Course summary
The media mantra tells us that content is all. At Southern Cross, we’re taking that idea a step further.
This unique four-year combined degree in laws and creative writing provides you with clear professional pathways as both legal and writing practitioners. You'll develop fluency in written and oral expression, reading and research skills, and above all, writing across a range of genres, both professional and imaginative – complementing the rigor, research and writing skills developed by studying the law.
Such skills are invaluable to today’s media companies, advertising agencies, film companies and many other organisations. The University has strong links to the writing and publishing industry and is a partner in the Byron Writers Festival and other literary events, with diverse work placement opportunities for students.
Career options include intellectual property, commercial or academic publishing, corporate communications, and legal work in a range of creative industries, government departments and professional practices.
The Bachelor of Laws fulfils the academic requirements for admission to the legal profession. Professional admission authorities also require law graduates of all universities to complete practical legal training or similar to practise as a lawyer.
Students study core units, plus select units from electives to suit their career aspirations. These can include human rights, race and the law, animal law, climate law and policy, psychiatry, psychology and the law and ecological jurisprudence.
| Graduate Attribute | Course Learning Outcome |
|---|---|
| Intellectual rigour | Demonstrate the intellectual and practical skills needed to identify, research, evaluate and synthesise relevant factual, legal and policy issues. Creatively and critically analyse a broad range of socio-cultural issues relevant to arts practices, using persuasive argumentation that is historically informed. |
| Creativity | Apply legal reasoning, critical analysis and research to generate appropriate responses to legal problems. Demonstrate an understanding of approaches to ethical decision-making and an ability to recognise, reflect upon, and respond to ethical issues likely to arise in professional contexts. Challenge and reinvent pre-existing methodologies relevant to national and global arts industries |
| Ethical practice | Demonstrate an ability to recognise and reflect upon the professional responsibilities of lawyers in promoting justice and in service to the community. Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between law and sustainability. Demonstrate an understanding of cross-cultural difference and the presence of ethical standards in the arts and social sciences |
| Knowledge of a discipline | Demonstrate an understanding of a broad and coherent body of knowledge that includes the fundamental areas of law, the Australian legal system, and underlying principles and concepts, including international and comparative contexts, and the broader contexts within which legal issues arise. Demonstrate a broad knowledge of arts industries/creative practices and their associated social and theoretical contexts. |
| Lifelong learning | Demonstrate an understanding of the international and comparative contexts in which legal issues arise. Access, manage and evaluate sources of information relevant to legal research and practice. Learn and work independently. Reflect on and assess their own capabilities and performance, and seek and make use of feedback as appropriate, to determine personal and professional development needs and achievements. |
| Communication and social skills | Communicate in ways that are effective, appropriate and persuasive for legal and non-legal audiences. Collaborate effectively and constructively with others. |
| Cultural competence | Apply an understanding of Australian Indigenous perspectives to all aspects of legal professional practice. Demonstrate critical multi-cultural perspectives, and an ability to reflect upon indigenous/non-indigenous and local/international methods of cultural production. |
Law students can undertake voluntary legal experience and professional placement with legal firms or offices, to complement their practical legal skills and become familiar with the issues facing working lawyers.
The Bachelor of Laws is accredited by the Legal Profession Admission Board (LPAB) of NSW and satisfies the academic requirements for admission to the practice of law in Australia. Professional admission authorities also require law graduates of all universities to complete practical legal training or similar to be eligible for admission.
Students who intend to practise law outside Australia should check with the relevant country’s admission body to confirm their admission requirements.
Course overview
Course code
3207008
Course abbreviation
LLBCreatWrite
Credit points
384
Equivalent units
32
Domestic duration
4 years full-time; 8 years part-time
International duration
4 years full-time
Availability details
Domestic
| Location | Session | UAC code | QTAC code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold Coast | 1 | N/A | N/A |
| Lismore | 1 | N/A | N/A |
| Online | 1 | N/A | N/A |
Domestic fees
International
| Location | Session | Annual Fees | CRICOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lismore | 1 | $26,800 ($3,350 per unit) | 096002D |
Course requirements
See the University’s Rules Relating to Awards, in conjunction with the Specific Award Rules listed below.
