Graduate programs
Explore graduate programs, practical legal training placements and court associateships.
Find a program
1 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.
Filters and search · Filters active
7 programs
- Applications open:
- 28 October 2026
- Applications close:
- 22 November 2026
The Hall & Wilcox Graduate Program is a rotational program in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and the…
More about this program
The Hall & Wilcox Graduate Program is a rotational program in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Graduates attend a national induction in Melbourne. Places in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney usually fill through priority offers to former seasonal clerks. The firm has not published eligibility criteria. Applications for the 2027 Darwin graduate vacancy opened on 28 October 2026 and close on 22 November 2026. Other offices have separate recruitment rounds and clerkship priority pathways.
- Eligibility
- Not published.
- Runs
- Current 2027 Darwin graduate vacancy. Other offices use different rounds / clerkship priority pathways.
Checked 29 October 2026 · Source
- Applications open:
- 1 March 2027
- Applications close:
- April 2027 (estimated)
The Australian Government Solicitor runs a graduate program for law graduates. Applicants must be Australian citizens with a law degree…
More about this program
The Australian Government Solicitor runs a graduate program for law graduates. Applicants must be Australian citizens with a law degree completed within the past five years. They must be admitted, or eligible and willing to complete practical legal training during the program. They must obtain a Negative Vetting 2 security clearance. Graduates start in February and complete four rotations of about 12 weeks, including a client outpost and pro bono work. Applications usually open in March and close in April through the APS Jobs graduate portal.
- Eligibility
- Australian citizen at application. LLB or JD completed within the 5 years before 31 December of the application year. Admitted, or eligible and willing to complete PLT during the program. Must obtain and maintain a Negative Vetting 2 security clearance and pass an employment screen.
- Runs
- Next AGGP Legal Stream recruitment in 2027, normally for February 2028
Checked 29 October 2026 · Source
- Applications open:
- Application dates not yet announced
- Applications close:
- Application dates not yet announced
The Clayton Utz Graduate Program is for law graduates. Most graduates are former clerks. The program has three six-month rotations…
More about this program
The Clayton Utz Graduate Program is for law graduates. Most graduates are former clerks. The program has three six-month rotations and begins with a national orientation in Sydney. Clayton Utz recruits most graduates from its seasonal clerkships. Direct openings are listed when they arise. The graduate page does not state which offices take graduates. No dates are published for the next intake.
- Eligibility
- Law graduates, mainly former clerks.
- Runs
- 2027 intake and later graduate cohorts. Review July–August 2027; this is a review period, not an application opening.
Checked 29 October 2026 · Source
- Applications open:
- Application dates not yet announced
- Applications close:
- Application dates not yet announced
The Mills Oakley Graduate Program is for law graduates. It runs for 12 months, with three four month rotations. Graduates…
More about this program
The Mills Oakley Graduate Program is for law graduates. It runs for 12 months, with three four month rotations. Graduates complete practical legal training through the College of Law, with financial support from the firm. The firm has not published a recruitment timetable, and openings are advertised on its careers page. It has not stated which offices take graduates. The careers page has not been updated for the current intake.
- Eligibility
- Law graduates
- Runs
- 2027 intake and later graduate cohorts. Review July–August 2027; this is a review period, not an application opening.
Checked 29 October 2026 · Source
- Applications open:
- June 2027 (estimated)
- Applications close:
- August 2027 (estimated)
The Solicitor for the Northern Territory runs a 12 month Graduate Development Program starting in January. Rotations may include commercial,…
More about this program
The Solicitor for the Northern Territory runs a 12 month Graduate Development Program starting in January. Rotations may include commercial, litigation and legal policy work, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Office of Parliamentary Counsel. It is for final year law students eligible for the Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander law graduates. Two positions are reserved for Indigenous applicants. The program is advertised once a year in the NT News and on the NT Government careers site.
- Eligibility
- Final-year law students enrolled or eligible to enrol in the Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice, or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander law graduates meeting the selection criteria. Must meet NTPS Graduate Development Program criteria and pass an NT police check.
- Runs
- Potential January 2028 SFNT graduate start
- Pay
- Paid. NTPS Graduate Development Program salary and conditions
Checked 29 October 2026 · Source
- Applications open:
- Applications accepted throughout the year
- Applications close:
- Application dates not yet announced
Judges of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory each employ an associate. Positions are offered at the start of…
More about this program
Judges of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory each employ an associate. Positions are offered at the start of each calendar year for about 12 months on a non ongoing basis. Associates are employed at Administrative Officer 4 level in the Northern Territory Public Service. The roles are for law graduates, who must pass a National Police Check. Applicants apply to each judge's Executive Assistant. Filled positions are marked on the chambers page.
- Eligibility
- Law graduates. National Police Check required.
