Bachelor of Business/Bachelor of Laws (Honours)

This five-year double degree pairs a Bachelor of Business with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours). You graduate with two qualifications: a business degree and an honours law degree. The law component is an honours degree, which means it includes a research component, typically a supervised thesis or major research project in your final year. The business side gives you a grounding in management, accounting, economics, marketing or a related discipline, depending on the major you choose. The combination is common among students who want to work in commercial law, corporate advisory, compliance or in-house legal roles where understanding how a business actually runs matters as much as knowing the law.

How the degree is structured

Australian bachelor degrees normally run three years full time; a double degree adds time because you complete the core requirements of both. Five years is the standard shape for a business/law double degree, and the honours component is built in rather than added as a separate year. Study is organised by semester or trimester, with each unit of study carrying a set number of credit points. You need to accumulate the required credit points across both disciplines to graduate. Expect the early years to be weighted towards business fundamentals and the foundational law units, contracts, torts, criminal law, constitutional law, before you move into more specialised areas and the honours research work.

What you actually study

On the law side you cover the subjects known as the Priestley 11, the core areas every Australian law graduate must complete for admission purposes. That includes contract, torts, criminal law and procedure, property, equity, administrative law, constitutional law, evidence, civil procedure, company law and professional responsibility. On the business side you take core units in accounting, economics, business statistics, management and law-related commercial subjects, then a major. The honours year involves independent research under supervision, and you produce a thesis. Western Sydney University has strong links to the legal profession and business community in Greater Western Sydney, and many students pick up practical experience through clinics, internships or placements during the degree.

Skills and who it suits

You finish with the ability to read a case, draft advice, argue a position and understand a balance sheet. Legal research, statutory interpretation, written advocacy and commercial judgement are the core skills. The double degree suits school leavers who are strong writers and comfortable with both analytical and numerical work, and it suits people who want a law career but see themselves in a commercial setting rather than a courtroom. It is demanding, five years is a long commitment, and law units are reading-heavy. If you are considering it, check the official Western Sydney University course page and the CRICOS register entry (course code 108430C) for the current structure, majors, English requirements and tuition. International students should note that Student visa holders can work up to 48 hours per fortnight while studying, and graduates may be eligible for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream.

• Solicitor, commercial, corporate, property, family or criminal law firms across Australia; admission as a legal practitioner requires completing the Priestley 11, a practical legal training course or supervised workplace training, and admission through the relevant state or territory Supreme Court.
• In-house counsel or legal advisor, banks, insurers, construction companies, technology firms and government agencies.
• Compliance and risk officer, financial services, superannuation, healthcare and the public sector, where regulatory obligations drive demand.
• Business analyst or management consultant, professional services firms and large organisations that need people who can read both a contract and a financial statement.
• Policy advisor, federal, state and local government departments and statutory bodies.
• Company secretary or governance officer, listed companies, not-for-profits and public sector boards.
• Graduate roles in accounting, banking, marketing or human resources, the business degree opens these even if you later decide against practising law.