To be eligible to receive the Bachelor of Laws and Creative Writing, students must complete 32 units (384 credit points), comprising:
- 23 core units (276 credit points); and
- 6 Law electives (72 credit points); and
- 3 Creative Writing electives (36 credit points).
Schedule of units
Course progressions
Students should use course progression information to select units specific to their course and enrol in these units using My Enrolment
| Title | Level of learning | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1, Session 1 | |||
| Part-time students should complete the first two units in Year 1, Session 1. The remaining two units should be completed in Year 2, Session 2. | |||
| LAW00051 - Legal Research and Writing | Introductory | ||
| LAW00111 - Legal Process | Introductory | ||
| COM10295 - Written Communication | Introductory | ||
| ENG00400 - Introduction to Written Texts | Introductory | ||
| Year 1, Session 2 | |||
| LAW72002 - Torts | Intermediate | ||
| LAW00112 - Constitutional Law | Intermediate | ||
| WRI10001 - Introduction to Creative Writing | Introductory | ||
| Select unit from Creative Writing Electives | |||
| Year 2, Session 1 | |||
| LAW10001 - Contract Law I | Introductory | ||
| LAW10002 - Australian Criminal Law I | Introductory | ||
| LAW30005 - Statutory Interpretation | Advanced | ||
| Select unit from Creative Writing Electives | |||
| Year 2, Session 2 | |||
| LAW10003 - Contract Law II | Intermediate | ||
| LAW10004 - Australian Criminal Law II | Intermediate | ||
| LAW71006 - The Rhetoric of Law | Introductory | ||
| WRI10003 - Short Story Writing | Intermediate | ||
| Year 3, Session 1 | |||
| LAW00527 - Corporations Law | Intermediate | ||
| LAW72005 - Evidence | Advanced | ||
| LAW72001 - Civil Litigation and Procedure | Intermediate | ||
| WRI10002 - The Nature of Narrative: Self, Time, Place and the Environment | Intermediate | ||
| Year 3, Session 2 | |||
| LAW71005 - Property Principles | Introductory | ||
| LAW72009 - Principles of Equity | Advanced | ||
| LAW00117 - Administrative Law | Advanced | ||
| LAW00519 - Professional Conduct | Advanced | ||
| Year 4, Session 1 | |||
| Select unit from Creative Writing Electives | |||
| Select unit from Law Electives | |||
| Select unit from Law Electives | |||
| Select unit from Law Electives | |||
| Year 4, Session 2 | |||
| LAW73004 - Legal Fictions: Writing the Law | Advanced | ||
| Select unit from Law Electives | |||
| Select unit from Law Electives | |||
| Select unit from Law Electives | |||
| Title | Level of learning | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1, Session 2 | |||
| LAW00051 - Legal Research and Writing | Introductory | ||
| LAW00111 - Legal Process | Introductory | ||
| LAW10004 - Australian Criminal Law II | Intermediate | ||
| COM10295 - Written Communication | Introductory | ||
| Year 2, Session 1 | |||
| LAW10001 - Contract Law I | Introductory | ||
| LAW10002 - Australian Criminal Law I | Introductory | ||
| ENG00400 - Introduction to Written Texts | Introductory | ||
| Select unit from Law Electives | |||
| Year 2, Session 2 | |||
| LAW10003 - Contract Law II | Intermediate | ||
| LAW72002 - Torts | Intermediate | ||
| LAW00112 - Constitutional Law | Intermediate | ||
| WRI10001 - Introduction to Creative Writing | Introductory | ||
| Year 3, Session 1 | |||
| LAW00527 - Corporations Law | Intermediate | ||
| LAW30005 - Statutory Interpretation | Advanced | ||
| Select unit from Creative Writing Electives | |||
| Select unit from Creative Writing Electives | |||
| Year 3, Session 2 | |||
| LAW71005 - Property Principles | Introductory | ||
