New cohort of First Nations students ready to step into higher education

A new cohort of First Nations students have graduated from enabling programs in business, accounting and law disciplines at Charles Darwin University (CDU) and are ready to begin their studies in Semester 1.

There are more than 600 lawyers in the Northern Territory, but only about 10 of them are of a First Nations background. First Nations people make up roughly 30-per-cent of the population in the Territory.

The month-long programs at the CDU Asia Pacific College of Business and Law prepare students for the academic environment at university and offer ongoing mentoring support as students enter higher education or VET studies.

The Pre-enabling Programs are designed for First Nations students to gain an understanding of the requirements and assessments of the relevant accounting, business or law degrees with delivery and materials tailored to meet their learning needs.

The pre-law students had their “moot court” debate session at the Northern Territory Supreme Court presided over by Justice Judith Kelly this week.

Upon completion of the course, students can go into a Diploma of Law or a Bachelor of Laws at CDU and study to become a lawyer.

Pre-law Enabling Program Coordinator Dr Susan Bird said the course offered students a taste of university and encouraged them to pursue higher education degrees.

“The students are all interested in studying law, but some of them might not have had a traditional pathway to get into law,” Dr Bird said.

“The program gives them a sample of the kind of assessments in a law degree, and the students have a go at writing a case note, doing an exam, an online quiz and a practice debate.”

Dr Bird said the underrepresentation of First Nations people in the legal profession needed to be addressed through education.

“The underrepresentation hasn’t really shifted over many years. It’s really important that we try to create a more equal balance between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people working in law by encouraging more students to study law,” she said.

Torres Strait Islander student Chelsea Aniba said the pre-enabling program also helped with her networking in the industry.

“It has helped me network with the lecturers, the people in the courts and parliament and the key stakeholders. I will start my Bachelor of Laws in March and the program has painted the sceneries for me,” Ms Aniba said.

Students who have completed the Pre-Accounting Enabling Program can go into a Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping or directly into a Bachelor of Accounting at CDU.  

The Pre-Business Enabling Program was successfully launched this year and First Nations student mentors have also been providing continuous peer support to new students.