving the public interest in the administration of justice, corporate and government lawyers can offer far more than simply providing legal advice. They can influence good governance and compliance in their organisation, as well as broader risk-management concerns.
They can act as both facilitators for their client’s objectives and as guardians of their client’s long-term interests. In-house lawyers must be able to communicate effectively and deal with all organisational levels up to the board and the directors.
The in-house role also requires a thorough understanding of the risks the client faces in its operations. From a management perspective, in-house lawyers must understand how to provide appropriate service levels, optimise execution and yet manage costs while achieving scale in both of these areas. Professionally, the in-house lawyer must be prepared to withstand challenges to their professional independence and integrity.
The role of the company secretary has evolved since the corporate collapses of the 1990s (notably HIH Insurance Ltd in Australia), the High Court decision in Shafron v ASIC (2012) 247 CLR 465; [2012] HCA 18, and the global financial crisis (GFC) and subsequent collapse of many highly leveraged businesses.
Irrespective of organisation size or type, the board will look to the company secretary not only to perform administrative tasks, but to provide it with timely information about policy, compliance and governance matters.
As a trusted advisor and custodian of corporate knowledge, the company secretary needs to understand their own role as well as the related functions – legal, risk, audit and compliance, and ensure that they do not become an alternate and perhaps conflicting source of advice.
The company secretary is now expected to be a focal point for assurance and better practice on the law and procedures, and also for better practice that underpins board decision making and good corporate governance. Company secretaries need to be equipped with the knowledge and skills to discharge their duties effectively.
Project management encompasses a broad range of disciplines and skills. It is a recognised profession and becoming increasingly relevant to in-house counsel as they execute legal matters and provide support for major business projects. Both internal and external clients now expect senior lawyers to be familiar with project management concepts and to be able to apply these to their legal matters and the legal work streams of major projects.
This in turn will reduce the executional risk of strategic business programs which are the mechanism by which major organisations deliver on their strategic objectives; build and deliver new products; and undertake process improvements.
The primary objective of this subject is to introduce lawyers to the concepts of project management and to provide concepts that can be applied to legal work when appropriate. Students will become familiar with recent trends in legal project management; the various components of the project life cycle; and a lawyer’s role and contribution at the various stages of the life cycle.
Feb Intake 1 | May Intake 2 | Aug Intake 3 | Nov Intake 4 | |
---|---|---|---|---|
START DATE | 10 Feb 2025 | 12 May 2025 | 11 Aug 2025 | 10 Nov 2025 |
CENSUS | 26 Feb 2025 | 28 May 2025 | 27 Aug 2025 | 03 Dec 2025 |
END DATE | 02 May 2025 | 01 Aug 2025 | 31 Oct 2025 | 06 Feb 2026 |
Subject | Start Date | Census | End Date | Workshop Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
DRP3 - Advocacy | 22 Sep 2025 | 01 Oct 2025 | 31 Oct 2025 |
15 - 17 October 2025 |
DRP4 - Mediation | 06 Oct 2025 | 15 Oct 2025 | 14 Nov 2024 |
TBC |
EPP2 - Superannuation | 01 Jul 2024 | 10 Jul 2024 | 09 Aug 2024 | |
FDR1 - Family Law and Mediation | 10 Feb 2025 | 19 Feb 2025 | 21 Mar 2025 |
3 - 5 March 2025 NSW & VIC |
FDR1 - Family Law and Mediation | 11 Aug 2025 | 20 Aug 2025 | 19 Sep 2025 |
3 - 5 March 2025 NSW & VIC |
FDR2 - Children’s Matters, Family Law and Family Dispute Resolution | 24 Mar 2025 | 02 Apr 2025 | 02 May 2025 |
10 - 12 April 2025 NSW & VIC |
FDR2 - Children’s Matters, Family Law and Family Dispute Resolution | 22 Sep 2025 | 30 Sep 2025 | 31 Oct 2025 |
10 - 12 April 2025 NSW & VIC |
FDR3 - Advanced Family Dispute Resolution | 05 May 2025 | 14 May 2025 | 13 Jun 2025 |
26 - 28 May 2025 NSW & VIC |
FDR3 - Advanced Family Dispute Resolution | 03 Nov 2025 | 11 Nov 2025 | 12 Dec 2025 |
26 - 28 May 2025 NSW & VIC |
FDR4 - Case Management in Family Dispute Resolution Capstone | 16 Jun 2025 | 25 Jun 2025 | 25 Jul 2025 |
10 - 12 July 2025 NSW & VIC 19 - 21 February 2026 NSW & VIC
|
FDR4 - Case Management in Family Dispute Resolution Capstone | 26 Jan 2026 | 04 Feb 2026 | 06 Mar 2026 |
10 - 12 July 2025 NSW & VIC 19 - 21 February 2026 NSW & VIC
|
FDR5 - Virtual Simulated Practice | 07 Apr 2025 | 17 Apr 2025 | 30 May 2025 |
Day 1 - 24 April 2025 Day 1 – 26 September 2025 |
FDR5 - Virtual Simulated Practice | 08 Sep 2025 | 01 Jan 0001 | 31 Oct 2025 |
Day 1 - 24 April 2025 Day 1 – 26 September 2025 |
LB3 - Business Strategy: Planning for Success | 05 May 2025 | 14 May 2025 | 13 Jun 2025 | |
LB3 - Business Strategy: Planning for Success | 03 Nov 2025 | 12 Nov 2025 | 12 Dec 2025 |
Subject | Start Date | Census | End Date | Workshop Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
FDR1 - Family Law and Mediation | 10 Feb 2025 | 19 Feb 2025 | 21 Mar 2025 |
3 - 5 March 2025 NSW/VIC 1 - 3 September 2025 NSW/VIC |
FDR1 - Family Law and Mediation | 11 Aug 2025 | 20 Aug 2025 | 19 Sep 2025 |
3 - 5 March 2025 NSW/VIC 1 - 3 September 2025 NSW/VIC |
FDR2 - Children’s Matters, Family Law and Family Dispute Resolution | 24 Mar 2025 | 02 Apr 2025 | 02 May 2025 |
10 - 12 April 2025 NSW & VIC 16 - 18 October 2025 NSW/VIC |