- Runs
- 2027 appointments may already be filled. Applications during 2027 may target 2028; check chambers.
- Pay
- Paid. NTPS Administrative Officer 4
Checked 29 October 2026 · Source
- Applications open:
- August 2027 (estimated)
- Applications close:
- September 2027 (estimated)
Barry Nilsson runs a graduate program across its Australian offices. Some graduate intakes are filled directly from the firm's vacation…
More about this program
Barry Nilsson runs a graduate program across its Australian offices. Some graduate intakes are filled directly from the firm's vacation clerk program. The firm has not published eligibility criteria, program structure, start dates or application dates. Its careers page states that applications are currently closed. Students interested in the program should consider the firm's vacation clerkships, which feed some graduate intakes.
- Eligibility
- Not published
- Runs
- Potential 2028 graduate recruitment; contingent on office vacancies
Checked 29 October 2026 · Source
Graduate recruitment guide
A graduate program is your first year or two as a lawyer, with rotations, supervision and usually your practical legal training paid for. Firms are only one part of it. Governments, regulators, legal aid, prosecutors and courts all take graduates, often on very different timetables.
Dates shown are for programs starting in 2027 unless marked. Last checked 29 October 2026. Confirm on the employer's 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.
Five ways in
- From a clerkship. Most large firms fill their graduate intake from their own clerks. Some take a few more through an open round.
- Through a firm's open graduate round. Mid-size and regional firms often recruit graduates directly, many in a state's graduate window.
- Through a government program. The Commonwealth and most states run graduate programs with a legal stream or a legal office of their own. Many close in autumn, a year before you start.
- Through legal aid, prosecution and community services. Legal aid commissions and the Aboriginal legal services run their own programs, several with regional placements.
- As a judge's associate. A year or two working for a judge, recruited chamber by chamber, sometimes two or three years ahead.
Many programs pay for or build in your practical legal training. Check whether you must already be enrolled, as in Tasmania, where the government program takes only Legal Practice Course students.
When graduate rounds run
The state law society schemes cover firm graduate rounds as well as clerkships. Timing differs more than for clerkships. NSW recruits graduates more than a year ahead, Victoria and Queensland in August and September, and WA makes its offers in July.
| Where | Firm graduate round | Public sector timing |
|---|---|---|
| NT | No scheme. | SFNT program starts each January and is advertised once a year. |
| NSW | Law Society program. For 2028 starts: applications 22 February to 4 April 2027, offers 2 June 2027 (decide by 1pm next day). | Crown Solicitor's Office applications open in May 2027. NSW Government Graduate Program starts each February. |
| VIC | LIV guidelines. Priority offers to own clerks 4 August 2026. Open market applications 7 to 23 August, offers 30 September 2026. | VGSO follows the LIV dates. Victoria Legal Aid's New Lawyers Program closed 11 October 2026. |
| QLD | QLS guidelines. Offers to own clerks and staff 4 August 2026. Open market applications 10 to 21 August, offers 24 September 2026. Programs start February 2027. | Department of Justice applications open in August. |
| WA | Law Society of WA dates. Graduate offers 17 July 2026, held open 9am to 1pm. | State Solicitor's Office applications April to May. Legal Aid WA closed in May and June 2026. |
| SA | No scheme. Firms set their own dates. | Crown Solicitor's Office fills roles from a 12-month graduate pool. |
| ACT | No scheme. | ACT Public Service program closed 12 July 2026. |
| TAS | No scheme. Firms recruit as roles arise. | Department of Justice Legal Graduate Program closes 8 November 2026. |
| Commonwealth | Not applicable | Most programs close in March to May, about ten months before a February start. ASIC's closed 16 August 2026. |
Commonwealth programs
The Commonwealth recruits early. For a February 2027 start, most programs closed between March and May 2026. If you finish your degree next year, the window to watch opens around March 2027.
Australian Government Graduate Program, Legal Stream. A central round run through APS Jobs, with a merit pool that agencies hire from. The Attorney-General's Department takes its legal graduates through it. AGD's program runs 11 months with three rotations in Canberra and builds in practical legal training. You need to be an Australian citizen.
Australian Government Solicitor. The Commonwealth's own legal practice, part of AGD, recruits separately. Its program has four rotations of about 12 weeks across its practice groups, an outpost in a Commonwealth agency and pro bono work. Applications generally run March to April. Graduates need a Negative Vetting 2 security clearance.
Regulators with a law stream. ASIC runs a law stream in its graduate program (closed 16 August 2026) and a Legal stream in its internship program, based in Sydney or Melbourne (the 2026 round ran 6 to 20 October). The ATO has a taxation and law stream (closed 9 April 2026). The ACCC recruits lawyers through its general stream (closed 17 May 2026).
Earlier pathways. AGD also runs Jump Start and hosts interns through the Australian Disability Network's Stepping Into program.
