Practical Legal Training in Regional, Rural and Remote Australia

Graduate Lawyers, complete your Practical Legal Training (PLT) Placement in regional, rural or remote (RRR) Australia.

Note: Funding for the Regional, Rural and Remote Practical Legal Training Project ended in December 2016. The project is no longer accepting applications. All students that applied prior to this time have been placed. NACLC is currently reviewing the program and considering options for its continuation. To read more about the Project's wind down, please click here.

NACLC currently works with 55 legal assistance services throughout regional, rural and remote Australia. These services include regional legal aid, community legal centres, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services and Family Violence Prevention Legal Services. By completing your work placement experience in a rural setting, you have the chance to make a positive contribution to essential community based legal services, and to consider working in rural Australia after admission.

The regional, rural or remote Practical Legal Training Project places eligible graduate law students in publicly funded legal assistance services. Legal assistance services provide free legal and related services to the public. The legal assistance services' focus is on working with disadvantaged people. They work in the public interest.  Legal assistance services are committed to working to ensure that all people have access to justice.  

What are the benefits of undertaking a RRR PLT placement?

Hear from Annie about her placement at Northern Rivers Community Legal Centre (NRCLC).

To hear feedback from Shawni, another law graduate who undertook her placement at NRCLC, please visit here.

What is the eligibility criteria?

If you meet our eligibility criteria our project workers will help you to find a placement.  The criteria are:

  1. You are enrolled in a Practical Legal Training course or are doing the placement as part of an integrated law course.
     
  2. You are committed to accepting a regional, rural or remote placement when it is offered.
     
  3. You are able to self fund the placement. The placements are voluntary and unpaid. You will need to provide your own travel and accommodation. The project staff will work with you to identify funding options and do what they can to provide information to you about travel and accommodation. (If you are a student at the ANU Legal Workshop or live in South Australia, there may be funding available to off set these costs.)
     
  4. You have a genuine interest in working in a legal assistance service in rural Australia.

How do I apply?

Applying for a placement in regional, rural or remote legal assistance service requires you to;

  1. Meet the above four eligibilty criteria. You will be asked to affirm this when you begin your online Application.
  2. Choose your preferred legal assistance service in a specific geographical area and advise if you are unable to be flexible if that area is not available. You can search which placements are available using our map or list to search geographical regions or type of legal assistance services.
  3. Create a registration profile by logging in here. This enables you to revisit the website and captures essential contact information.
  4. Complete an online Apply Here Application. A link to the online Application is found at the bottom of each description of the legal assistance services. You can only have one active application at a time. If you wish to change your application preference, edit your details through the "User CP" on the left menu.

To begin, we suggest you go first to the placements page and identify your first preference.