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It is widely recognised that a lack of work experience can impede university students seeking graduate employment and that many tertiary students face significant barriers in securing work experience. Drawing on existing research, this article analyses these barriers, and considers the consequences of this inequity for affected individuals as well as for broader Australian society and the economy. The article proposes various ‘do-able’ reforms to the regulation of work integrated learning in tertiary education and student-finance schemes which would go some way to reducing these barriers.

More and more young Australians are undertaking periods of work experience as a part of their study or independently to facilitate their transition into employment. They are often subject to a significant power disparity compared to others in the workplace, and need the placement to finish a course, and/or to get practical experience, connections and industry references. This makes them vulnerable, including to sexual harassment and sex discrimination. However, whether prohibitions of such conduct apply to them is a complex question, which this article explores.

We live in an age of uncertainty in which the two seeming constants are continuing change and growth in bodies of knowledge. These factors affect all fields of life, including the study and practice of the law. In 1998 Sumitra Vignaendra determined that the vast majority of law students went on to work in a legal capacity of some kind. While there is no more recent data available regarding the number of law graduates who go on to practise in law, anecdotal evidence suggests that many law students do intend to engage in practice as a lawyer, and graduate destination surveys imply that this ambition is realised for many. But the ever-changing nature of law means legal learning for those entering the profession cannot stop at graduation; practising lawyers must constantly update and expand their knowledge. Law graduates must, therefore, be properly equipped for a lifelong process of learning.

While the importance of equipping graduates with professional skills is often recognised, both academics and students acknowledge that the process of teaching and learning skills at law school can be difficult. In this article the authors will reaffirm the continuing importance of skills teaching in Australian law schools and argue these difficulties are not insurmountable. We briefly explore our own experiences in teaching professional skills in a tertiary context, using a situational learning methodology (where students put themselves in the position of practising lawyers), and discuss some of the lessons we have learned in the process of adapting and refining our approach to this perennially challenging issue.

The last two decades have seen growing debate in many countries about the appropriateness of displaying religious symbols in the public sphere. Much discussion has focussed on the wearing of religiously inspired dress and in particular Islamic dress. The latest chapter in this saga are attempts to ban in public the burqa and niqab, clothing worn by some Muslim women which covers the face.