Clerkships
Find clerkships, internships and earlier pathways into the Australian legal profession.
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2 open now · 0 closing within 14 days
Choose your location and study stage. National programs are included in state results. Confirm eligibility and current availability with the employer.
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5 programs
- Applications open:
- October 2026 (estimated)
- Applications close:
- 27 November 2026
Page Seager runs a paid winter clerkship program in Tasmania. It is for penultimate or final year law students who…
More about this program
Page Seager runs a paid winter clerkship program in Tasmania. It is for penultimate or final year law students who want a legal career in Tasmania. The 2027 clerkship runs for three weeks from 14 June to 2 July 2027, with clerks rotating through practice areas. Applications are open now and close on 27 November 2026. The firm has not published an opening date for applications.
- Eligibility
- Penultimate or final-year law students seeking a legal career in Tasmania
- Runs
- Winter clerkship 14 June–2 July 2027
- Pay
- Paid. Amount not published
- Recorded cycle
- 2026/27
Checked 29 October 2026 · Source
- Applications open:
- 16 October 2026
- Applications close:
- 30 April 2027
The Hall & Wilcox First Nations Pathway Program is for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander law students who are Australian…
More about this program
The Hall & Wilcox First Nations Pathway Program is for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander law students who are Australian permanent residents. No prior experience is needed. The program offers two paid internships each year. Each internship runs for four weeks, starting in November or June. The firm has not published the rate of pay. Places are offered nationally. Applications opened on 16 October 2026 and close on 30 April 2027 for four-week internships in November 2026 or June 2027.
- Eligibility
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander law students who are Australian permanent residents. No prior experience needed.
- Runs
- Four-week internships November 2026 or June 2027
- Pay
- Paid. Amount not published
Checked 29 October 2026 · Source
- Applications open:
- July 2027 (estimated)
- Applications close:
- August 2027 (estimated)
HWL Ebsworth runs a summer clerkship program in its Hobart office. It is open to students in the penultimate year…
More about this program
HWL Ebsworth runs a summer clerkship program in its Hobart office. It is open to students in the penultimate year of an Australian law degree, finishing in 2027. Applicants must be Australian or New Zealand citizens or permanent residents. The firm did not take market applications for the 2026 summer program. It has not published program dates or application dates. Details of a 2027 program have not been released.
- Eligibility
- Penultimate year of an Australian law degree, finishing in 2027. Australian or New Zealand citizen or permanent resident.
- Runs
- Potential Hobart summer clerkship in late 2027; existence of a market round unconfirmed
Checked 29 October 2026 · Source
- Applications open:
- September 2027 (estimated)
- Applications close:
- October 2027 (estimated)
The Mills Oakley First Nations Internship Program is for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander law students. The internship runs for…
More about this program
The Mills Oakley First Nations Internship Program is for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander law students. The internship runs for three weeks. The firm has not published program dates or a recruitment timetable. It has not stated which offices host interns, so the program is listed nationally. Participants can join the firm's Graduate Program after completing their degree. The firm has not published whether the internship is paid.
- Eligibility
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander law students
- Runs
- Potential summer 2027/28 First Nations internship; intake not announced
Checked 29 October 2026 · Source
Wotton + Kearney Pathways Program
Paralegal pathway · SA, QLD, ACT, TAS, VIC, WA, NSW
- Applications open:
- September 2026 (published)
- Applications close:
- Application dates not yet announced
Wotton + Kearney runs a Pathways Program in place of a clerkship program. Participants start on 8 February 2027 as…
More about this program
Wotton + Kearney runs a Pathways Program in place of a clerkship program. Participants start on 8 February 2027 as part time paralegals while finishing their law degree. They move into the graduate program, with practical legal training, from 8 February 2028. Applicants must be in their final year of law in 2027 and available two to three full days a week. They must be Australian citizens or permanent residents. Applications opened in September, and the firm says it accepts applications at any time.
- Eligibility
- Australian citizen or permanent resident. Final year of law in 2027 and on track to graduate that year. Priestley 11 complete by early 2028. Available two to three full days a week. Not in another paralegal, clerkship or vacation program.
- Runs
- 2027 Pathways paralegal start 8 February 2027; graduate transition 8 February 2028
Checked 29 October 2026 · Source
Clerkship recruitment guide
A clerkship is a few paid weeks inside a firm or government legal office, usually in your penultimate year. Each state runs to its own timetable. Here are the rules, the dates and the employers, state by state.