National firms with one national program. Barry Nilsson, Clayton Utz and Mills Oakley run national graduate programs and place graduates by office.
Browse government bodies on the AtlasState by state
New South Wales
Government The Crown Solicitor's Office runs a two-year graduate development program for newly admitted lawyers. The NSW Government Graduate Program has a Legal stream: 18 months, three placements and the Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice built in. The Department of Communities and Justice runs the Maliyan Program for Aboriginal graduate solicitors.
Legal aid, prosecution and community Legal Aid NSW runs a Crime Regional Graduate Program. The Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) recruits graduate solicitors on a rolling basis for its Western NSW criminal practice.
Clerkships in New South WalesVictoria
Government The Victorian Government Solicitor's Office runs a 12-month program across four legal branches, with training through Leo Cussen. The central Victorian Government Graduate Program has no legal stream.
Legal aid, prosecution and community Victoria Legal Aid runs the New Lawyers Program for admitted lawyers and a First Nations Graduate Law Program.
Clerkships in VictoriaQueensland
Government The Department of Justice runs a two-year Law and Justice Graduate Program, open to law, justice and criminology graduates.
Legal aid, prosecution and community Legal Aid Queensland runs a Graduate Lawyer Program.
Clerkships in QueenslandWestern Australia
Government The State Solicitor's Office runs a 12-month rotational program and pays for practical legal training. Its 2027 graduates are on two-year contracts.
Legal aid, prosecution and community Legal Aid WA runs a Law Graduate Program and a Regional Law Graduate Program.
Clerkships in Western AustraliaSouth Australia
Government The Crown Solicitor's Office fills graduate solicitor roles from an employment pool that stays valid for 12 months.
Legal aid, prosecution and community The Legal Services Commission runs a practical legal training program.
Clerkships in South AustraliaAustralian Capital Territory
Government The ACT Public Service Graduate Program has a Legal career path for non-practising roles. The ACT Government Solicitor hosts practical legal training placements. Canberra is also home to most Commonwealth programs (above).
Legal aid, prosecution and community The ACT Cross-Sector Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Law Graduate Program, run by Legal Aid ACT, has not opened a round since 2024.
Clerkships in Australian Capital TerritoryTasmania
Government The Department of Justice runs a Legal Graduate Program of about two years. Graduates work part time while completing the Tasmanian Legal Practice Course, then full time. Applications for 2027 close 8 November 2026.
Clerkships in TasmaniaNorthern Territory
Government The Solicitor for the Northern Territory runs a 12-month program from January, with rotations that can include the DPP and Parliamentary Counsel. Two places are reserved for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander graduates.
Legal aid, prosecution and community NAAJA invites expressions of interest from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander law graduates and supervises some GDLP placements.
Clerkships in Northern TerritoryAssociateships
An associate works beside one judge for a year or two. Most courts have no central round. Each judge's chambers recruits, sometimes years ahead, so watch the court's own page.
- High Court of Australia
- Each Justice recruits separately, often two to three years ahead. Justice Gleeson took applications from 1 to 31 October 2026 for 2028.
- Federal Court of Australia
- Judges recruit their own associates as positions arise.
- Federal Circuit and Family Court
- Associate roles in both divisions, plus associates to registrars and legal case managers.
- Supreme Court of NSW
- Judges choose associates and tipstaves directly. Apply early in the year before the appointment. Researchers are hired each year.
- Supreme Court of Victoria
- Roles are advertised one by one on the Victorian Government jobs board.
- Supreme and District Courts of Queensland
- An annual round. The 2027 round ran 8 December 2025 to 30 January 2026. The 2028 window is not yet published.
- Supreme Court of WA
- An annual round closing in April for January starts, plus individual chambers ads.
- Supreme Court of SA
- Rolling. Apply to each Justice's chambers. Associates can complete the GDLP while employed.
- Supreme Court of Tasmania
- Roles are advertised on the Tasmanian Government jobs site as they arise.
- Supreme Court of the NT
- Positions are offered at the start of each year. Apply to each judge's executive assistant.
- ACT Supreme Court
- A rolling associate register, current for a year, plus chambers ads.
FAQ
Do I need a clerkship to get a graduate role?
No. It is the main route into the largest firms. Government, regulators, legal aid, courts and most mid-size firms recruit graduates directly.
When should I start looking?
In the year before you finish. Commonwealth programs close in autumn, NSW firms recruit in February to April, and most other states run August to October.
Will the program pay for my practical legal training?
Many do, and some build it into the program. Check each listing. In Tasmania you must already be enrolled in the Legal Practice Course to apply to the government program.
I am not a citizen. Can I apply?
Commonwealth programs require Australian citizenship. Most state programs and firms ask for work rights for the length of the program. Check each listing.