Law Education and Outreach

Presentations designed to be informative, interactive and thought-provoking

Our Law Education and Outreach program involves law students researching, writing and delivering lessons and seminars to the community. Students are challenged to present legal material in a way that makes the law accessible to non-lawyers, and promotes greater understanding of laws designed to protect vulnerable families and individuals.

In addition to inspiring participants to take an interest in the law, the seminars build people’s knowledge of nationally and internationally significant issues, enabling them to better disseminate the information made available to the public through the government, media and other organisations.

These presentations are delivered through a combination of audiovisual materials, worksheets, group activities and, in the case of high school presentations, class discussion.

Request a Law Education Outreach Session

Our Law Education and Outreach sessions can be presented to interested high schools and community groups. As these sessions are presented by students of the Pro Bono Centre, we encourage enquiries from state high schools, schools in rural, regional and remote communities and community organisations working with young people. Our presentations can be adapted for online delivery models for high schools that are not local to the university.

To organise a school visit or to find out more about these programs please email us.

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Areas of Law Education

Domestic Violence and the Law Program

Participants are introduced to the legal understandings and responses to family and domestic violence in the context of intimate partner relationships including dating relationships. The lessons will provide information about different forms of domestic and family violence and who may be particularly vulnerable in our communities.

DV program lessons will provide an entry level legal understanding of the topic. It will introduce students to a key legal instrument, the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 (Qld), and how it works. Key myths will be addressed through the use of question and answer. Students will also hear about different ways that the law responds to impacts of violence such as being made homeless, financial hardship, difficulties in parenting and losing employment or having to stop education. Through the use of case studies, students will be asked to think about challenges in ensuring that the law continues to respond appropriately to complex issues including the use of technology to victimise a current or former partner. Students will be asked to consider how the law ought to respond. Students will also be provided with links and resources for further information and for where to go if they need assistance.

To organise a school visit or to find out more about these programs please email us.

Email us

High School visit — Students from St Ursula's College learn about Domestic Violence and the Law.

Youth Justice and the Law

The legal landscape for young people in Queensland is constantly changing. Police are interacting with young people proactively, including wanding and undertaking other searches, while slogans like “Adult Crime, Adult Time” have become more prominent in political and public debate. But what does the law actually say, and what does it mean in practice for young Queenslanders?

Presented by law students from the UQ Pro Bono Centre, this interactive session cuts through headlines to explore how Queensland’s youth justice and policing laws operate in practice. Through quizzes, myth-busting and real-world scenarios, participants will test their existing knowledge, unpack recent changes to the law, and explore the rights and responsibilities young people have when dealing with police.

Most importantly, the session equips participants with accessible, practical knowledge they can take back to their school communities. The session encourages young people to engage with the law-making process, showing them how they can have a say on the laws that affect their lives. Students are welcome to bring their questions - no legal studies background required.

Human Rights in Queensland

This presentation covers the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) and how it works. It is aimed at Year 11–12 students and assumes no prior understanding of the Human Rights Act. The session runs approximately 35 minutes, including activities and time for questions.

The presentation covers the difference between international human rights and the 23 rights that are protected in Queensland under the Act; who holds those rights; which bodies are required to respect them; and the test used to decide whether limiting a right is lawful.

We explore the decision in Waratah Coal v Youth Verdict, in which a group of young Queenslanders objected to a proposed coal mine on human rights grounds, as a worked example of that test. There is then an interactive activity where students apply the test to decide if a new hypothetical school rule is justifiable limitation on human rights.

If time permits, or if there is a particular interest in one of these following topics, they can be covered:

How the parliament must make a statement of compatibility (or incompatibility) with human rights when introducing a new bill and the limitations of the Human Rights Act.
How you can make submissions to parliamentary committees on proposed laws,
What to do if you think a decision has breached your rights, including complaint processes and where to find free legal help.