| LAW72009 - Principles of Equity | Advanced | ||
| LAW71006 - The Rhetoric of Law | Introductory | ||
| WRI10003 - Short Story Writing | Intermediate | ||
| Year 4, Session 1 | |||
| LAW72005 - Evidence | Advanced | ||
| LAW72001 - Civil Litigation and Procedure | Intermediate | ||
| WRI10002 - The Nature of Narrative: Self, Time, Place and the Environment | Intermediate | ||
| Select unit from Law Electives | |||
| Year 4, Session 2 | |||
| LAW00117 - Administrative Law | Advanced | ||
| LAW00519 - Professional Conduct | Advanced | ||
| LAW73004 - Legal Fictions: Writing the Law | Advanced | ||
| Select unit from Creative Writing Electives | |||
| Year 5, Session 1 | |||
| Select unit from Law Electives | |||
| Select unit from Law Electives | |||
| Select unit from Law Electives | |||
| Select unit from Law Electives | |||
| Title | Level of learning | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1, Session 3 | |||
| LAW00051 - Legal Research and Writing | Introductory | ||
| LAW00111 - Legal Process | Introductory | ||
| Year 2 Session 1 follow the course progression for Session 1 commencement excluding the completed units. | |||
Unit groups
Law Electives
| Title | Level of learning | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACC00132 - Taxation | Advanced | ||
| ACC00134 - Advanced Taxation | Advanced | ||
| LAW00054 - Family Law Practice | Intermediate | ||
| LAW00057 - Conveyancing Law | Intermediate | ||
| LAW00059 - Welfare Law | Intermediate | ||
| LAW00061 - Drugs, Crime and the Law | Intermediate | ||
| LAW00062 - Wills and Estates | Intermediate | ||
| LAW00104 - Employment and Industrial Relations Law | Advanced | ||
| LAW00106 - EEO and OH&S Law and Practice | Advanced | ||
| LAW00119 - Local Government and Planning Law | Intermediate | ||
| LAW00120 - Victimology | Intermediate | ||
| LAW00121 - Intellectual Property | Advanced | ||
| LAW00122 - Clinical Legal Experience | Intermediate | ||
| LAW00123 - Law Placement | Advanced | ||
| LAW00124 - International Business Law | Intermediate | ||
| LAW00125 - Information Technology and the Law | Advanced | ||
| LAW00126 - Competition and Consumer Law | Intermediate | ||
| LAW00214 - Mediation and Dispute Resolution | Introductory | ||
| LAW00216 - Mediation Practice and Procedure | Intermediate | ||
| LAW00514 - Criminology | Intermediate | ||
| LAW00516 - Advanced Advocacy | Intermediate | ||
| LAW00521 - International Law | Intermediate | ||
| LAW00522 - Human Rights | Advanced | ||
| LAW00523 - Commercial Law | Intermediate | ||
| LAW00524 - Independent Legal Research | Advanced | ||
| LAW00525 - Cyberlaw | Intermediate | ||
| LAW00526 - International Criminal Justice | Advanced | ||
| LAW00529 - Restorative Justice | Intermediate | ||
| LAW01125 - Stock Exchange and Finance Law | Intermediate | ||
| LAW10160 - Public Interest Advocacy | Advanced | ||
| LAW10166 - Entertainment Law | Advanced | ||
| LAW10167 - International Intellectual Property Law and Public Policy | Intermediate | ||
| LAW10168 - Privacy Law and the Private Sector | Intermediate | ||
| LAW10170 - Race and the Law | Intermediate | ||
| LAW10169 - Human Rights and the Global Economy | Advanced | ||
| LAW10171 - Mediating Across Cultures | Introductory | ||
| LAW10181 - Legal Research: Context, Perspective and Method | Advanced | ||
| LAW10206 - The Holocaust, Genocide and the Law | Intermediate | ||
| LAW10207 - Psychiatry, Psychology and the Law | Advanced | ||
| LAW10288 - Mooting | Advanced | ||
| LAW10292 - Education and the Law | Intermediate | ||
| LAW10472 - International Human Rights Law | Intermediate | ||
| LAW10487 - Animal Law | Intermediate | ||
