Bond has strong links with Canada. There are currently over 150 Canadian students studying for law degrees at Bond and an active Canadian Law Students' Association. There is a rapidly expanding group of alumni in Canada
Professional admission in Canada
To practice law in Canada, you will need to complete articles and a bar admission course. To be eligible for articles and a bar admission course in any of the common law provinces (ie excluding Quebec), an Australian law graduate will need a Certificate of Equivalence from the National Committee on Accreditation (the ‘NCA’) of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. The certificate will state that you have education and training equivalent to that of a graduate from a Canadian law school.
Application is made to the NCA at the end of your degree at Bond. The NCA will review your academic record and determine a number of examinations in Canadian law which must be completed in order to obtain a Certificate of Equivalence.
The NCA makes its decisions on an individual basis, taking account overall academic experience and performance, and will not issue advance rulings.
The NCA introduced a new scheme in early 2009. The requirement for most recent Bond graduates has been four examinations in Canadian law: Constitutional Law, Criminal Law and Procedure, Principles of Administrative Law, and Foundations of Canadian Law (see next section).
Factors which may lead to additional examinations being required include a poor record in the law degree and less than two years of undergraduate study.
Examinations in prescribed Canadian law subjects can be taken:
These subjects are taken as electives within our LLB and JD degrees. They taught by Canadian-qualified staff, including former Canadian law professors or legal practitioners. They have been recognised by the NCA as satisfying its requirements respecting completion of examinations in these subjects, conditional upon a mark of at least 55% being achieved and on a satisfactory overall record.
Our Canadian staff
Professor Lee Stuesser joined the Faculty in 2008, having previously been Professor of Law at the University of Manitoba and having also taught at the University of Ottawa. He is an expert in the Law of Evidence and his publications in this field have been widely cited by Canadian courts. Prior to joining Bond full-time, he had held a continuing adjunct appointment to assist with our advocacy training program. Professor Stuesser is the Director of our Canadian Law Program and teaches Canadian Constitutional Law and Canadian Criminal Law and Procedure.
Mariette Brennan is a Senior Teaching Fellow. She is a graduate of the University of Ottawa and a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada. She is completing a doctorate in Health Law at Osgoode Hall Law School. She teaches Canadian Constitutional Law and Foundations of Canadian Law.
Victoria Colvin is an Adjunct Senior Teaching Fellow. She is a graduate of the University of British Columbia and a member of the Law Society of British Columbia. She was a Crown Counsel in Vancouver from 2001 to 2008. She teaches Canadian Administrative Law.
Which Bond program should I take?
The Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and the Juris Doctor (JD) are both professionally recognised degrees. The JD entry is restricted to graduate students while the LLB has no such restriction.
The compulsory law units for the two Bond degrees are the same.
The LLB comprises 32 subjects in total, including 19 compulsory law units and 4 compulsory non-law units. Credit towards the elective component of the LLB degree will ordinarily be given for at least four subjects from any pre-law university studies.
The JD comprises 24 subjects in total, all being law units, with 19 of the units being compulsory.
Canadians who possess a first degree generally enrol for the JD.
What are the admission requirements and are there deadlines?
Admission decisions are made on an overall assessment of the application, with prior academic performance being the primary consideration.
We generally expect Canadian applicants to have at least 70% (or GPA equivalent) undergraduate averages.
In common with other Australian universities, we do not use the LSAT.
There are no fixed deadlines for admission applications. We make our decisions on a 'rolling' basis, issuing offers to qualified applicants until all available spaces have been filled. You can apply up until one year in advance.
Applying for Admission
Students may apply to Bond University online or via one of our Canadian agents:
Canadian citizens can fund their Bond University degree in a variety of ways. Click here for more information.
Further information
Canadians interested in studying at Bond are invited to contact the Director of our Canadian Law Program, Professor Lee Stuesser via email to lstuesse@bond.edu.au.
