UNSW Faculty of Law and Justice


The Faculty of Law and Justice of the University of New South Wales is a law school situated in Sydney, Australia. It is widely regarded as one of Australia's top law schools. The 2025 QS World University Rankings ranks the UNSW Law Faculty 12th in the world, first overall for law in Australia, and 2nd in the Asia-Pacific region, and the 2021 Times Higher Education subject rankings also rank it second in Australia, making it the top ranked law school in New South Wales according to both tables, as well as being the top undergraduate Law school in the country.
The Faculty comprises the School of Global and Public Law; the School of Criminal Justice, Law and Society; and the School of Corporate and Private Law. It further comprises 13 affiliated research and specialist legal centres, including a community legal centre, the Kingsford Legal Centre, as well as the Refugee Advice and Casework Service. The Faculty is also co-founder and operator of the Australasian Legal Information Institute, which provides free access to case law, legislation and other primary legal resources online. It offers legal education for all career stages: undergraduate law dual degree programs, the Juris Doctor for graduates, postgraduate coursework, postgraduate research, and continuing legal education short courses.

History

On 13 July 1964, the University's Council approved the creation of the UNSW Faculty of Law. On 24 January 1966, the Foundation Chair of Law was created, with the appointee to also be the Dean of the Faculty of Law. On 8 September 1969, Wootten was appointed to this position, where, in 1971, he would oversee the first teaching classes in the faculty.
The Faculty opened on 1 March 1971 with 219 undergraduate students. Prior to this, only the University of Sydney offered law degrees in New South Wales. The task of establishing the new law school was given to John Halden Wootten QC, a former judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, who was appointed Foundation Dean in 1969.
In 1976, the Faculty moved to occupy five floors of the UNSW Library Tower on upper campus. In 2006, the Faculty moved to a new law building on lower campus. The official opening took place on 21 September 2006 by the then Chief Justice of Australia Murray Gleeson. A quotation from Hal Wootten, Founding Dean, is set out on a wall of the law building: "a law school should have and communicate to its students a concern for those on whom the law may bear harshly."
In 2021, the Faculty was renamed to the UNSW Faculty of Law and Justice to highlight the Faculty's commitment to social justice. The new Faculty incorporates law programs as well as criminology and criminal justice. 2021 also saw the Faculty structured into three schools: Corporate and Private Law; Global and Public Law; and Criminal Justice, Law and Society.
Currently the Faculty teaches approximately 2,675 students.

Reputation

Standing and rankings

In 2025, the QS World University Rankings placed UNSW Faculty of Law and Justice 12th on its list of the best law schools in the world, and first in Australia. The law school is ranked second in Australia after the University of Melbourne by the ARWU 2017 subject rankings, and second in Australia by the 2020 Times Higher Education subject rankings. The UNSW Law School was noted as one of the primary faculties in helping to place the University 1st in Australia and 33rd in the globe for most millionaires produced.
In the 2011, 2012 and 2013 Good Universities Guide, UNSW was the only law school in Australia to receive top ratings across all criteria, which include: teaching quality, generic skills, overall satisfaction, and success in obtaining a job. From 2006 to 2009, the Federal Government's assessment of excellence in tertiary education found that the Faculty lead all Australian universities for the quality of learning and teaching in law.
Among the Go8 law schools, UNSW Law topped the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching 2014 survey, conducted and funded by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training, which measured the perspectives of recent students and graduates on experience as students and employment and salary outcomes. UNSW Law achieved the highest percentage in each of these categories, and continued to do so as of 2016.

Student achievements

In the past three years, five UNSW law graduates have won Rhodes scholarships. In 2018, three UNSW law graduates won New Colombo Plan Scholarships.
UNSW law students have achieved success in a number of international advocacy competitions, including:
The Law Faculty is situated in the Law Building on the University's main campus in Kensington, Sydney.
The building is four levels high and was designed by Melbourne architects Corbet Lyons. Features of the building include light-filled atria space, open staircases, landscaped courtyards and an agora running up through floors. There are 13 classrooms with 40-plus seats, two Harvard-style lecture rooms with 90 seats and a 350-seat auditorium. Other features include a new Moot Court and student lounge. The Herbert Smith Freehills Law Library is occupied over two levels.

Curriculum and classes

The Law Faculty offers both an undergraduate and a graduate law program, namely the combined Bachelor of Law with a Bachelor in another discipline, and the graduate Juris Doctor program.
After an extensive curriculum review, the Faculty introduced a new curriculum in 2013.

Combined law curriculum

The combined law program, which involves a five-year undergraduate course of study comprising a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor in another discipline, is currently made up of the following course study structure:
  • Year 1: Introducing Law & Justice; Torts; Principles of Private Law and five non-law courses.
  • Year 2: Crime & the Criminal Process; Criminal Laws; Principles of Public Law; and five non-law courses.
  • Year 3: Contracts; Lawyers, Ethics and Justice; Court Process, Evidence & Proof; Equity & Trusts; Administrative Law; and three non-law courses.
  • Year 4: Resolving Civil Disputes; Federal Constitutional Law; Business Associations; Law in the Global Context; Land Law and three non-law courses.
  • Year 5: Eight law electives.
For students commencing their degree before 2019, the program structure is:
  • Year 1: Introducing Law & Justice; Torts; and six non-law courses.
  • Year 2: Principles of Private Law; Principles of Public Law; Crime & the Criminal Process; Criminal Laws; and four non-law courses.
  • Year 3: Contracts; Administrative Law; Equity & Trusts; Lawyers, Ethics and Justice; and four non-law courses.
  • Year 4: Land Law; Resolving Civil Disputes; Business Associations; Court Process, Evidence & Proof; Federal Constitutional Law; Law in the Global Context; and two non-law courses.
  • Year 5: Eight law electives.

    Juris doctor curriculum

The Graduate Juris Doctor program, which involves a three-year graduate course of study, is made up of the following course study structure:
  • Year 1: Introducing Law & Justice; Crime & the Criminal Process; Principles of Private Law; Principles of Public Law; Torts; Criminal Laws; Contracts; Lawyers, Ethics & Justice.
  • Year 2: Law in the Global Context; Resolving Civil Disputes; Equity & Trusts; Administrative Law; Law & Social Theory/ Legal Theory/ Theories of Law & Justice; Court Process, Evidence & Proof; Land Law; Federal Constitutional Law.
  • Year 3: Business Associations; and seven law electives.
The academic study load of the JD program differs from that of undergraduate dual law program in that for a full-time study mode it requires a full study load of four law subjects each semester in contrast to only part law study load each semester in the undergraduate dual law program.
Electives for the JD program are selected from postgraduate subjects such as those within but not limited to Master of Laws. Core subjects in the program are taught solely within the JD cohort, with postgraduate electives taught with the postgraduate cohort and standard electives taught with the undergraduate dual law cohort.
The UNSW JD program has previously been criticised for over-enrollment, with reports that a few students attempted to 'buy' their way into classes for as much as $10k.

Class format

The Law Faculty does not use a lecture and tutorial system common in faculties in England and still used by some other Australian law schools. Rather, the Faculty has long conducted classes in a seminar-format. Students are asked to contribute to class discussion using the Socratic method; basic learning is done through reading materials prior to class, and class time is devoted to examining the complexities and critical exploration of the material, though the level of Socratic questioning varies between teachers and courses. First year classes ordinarily have a maximum of 28 students. Most upper-year classes have a maximum of 44 students. Some upper-year courses have up to 90 students.