| LAW10488 - Crime, Globalisation and Governance | Intermediate | ||
| LAW10489 - Australian Military and National Security Law | Intermediate | ||
| LAW10490 - Trials and Witnesses | Intermediate | ||
| LAW10491 - Sexual Orientation and the Law | Intermediate | ||
| LAW10527 - Comparative Law | Advanced | ||
| LAW10698 - International Trade and Development Law | Advanced | ||
| LAW10727 - Marine Animal Protection Law | Intermediate | ||
| LAW30001 - Ecological Jurisprudence | Intermediate | ||
| LAW30002 - Advanced Sports Law | Advanced | ||
| LAW30003 - International Humanitarian Law | Intermediate | ||
| LAW30004 - Comparative Criminal Law | Advanced | ||
| LAW73003 - Remedies | Advanced | ||
| LAW72006 - Climate Law and Policy | Intermediate | ||
| LAW72010 - Property in Land | Intermediate | ||
| LAW72007 - International Business Negotiations | Intermediate | ||
| LAW72008 - Indigenous Jurisprudence | Intermediate | ||
| LAW72011 - Why the State Needs to Kill: law, violence and the production of political authority | Intermediate | ||
| LAW00520 - Jurisprudence | Intermediate | ||
| LAW72014 - Struggles, Movements, and the Idea of Communism | Intermediate | ||
| LAW72015 - Law, Film and Ideology | Intermediate | ||
| LAW73051 - Global Legal Pluralism | Advanced | ||
| LAW00118 - Environmental Law | Intermediate | ||
| LAW73050 - Jessup Moot | Advanced | ||
| LAW73049 - Information Environmentalism | Advanced | ||
| LAW72016 - Crimen Exceptum: The English Witch Prosecution in Context | Intermediate | ||
| LAW72013 - Wisdom, Traditional Knowledge and Intellectual Property | Intermediate | ||
| LAW72021 - Myths for the Future: Law and Climate Fiction in the 21st Century | Intermediate | ||
| LAWS2027 - Introduction to Chinese Business Law | Intermediate | ||
| LAW72018 - Performances and Power in Literature and the Law | Intermediate | ||
| LAW72019 - Justice Framed: Law in Films and in Graphic Novels/Comics | Intermediate | ||
| JUST2006 - Shifting Cultural Paradigms: Law & Literature After Postmodernism | Intermediate | ||
| JUST2012 - The Art of Advocacy: Mooting and Performance Rhetoric | Intermediate | ||
| LAWS2068 - Borders and Boundaries: Writing About Family in the 21st century | Intermediate | ||
| LAWS2067 - Crossing the Line: Law and Morality in Fiction | Intermediate |
Creative Writing Electives
| Title | Level of learning | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENG00411 - Writing Genre | Intermediate | ||
| ENG00401 - Issues and Themes in Contemporary Writing | Intermediate | ||
| ENG00407 - Writing for Performance | Intermediate | ||
| WRI20004 - Writing Lives | Intermediate | ||
| ENG00406 - Theories of Text and Culture | Advanced | ||
| ENG10022 - Writing from the Edge | Advanced | ||
| COM01402 - Screenwriting | Intermediate | ||
| WRI20002 - Introduction to Editing and Publishing | Advanced | ||
| WRI20001 - Writing for Young People | Intermediate | ||
| WRI20003 - Writing Poetry | Intermediate | ||
| COM00481 - Journalism in the Digital Age | Intermediate | ||
| COM00482 - Hot Topics: Feature Journalism | Intermediate | ||
| CUL00210 - Australia, Asia and the World | Introductory | ||
| SOC10399 - Critical Thinking for Digital Times | Introductory | ||
| CUL00412 - Indigenous Ways of Cultural Expression | Introductory | ||
| HIS10018 - Writing Place: Landscapes, Memory, History | Intermediate | ||
| ENG00408 - Writing Project | Advanced | ||
| COM00471 - Professional Placement | Advanced | ||
| COM10627 - Digital Media Practices | Introductory | ||
| HUM00271 - Unruly Subjects: Citizenship | Introductory | ||
| SOY10114 - Independent Project | Advanced |