Dates shown are for the 2026 round (clerkships run November 2026 to July 2027). Last checked 29 October 2026. Employers change dates, so confirm on their page before you apply.
The guide describes its labelled recruitment round. Use each program’s application dates and separately recorded commencement information for its current cycle.
How clerkships work
Most clerkships go to penultimate-year students. You apply mid-year, interview over the following weeks, and hear on a single offer day set for your state. The clerkship itself runs in the summer or winter break. For many firms it is the main route into their graduate intake.
Every state scheme is voluntary. Firms sign up and agree to the dates, and none of the schemes can be enforced against a firm. What they do give you is a fixed offer day and time to decide. No firm in a scheme can make you accept, decline or signal your choice before the deadline.
ACT, Tasmania and the Northern Territory have no scheme. Firms there set their own dates.
Every state at a glance (2026 round)
| State | Scheme and who runs it | Applications | Offers | Time to decide | Year of study |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TAS | No scheme, Not applicable | Set by each firm. Hobart windows ran from June to September in 2026. | Set by each firm | Set by each firm | Set by each firm |
| NSW | Clerkship Recruitment Program, Law Society of NSW | 10 June to 5 or 12 July 2026 (each firm picks one) | 9am, 9 September 2026 | 1pm the next day. Hold no more than two offers at once. | Penultimate (final at each firm's discretion) |
| VIC | Clerkship and Graduate Recruitment Guidelines, Law Institute of Victoria | 6 July to 9 August 2026 | 10am, 15 October 2026 | At least four business hours. Hold no more than four offers for over two business hours. | Penultimate or final |
| QLD | Seasonal Clerkship and Graduate Recruitment Guidelines, Queensland Law Society | 13 July to 5pm, 7 August 2026 | 9am, 7 October 2026 | 1pm the next day | Penultimate (recommended) |
| WA | Vacation clerk recruitment dates, Law Society of WA with the five WA law schools | 22 June to 26 July 2026. Interviews 27 July to 4 September. | 9am, 11 September 2026 | 1pm the same day | Not published |
| SA | Uniform Clerkship Scheme, Adelaide, UniSA and Flinders law student societies | Most firms: about 22 June to 17 July 2026 | Most firms: end of August 2026 | Set by the scheme each year (three days in 2025) | Penultimate or final |
| ACT | No scheme, Not applicable | National firms follow the NSW dates, 10 June to 12 July 2026 | Set by each firm | Set by each firm | Set by each firm |
| NT | No scheme, Not applicable | Set by each firm | Set by each firm | Set by each firm | Set by each firm |
State sections
New South Wales
NSW runs its graduate round first, from February to June, and its clerkship round second, from June to September. The Law Society's page says clerkships are for penultimate-year students, with exceptions at each firm's discretion. Applications open at 9am on one day for every firm. Each firm closes on one of two set dates a week apart, so check the closing date on the firm's own page.
On offer day, from noon until the 1pm deadline the next day, you can hold no more than two open offers. Decline the extras as they arrive. The 2027 dates are already published: applications 9 June to 4 or 11 July 2027, offers 8 September 2027.
Government and public The Crown Solicitor's Office and the ODPP take law students as paralegals rather than clerks, and both feed their graduate intakes. Legal Aid NSW runs the Judge Bob Bellear Legal Career Pathways Program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
Victoria
Victoria is the last state to make offers. The LIV guidelines cover final and penultimate-year students. Most firms take summer and winter clerks from the same application round.
Offers must come by email and stay open for at least four business hours. An offer made after 1pm stays open until 10am the next business day. You should not hold more than four offers for longer than two business hours. There are no set interview dates, and interviews can be online.
Jones Day's Melbourne office takes students as paralegals instead.
Government and public The Victorian Government Solicitor's Office runs a three-week clerkship in summer and winter on the LIV dates. Victoria Legal Aid runs a First Nations Clerkship Program.
Queensland
QLS calls this the 2027 Program Cycle, although recruitment runs in 2026. It recommends clerkships for penultimate-year students. Clerkships run in up to four periods: November to December 2026, January to February, April to May and June to July 2027. Not every firm offers every period.
A firm cannot make a clerkship offer conditional on you accepting a graduate role. Firms must tell you about the guidelines and the acceptance deadline when they make an offer.
Baker McKenzie Brisbane recruits through a paralegal pathway. Cooper Grace Ward recruits law clerks into its graduate development program.
Government and public The ODPP runs a Work Experience Placement Program (the 2026 round closed 25 September).
