Practical Legal Training (PLT)

Leo Cussen’s PLT course can be completed full-time or part-time.

Full-time PLT takes 20 weeks plus professional placement.

Part-time PLT takes 30 weeks plus professional placement.

Professional placement runs for 15 days and there are options to complete this concurrently with your PLT coursework

Yes – in most cases, completing a PLT (or equivalent course) is a compulsory step before seeking admission as a legal practitioner.

PLT is generally started after you’ve completed your degree, or in some cases, beforehand, when you only have two elective subjects left to do in your studies.

Most students start the PLT after completing their legal qualification at university. However in some jurisdictions you may be able to commence the PLT if you have no more than two elective subjects left to do in your studies.

The course qualifies you with a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (GDLP) and eligibility to apply for Admission to the legal profession in any Australian state or territory.

For our Blended and Online courses, there are 10 face-to-face training days (called ‘immersives’). There are 4 immersive days at the beginning of the course, 3 in the middle and 3 at the end.

These days can be attended via video conferencing (for the Online course) or in-person (for the Blended course).

For our onsite courses, there are two days of in-person attendance each week for the duration of the course, as well as 10 face-to-face immersive days.

The attendance days are mandatory and scheduled on specific dates. For attendance dates, please see the Dates and Fees page.

If you are unable to attend a date due to illness or extenuating circumstances, we will work with you to organise a catch-up day.

The requirement for professional placment is 15 days and can be completed during or after your PLT course (or 20 days for Western Australia).

If you need help securing a professional placement, Leo Cussen can organise your placement for you. There is an admin fee which is built into the course fee, and can be included in FEE-HELP.

Yes. The Australian legal profession allows for mutual recognition of admission across all Australian states and territories. If you complete our PLT course in one state/territory, there are pathways to practise law in all other states/territories.

Yes. FEE-HELP is available for our PLT courses for eligible graduates.

Yes. Students without access to FEE-HELP can apply for a payment plan.

In our PLT, you’ll learn how to become a lawyer by working in a simulated law firm under the supervision of lawyers. You’ll work on mock files based on real cases. And you’ll learn how to apply what you learned at law school to a real-world setting.

This means you will essentially be treated as a first-year lawyer, and given tasks that reflect the real-world of legal practice.
The cases and files you work on will include:

• Property transaction: you will sell or buy residential property
• Commercial transaction: you will sell or buy a business
• Civil Litigation: you will represent a plaintiff or defendant in a breach of contract case

You will also choose two of the following electives:

• Administrative law, Family law, Consumer law, Criminal law, Employment law, Planning/Environment law, Wills/Estates law, or Banking/Finance law.

Through running those matters, you will develop skills in areas such as advocacy, negotiation, drafting and client interviewing – all the key skills that employers look for when hiring graduates.

You will also complete a 15-day (20-day in WA) placement in a real legal setting.

No, there are no tests or exams in the Leo Cussen PLT.

Our PLT reflects real-life legal practice. So you’ll only do tasks that lawyers would do. Instead of assessments, we provide meaningful feedback on your simulated legal tasks, and give you an opportunity to resubmit if needed. No more exam pressure!

Practical Legal Training, known as PLT, is a course that all law graduates must complete if they want to work as lawyers in Australia. This blog will take you through the eligibility requirements for enrolling in PLT so that you can begin your career in law.

PLT is the application of a graduate’s theoretical knowledge acquired during their law degree into a real-world setting through a structured training program. PLT is undertaken after you have completed your law degree, as it allows you to further develop certain skills that will be indispensable when you are working in the legal profession. It is imperative that you have completed all of the requirements of your LLB or JD from an approved law school before beginning PLT.

However, it is possible to begin PLT before you have officially completed your degree, provided you have no more than two elective subjects left to complete. However, you must have completed all of your compulsory ‘Priestley 11’ subjects. Also, if you’re a law student who has a summer school subject or a supplementary exam where the results will not be available until after the course commences, you are eligible to enrol in the PLT and commence your practical legal training. For students wishing to do this, you must make a Concurrent Study Application to the admitting authority in your state ,such as the Victorian Legal Admissions Board or the WA Legal Practice Board for approval to commence PLT before completion of your law degree, and evidence of approval must be provided to the PLT provider before your course begins.

In terms of residency status, international students are eligible to complete their PLT requirements in Australia. If you have graduated in law from an approved Australian university, you will be eligible for either the onsite or online PLT at Leo Cussen depending on your visa type and individual circumstances (although please note that due to current COVID-19 restrictions, all PLT will be conducted online. We will update our website and policies when this restriction changes).

As part of the PLT, graduates will  practice the many tasks that lawyers carry out in legal offices by running cases and files in a simulated law firm setting. This means you will essentially be treated as a first-year lawyer, and given tasks that reflect the real-world of legal practice.

The cases and files you work on will include:

• Property transaction: you will sell or buy residential property
• Commercial transaction: you will sell or buy a business
• Civil Litigation: you will represent a plaintiff or defendant in a breach of contract case
• Criminal Charge: You will defend a client accused of theft

You will also get to choose two practice areas to specialise in. Options include:

Administrative Law
Banking & Finance
Criminal Law
Employment Law
Family Law
Wills & Estates

Through running those matters, you will develop skills in areas such as advocacy, negotiation, drafting and client interviewing – all the key skills that employers look for when hiring graduates

The final stage of PLT involves professional placement in a legal practice, where you will have a further opportunity to improve your legal skills. Once the above have been successfully completed, graduates will be awarded a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (GDLP). This allows you to apply for admission through your state’s Admitting Authority, after which you will obtain a practising certificate and complete a period of supervised practice.

As you can see from the above, PLT is a challenging but also thoroughly satisfying experience, which will get you ‘job ready’ for your first role as a lawyer. Leo Cussen is here to ensure that your PLT experience is as rewarding as possible for you.

Yes, there are pathways for international students to complete our Practical Legal Training course.

Leo Cussen has a dedicated International Student team to guide you through the process for completing the PLT and getting admitted. Assistance can be provided in areas such as:

• Visa guidance & support
• Options to complete the course online or onsite
• Quicker pathways to admission for some international students
• Support services, including referrals to migration lawyers
• Tailored career advice
• Access to flexible payment plans
• Pathways for students with law degrees from Australia or overseas

Yes, Leo Cussen is accredited across the nation as a local PLT provider, so completing our program makes you eligible for admission to the legal profession in your state or territory.  See below for details of our approval in your specific state or territory:

ACT – Leo Cussen is accredited by the Legal Practitioners Admission Board of the ACT as an authorised local provider of PLT in the Australian Capital Territory.

NSW – Leo Cussen is accredited by the Legal Profession Admission Board of NSW as an authorised local provider of PLT in New South Wales.

NT – Leo Cussen’s PLT is accredited in the Northern Territory by the Legal Practitioner Admission Board as a conforming interstate program.

QLD  – Leo Cussen is accredited by the Legal Practitioners Admission Board of QLD as an authorised local provider of PLT in Queensland.

SA  – Leo Cussen is accredited by the Legal Profession Education and Admission Council as an local authorised provider of PLT in South Australia. 

TAS – Leo Cussen’s PLT is accredited in Tasmania by the Board of Legal Education Tasmania as a conforming interstate program.

VIC – Leo Cussen is accredited by the Victorian Legal Admissions Board as an authorised local provider of PLT in Victoria. 

WA – Leo Cussen is accredited by the Legal Practice Board of WA as an authorised local provider of PLT in Western Australia.