indigenous experience
Indigenous Justice Opportunities

The ANU College of Law offers numerous Indigenous education and research initiatives. Our commitment to Indigenous justice is deeply integrated into our courses, events, and ANU Graduate Attributes. For more information, please see below.

Courses

Events

Visiting Judges Program

The ANU College of Law regularly organises Indigenous Law focused events, such as the Visiting Judges Program: Taking Indigenous experience into account in sentencing, and the screening of the movie After the Apology.

For all our upcoming events, please refer to our News & Events webpage.

Read more

Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony

The ANU College of Law hosts an annual Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony event. Held in the first week of semester one, this annual welcome event provides us all with the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the land on which the Australian National University (ANU) campus rests and those who have been its traditional custodians for millennia.

This event is wonderful opportunity for our entire ANU College of Law academic and student community to learn more about the traditional custodians, customs and Country as well as to meet fellow students and lecturers.

Indigenous Reconciliation Project

The ANU College of Law and the Law Reform and Social Justice program started the Indigenous Reconciliation Project, which provides students with the opportunity to engage in law reform activities that promote Indigenous Reconciliation – strengthening the relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous peoples, for the benefit of all Australians.

This is a student-led project that meets regularly as a team and with academics in the College to plan our activities and research projects, and develop our ideas for future ventures.

Past Projects of the Reconciliation Project include:

  • The ‘Options for Truth Telling in the ACT’ project produced factsheets and a report for the Minister.
  • Inaugural Indigenous Law Reform and Advocacy Competition at ANU
  • Launch of the ‘Raise the Age Campaign’
  • Law reform submission to the Northern Territory Treaty Commission
  • Panel discussion regarding the ‘raise the age’ campaign

For more information on the project and how to get involved, please visit their website.

Read more

 

Indigenous competencies under the ANU Graduate Attributes

The ANU Graduate Attributes signal clearly the values of ANU and are distinctive across all degree programs. By 2025, the three Graduate Attributes will be embedded into the disciplinary context of each degree. The relevant graduate attribute is: Insight into Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ knowledges and Indigenous peoples’ perspectives

To know the true nature of things, ANU graduates acknowledge and understand our history. At ANU, we are committed to knowing our country and learning its rich history. To do this, we recognise and incorporate Indigenous Australian peoples’ diverse languages and knowledges into the fabric of our University and our curriculum. ANU graduates continue to learn from and respect the knowledges and cultures that First Nations peoples have been developing and nurturing on their lands for millennia.

A Program Learning Outcome was incorporated into the LLB (Hons) degree in 2020 that specifies this graduate attribute. The convenors of each of the 16 LLB (Hons) compulsory courses worked with educational developers and indigenous advisors to embed Indigenous knowledge and competencies in their courses. This work has been mapped.

The mapping has identified specific learning outcomes, teaching activities and assessment tasks that map to the new graduate attribute. Over eight units' equivalence has been identified through mandatory assessment tasks as meeting the minimum requirement for this graduate attribute with a substantial number of optional tasks available to further increase this unit value. Teaching activities also exceed the minimum.

Cultural appropriateness will be checked by a small group of indigenous staff and students periodically.

Internships

Aurora Legal Internship Program

The ANU College of Law supports and encourages student participation in the Aurora Internship Program. The Aurora Internship Program introduces law students and graduates to career opportunities in native title, land rights, policy development, research and social justice, all with an Indigenous focus.

The Aurora Internship Program co-ordinates internships for students and graduates in Law. There are two intakes annually during the summer and winter university breaks, for four to six weeks. It is preferable for legal applicants to be in their final year of study and be enrolled or have completed Property Law.

Read more

College-arranged Internships

In addition to Auora, the ANU College of Law regularly provides indigenous internship opportunities for students that include placements with:

  • Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (Civil and Human Rights)
  • Darwin Community Legal Service
  • Kimberley Aboriginal Justice Internship
  • North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA)
Read more

Scholarships/Grants

Enquiries

Law Student and Education Support team

enquiries.law@anu.edu.au

(02) 6125 3483