Western Australia
WA calls them vacation clerkships. The dates are recommended by the law schools at Curtin, ECU, Murdoch, Notre Dame and UWA, and firms that sign the WA Recruitment Guidelines agree to follow them. Graduate offers come first, on 17 July, before clerkship applications have even closed.
WA has the shortest decision window in the country. Offers go out at 9am and are held open only until 1pm the same day. Have your preferences ranked before offer day. Each firm sets its own placement dates, so check firm pages for when the clerkship runs.
Lavan runs its own semester clerkship, with applications for the early-year intake from mid November to mid December.
Government and public The State Solicitor's Office runs paid two-week vacation clerkships and selects clerks on results, without interviews. The ODPP runs summer and winter vacation clerkships. Both closed in early August 2026.
South Australia
The Uniform Clerkship Scheme is run by the three Adelaide law student societies, not the Law Society of SA. Firms choose to join and align their dates. You apply to each firm separately, through its own site. The scheme is open to penultimate and final-year students.
In 2026 most firms took applications from about 22 June to 17 July and made offers at the end of August.
Piper Alderman runs a six-month rotational clerk program from February instead. DMAW ran later than the scheme in 2026, from 13 August to 9 September.
Government and public The Crown Solicitor's Office offers up to four paid eight-week summer clerkships, from late November to mid January, plus 12-month clerkships. The ODPP and the Legal Services Commission each run a summer clerkship.
Australian Capital Territory
The ACT has no clerkship scheme. The national firms with Canberra offices run their Canberra clerkships on the NSW dates, opening in June and closing in July. The ANU Law Students' Society publishes a clerkship guide each year, which lists the Canberra firms and their dates.
Government and public Canberra's public employers recruit through graduate programs rather than clerkships. See the Graduate programs hub for the Commonwealth programs, the ACT Public Service program and the ACT Government Solicitor.
Tasmania
Tasmania has no clerkship scheme, and each firm sets its own dates. In 2026 Barry Nilsson's Hobart window ran from 3 June to 5 July and Page Seager's from 27 August to 13 September. Page Seager's winter clerkship for June and July 2027 is open now and closes 27 November 2026.
Dobson Mitchell Allport took applications through July 2026 for paid two-week placements in December and January.
Northern Territory
The NT has no clerkship scheme. HWL Ebsworth's Darwin office ran its window from 6 July to 20 August in 2026. Most NT students come in through placements and the graduate program instead.
Government and public NT Legal Aid runs a law student program of placements and internships. NAAJA takes law student interns throughout the year, including on bush court circuits.
Beyond the clerkship round
Missing out on a clerkship does not close the door. Plenty of employers recruit graduates without one, and some firms do not run clerkships at all.
First Nations programs
Several employers run programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students alongside or instead of the general round. They include the Allens First Nations Legal Internship, the Clayton Utz First Nations Traineeship, the Gilbert + Tobin First Nations Legal Cadetship Program, the Hall & Wilcox First Nations Pathway Program, the Mills Oakley First Nations Internship Program and the Victoria Legal Aid First Nations Clerkship Program. In government, there are Crown Law Queensland's First Nations Legal Clerkships, the Crown Solicitor's Office SA cadetship through AFL SportsReady, and Legal Aid NSW's Judge Bob Bellear program.
Before your penultimate year
Some firms run short programs for earlier-year students. These are not clerkships, but they put you in front of the recruiters a year early. They include Allens Dive In, Clayton Utz Career Launch, Mallesons Insight, MinterEllison Discover ME and White & Case Discover. Most open in autumn. Mallesons Insight is the exception and is open now.
Other ways in
Wotton + Kearney does not run clerkships. Final-year students work part time as paralegals in its Pathways Program and move into the graduate intake. Jones Day in Melbourne and Baker McKenzie in Brisbane also recruit through paralegal pathways, and Holding Redlich runs an undergraduate program. Student paralegal roles at the NSW Crown Solicitor's Office and ODPP feed their graduate programs too.
FAQ
Do I have to accept on the spot?
No. In every state with a scheme, firms must give you until the published deadline. In WA that deadline is 1pm the same day, so decide your order before offer day.
Can I apply in more than one state?
Yes. The rounds run at different times, from June in NSW to October offers in Victoria. Track each state's offer day, because some overlap with interviews elsewhere.
I am in my final year. Is it too late?
Not always. The Victorian and SA rules cover final-year students, and NSW firms can take them at their discretion. Elsewhere, look at the Graduate programs hub, which covers firms and public employers that recruit graduates directly.
Are the dates on this page binding?
No. Every scheme is voluntary, and firms move their dates. Check the firm's own page before you apply.