A case for adopting the threshold learning outcomes for law in clinical legal education in Australia

Clinical Legal Education (CLE) is now a well-established movement in Australian law schools and law clinics are now an integral part of the legal education landscape. This paper will discuss the merit of adopting a nationalised set of learning outcomes for all clinical law subjects taught in law schools, across Australia. It will be argued that it is both prudent and timely for Australian clinical legal education to achieve greater coherency between learning outcomes and assessment practices.

A recommendation is made that Clinical Legal Education, as sub-set of legal education, adopt the nationally approved Threshold Learning Outcomes (TLO’s) for law, as a means of aligning clinical methods of teaching and learning with contemporary reform in Australian undergraduate legal education. As a corollary of this, CLE would be further integrated into mainstream undergraduate law program, and be well placed to defend their learning and teaching practices, in an age of increasing demands for compliance with accreditation, and quality assurance frameworks.