Procedure

Recognition of prior learning (RPL) based on previous studies may be granted subject to the UTS Recognition of Prior Learning Policy and Procedure, section 6 of the Student and Related Rules, and guidelines of the Faculty Board in Law. The granting of RPL is at the discretion of the Associate Dean (Education & Students), except in relation to waiving the 5-year RPL time limit, which is at the discretion of the Faculty Board in Law based on evidence of the student’s relevant work or study experience.

RPL is accepted only in circumstances where the basis for credit for law subjects was successfully undertaken in a comparable course of study at a recognised university. For the Juris Doctor, the prior learning subjects must be taught in an academic law degree within a law school.

Subject to course-specific provisions set out below, credit granted for subjects must comply with the AQF level for which the credit is being sought. This includes the same purpose, knowledge and skills required at the relevant level. 

Where topics within areas of knowledge are distributed differently across subjects at another institution, the Faculty may assess credit to reflect fulfilment of the requirements of the nearest equivalent UTS subject(s). 

Credit granted for a subject completed at another recognised university will not exceed the credit‑point value of the equivalent UTS subject.

RPL is generally not available for applied experience subjects such as internships, placements, exchange, research‑only subjects or subjects completed to meet practical experience requirements.

Application

Applications for RPL must be submitted to the UTS Student Centre (Lifetime Learner Experience Unit).

LLEU reviews applications for completeness. Where the subject appears on the Precedent List or was completed in the year before or after the same subject that appears on the Precedent List, LLEU may approve the application under delegated authority of the Faculty Board in Law. No additional documentation is required.

Where no precedent exists, applicants must provide documentation as requested by the LLEU. The application is then referred to the Faculty of Law for assessment.

Credit‑Point limits

The maximum overall amount of credit granted for a Faculty of Law postgraduate course shall not exceed one half of the credit-point value of that course (subject to the following course-level requirements immediately below).

Students transferring from an incomplete UTS course may be granted credit for all completed UTS subjects that form part of the destination course structure, even where this exceeds general or course‑specific credit limits.

The maximum RPL available in a postgraduate course shall not exceed one half of the credit-point value of that course on the basis of an incomplete postgraduate course except in cases where the basis for the credit is:

  • an incomplete nested qualification in a suite of UTS law courses, and
  • an agreement between UTS with an overseas institution to recognise all or part of study completed at the institution.

The maximum RPL available in a postgraduate course shall not exceed one quarter of the credit-point value of the courses on the basis of a completed postgraduate course; except in cases where the basis for the credit is:

  • a completed nested qualification in a suite of UTS law courses
  • an agreement between UTS with an overseas institution to recognise all or part of study completed at the institution
  • completion of the UTS Juris Doctor (JD) towards the LLM; credit based on completion of the JD at UTS, may be granted in respect of completed options, to a maximum of 24 credit points, and
  • an assessment by the Legal Profession Admission Board of the NSW Supreme Court (LPAB) that an applicant's international legal qualification covers parts of the academic areas of knowledge as set out in the Legal Profession Uniform Admission Rules 2015 towards the JD or the JD component of a JD combined degree.

Students who have completed a law qualification overseas and have been assessed by the LPAB as requiring to undertake academic subjects equivalent to no less than 72 credit points at UTS Law, and have elected to enrol in the JD or JD combined degree to complete these requirements, may be granted block credit to the value of up to 72 credit points.

Time limits

As a general rule, a limit of five years applies to law subjects used as the basis of credit, calculated from the date the subject was successfully completed to when credit is sought 

Exceptions apply where:

  • there have been significant recent changes in the law, in which case credit may not be granted even if the subject was completed within five years;
  • the application relates to practical legal training subjects, for which a three‑year time limit applies; or
  • the Faculty Board in Law exercises its discretion to waive the time limit based on evidence of relevant work or further study.

Appeal of decision

RPL decisions are final and are not subject to appeal. Students who are dissatisfied with the process by which their RPL application was assessed may lodge a complaint with the Student Complaints Resolution Office (SCRO).

Course-specific provisions

RPL in the law component of the Juris Doctor (JD), including combined JD awards, and Legal Studies Program (LS) will only be offered on the basis of completed study in a course recognised as leading to practise as a legal practitioner within a law school at a recognised university.

An application for unspecified credit towards the elective component of the JD and courses in the LS program on the basis of having completed a Priestley 11 subject equivalent to the LPAB academic areas of knowledge (the LPAB Schedule 1 academic areas of knowledge comprises of Criminal Law and Procedure, Torts, Contracts, Property, Equity, Company Law, Administrative Law, Federal and State Constitutional Law, Civil Dispute Resolution, Evidence, Ethics and Professional Responsibility) at another university will not be approved irrespective of if the law subject completed at another university was insufficient to warrant exemption from a UTS core law subject.

Core subjects

Applications for RPL of a core subject in the Juris Doctor or Legal Studies:

  • will be assessed to ensure coverage of 'academic areas of knowledge' as set out in Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Legal Profession Uniform Admission Rules 2015 (the 'Priestley' 11), and
  • must include official information from the other university indicating where the subject on which the RPL is based fits into the overall course structure of the other course (i.e. the University Handbook, or similar).

As a general rule, credit for 70102 Foundations of Law will be offered on the basis of completion of an equivalent core first year introductory subject taught within a law school at a recognised university provided that the subject addresses foundational knowledge and skills, including content in legal method and legal research.

Undergraduate law studies

Students in the Juris Doctor or Legal Studies program will not be granted RPL based on undergraduate law studies for: