Legal Courses

About Legal

What does working in legal services involve?

Working in legal services without actually being a lawyer means many things. You can gather legal information and give it to lawyers by being a legal aid, helping lawyers solve a particular legal problem through your knowledge of legal issues and ability. You could also work as a legal receptionist or in legal assistance, or provide legal help through other means, such as through criminology, forensics, family law, working as a police officer or in the army.

What legal courses can I study?

There are a number of legal courses that can help you work within the legal system. 

If you’re looking at going into the police force, a criminal justice course could be perfect for you and will help you understand specifics about dealing with family violence, child protection, and working with particular social groups, like young people or aboriginal and Torres strait Islander peoples. 

Alternatively, you may wish to look at providing child support for those already in the system in regards to their legal right to mental health support and having their criminal record sealed. Criminology or criminal justice course can be used in a number of ways, and lead to a number of different careers, as can a forensics course or a law short course. A few of the things you may learn about include:

• How Centrelink affects people’s lives and why those from particular socio-economic situations are more likely to be victims of the system
• What freedom of information is and how it can be used
• What the commonwealth legal system is like in comparison to other countries
• Legal education requirements and where different studies can lead
• Freedom of information laws
• The difference between different lawyers, such as a duty lawyer
• How Australian and New Zealand systems work in regards to criminal charges vs civil charges

Why should I study a legal course?

If you’re looking to work in a legal course in any way other than as a lawyer, then legal courses are one of the best ways to get started. Whether you’re interested in how the national disability scheme affects people or face sheets on family violence, or how to best assist people after natural disasters, understanding how our legal system works can be a great way to get started. Find out which course suits you best by browsing our list of available courses now!