FDR2 - Children’s Matters, Family Law and Family Dispute Resolution | 22 Sep 2025 | 30 Sep 2025 | 30 Oct 2025 |
10 - 12 April 2025 NSW & VIC 16 - 18 October 2025 NSW/VIC |
FDR3 - Advanced Family Dispute Resolution | 05 May 2025 | 14 May 2025 | 13 Jun 2025 |
26 - 28 May 2025 NSW & VIC 24 - 26 November 2025 NSW/VIC |
FDR3 - Advanced Family Dispute Resolution | 02 Nov 2025 | 11 Nov 2025 | 11 Dec 2025 |
26 - 28 May 2025 NSW & VIC 24 - 26 November 2025 NSW/VIC |
FDR4 - Case Management in Family Dispute Resolution Capstone | 26 Jan 2025 | 05 Feb 2026 | 06 Mar 2026 |
10 - 12 July 2025 NSW & VIC 19-21 Feb 2026 NSW & VIC |
FDR4 - Case Management in Family Dispute Resolution Capstone | 16 Jun 2025 | 25 Jul 2025 | 25 Jul 2025 |
10 - 12 July 2025 NSW & VIC 19-21 Feb 2026 NSW & VIC |
FDR5 - Virtual Simulated Practice | 07 Apr 2025 | 17 Apr 2025 | 30 May 2025 |
Day 1 - 24 April 2025 Day 1 – 26 September 2025 |
FDR5 - Virtual Simulated Practice | 08 Sep 2025 | 18 Sep 2025 | 31 Oct 2025 |
Day 1 - 24 April 2025 Day 1 – 26 September 2025 |
My degree was extremely beneficial. If I had my time over again, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Dominique Mayo, LLM Graduate - Commercial Litigation
I would describe the College of Law as inspiring, innovative, and collegiate.
Krystal Bellamy, LLM Graduate - Wills and Estates
If you’re experiencing financial hardship and unable to afford postgraduate study, see if you are eligible for the The Kay Smith Scholarship. This scholarship honours one of the longest serving and most respected people of The College of Law. It is designed to support the education aspirations of outstanding law graduates and young lawyers.
If you have any questions about subjects, awards, intake dates, or anything else related to our postgraduate programs, don't hesitate to reach out. Book a call with one of our Student and Customer Engagement Advisors who are ready to assist you.
Read how Craig’s postgraduate study accelerated his career by a decade and enabled him to become a specialist and eventually started his own firm.
This depends on your workload and your personal situation. If you complete 1 subject every intake you could complete your Masters in 2 years. However, you have five years to complete the course from your intake commencement date.
You can do any of the following without financial penalty any time before the published census date for each intake:
Learn more by reading our Policy Index.
As you have 5 years to complete your Masters, you don’t need to complete a subject every intake. However, if you do not study for 2 consecutive intakes – then you can apply for a Leave of Absence. You can only request a leave of absence twice over the course of your studies.
We recommend that you set aside 10-12 hours a week on study per subject, 1 unit per semester. Completing two subjects in the same intake may require up to 25 hours of study and readings each week.
There are four intakes a year: February, May, August and November.
You may be entitled to claim your full 10 units per subject for your CPD requirements.
However, you may still need to complete some mandatory CPD units. Please check with your local law society for the requirements in your state or territory.
WA-based students may claim up to 6 units per subject (6 CPD units for an intensive subject that has a compulsory workshop requirement or 4 CPD units for any other subject). College will lodge the CPD points with the Legal Practice Board on successful completion of the subject(s).
The College’s Credit for Prior Learning Policy encourages practitioners who have completed previous postgraduate and other recognised study to apply for credit towards either the LLM (Applied Law) or the Master of Applied Law (Family Law).
A maximum of three subject credits may be granted towards the Masters awards.
Yes. Many LLM students choose electives from our Legal Business Management course. Please contact us to learn how.
No. To become a Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner, you will need to:
Many students choose to pursue an LLM with a double major in Family Law and FDRP.
For 2025, each subject in our postgraduate programmes costs $4,150 with no GST applicable.
Please note that our fees are subject to annual review and may change during your enrolment. Full payment is required at the time of enrolment each semester, and we accept various payment methods including cheque, Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), and credit card. Additionally, if you are an Australian citizen, a New Zealand citizen, or hold a permanent humanitarian visa, you may be eligible to defer your payment through the Commonwealth Government's FEE-HELP scheme.
Yes, if you are an Australian citizen or permanent resident you may be eligible to receive FEE-HELP. For more information, download the FEE-HELP Factsheet.
Yes, you can, but StudyAssist FEE-HELP will not apply.
Yes. If you are from a non-English speaking country or your previous studies were in a language other than English, you will need to demonstrate your English skills in accordance with the IELTS standard before starting the program.
The requisite IELTS standard is at level 8 (writing), 7 (listening), 7.5 (speaking), 7 (reading), and 7.5 overall.
The Kay Smith Scholarship is designed to assist law graduates and young lawyers in Australia and New Zealand facing financial or personal hardships by covering the costs of a Master of Laws (Applied Law) or a Practical Legal Training course at The College of Law. It honours Kay Smith’s significant contributions to the college. Eligible applicants must demonstrate financial need, academic commitment, and community impact. Applications are due annually by December 15. For more details, you can click here