The Australian Government is developing a new Higher Education Quality and Regulatory Framework as part of its Education Revolution. Among other things, the Government is establishing the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) to regulate the sector against agreed standards for higher education.
The Australian Government has commissioned the Australian Learning & Teaching Council (ALTC) to manage the Learning and Teaching Academic Standards project. The approach is designed to ensure that discipline communities contribute to the definition of the standards they are to implement.
The law discipline aspect of the project is led by the ALTC Discipline Scholars: Professor Sally Kift (QUT) and Professor Mark Israel (UWA) and their Project Officer, Rachael Field (QUT). The Law Discipline Scholars will work consultatively with the legal academy, the legal profession and other stakeholders over 2010 to define the threshold (or core/minimum) learning outcomes for the bachelor level law degree (as defined for the bachelor degree level qualification in the draft Qualification Standards – the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF)). Demonstrated achievement of these threshold learning outcomes for law is expected to be one aspect (among others) of TEQSA’s evaluation of Australian law schools.
As of July 2010, the draft Threshhold Learning Outcomes for legal education included: "Graduates will demonstrate (a) the ability to recognise and reflect upon ethical issues and dilemmas that are likely to arise in the contexts of professional legal practice, (b)an understanding of approaches to ethical decision-making, and (c) the developing ability to (i) respond appropriately to ethical issues and dilemmas and (ii) exercise professional judgement."