In just over 30 years, the UNSW Law Faculty has burgeoned from a one-man unit in a wooden hut on Lower Campus to rank amongst the top law schools Australia-wide.

It was established by Act of Parliament to meet the growing demand for a greater choice in tertiary legal education in New South Wales (until then there was only one law school in the entire state). From the start, it set out to be innovative, vibrant, challenging and immensely fulfilling.



Foundation Dean
and Professor
Hal Wootten Most importantly, according to the vision of Foundation Dean Hal Wootten AC QC, it had to be a place of learning where "students mattered". In other words, a law school driven by the desire to make students think for themselves, formulate ideas and develop skills in argument.

Professor Garth Neittheim
conducts a class under the trees

And so it has turned out to be. UNSW Law is arguably unique in Australia for its small, interactive classes, and a highly distinguished teaching faculty dedicated to helping students reach their maximum potential while staying mindful of their overall wellbeing.

It remains one of the most highly regarded faculties in the Group of Eight leading research universities in Australia for its level of student satisfaction. An impressive array of graduates have gone on to carve outstanding careers for themselves, many of them crediting the UNSW law ethos for much of their success.

The UNSW Law Faculty opened its doors on 1 March 1971 to 219 undergraduates enrolled in a five-year curriculum leading to a combined Arts/Law or Commerce/Law degree.





George Couvalis
and Richard Ziade
are the first law
students to enter the
law library in Hut C

1st March 1971, Opening Day.
Staff member Petra Knoska is
the first to arrive in the
law library, in Hut 'C'.

A TERC (Tertiary Education Research Centre) survey of the time profiles them as predominantly (1 in 7) male, high-achievers (two thirds of them were on Commonwealth scholarships), and not particularly privileged.

Since then, more than 7000 graduates have passed through its portals.

Within two years of opening its doors, the Law Faculty had outgrown The Huts and, via other interim "homes" arrived at its present location, occupying five floors of the UNSW Library Tower, in 1975. A healthy symptom of its growth, it is again feeling the squeeze and this year, planning commenced for a new, purpose-built law building. Subject to University Council approval it is anticipated that the new law building will be ready for occupation at the commencement of the 2006 academic year.

Importantly, the UNSW Law Library, which also started life in a wooden hut, has grown to be Australia's leading tertiary law library.






Librarian Rob Brian wonders
how to arrange the books
without a catalogue. Over the years, many outstanding academics contributed to the growing reputation of the Law Faculty, not only in terms of their (and hence their students') intrinsic academic performance, but also for their proactive approach to such vital aspects of the broader Australian legal profession as law reform, clinical legal education, Aboriginal education and Continuing Legal Education.



Kingsford Legal Centre in
the early days Typical of the breadth and depth of the Law Faculty's development over the last 30 years and more has been the steady accretion of specialist law and related research centres. These range from the renowned and multi-award winning Kingsford Legal Centre through the Australian Human Rights Centre, the Gilbert + Tobin Centre for Public Law and the Social Justice Project to, most recently, the National Pro Bono Resource Centre.

Some major landmarks in the history of the UNSW Law Faculty:

In 1976 the first issue of the UNSW Law Journal, which is edited and produced by undergraduates, saw light and went on to become one of the most prestigious and highly respected law journals in Australia. It celebrated its 25th issue in 2002 by going online.


In 1985 the UNSW Law School was one of 13 tertiary law institutions to undergo review/assessment by a committee of the Commonwealth Tertiary Education Commission. In addition to its formal 'big tick' in regard to 'what was possible in legal education', the committee's convenor, Professor Dennis Pearce described UNSW law as "the best law school in the country".

In 1989 the Faculty introduced a master of laws by coursework, in response to market demand.

1991 saw the establishment of Atax, the Faculty's prestigious taxation school. Today Atax has the largest tax faculty of any university in Australia and has a national and international reputation as a leading institution in teaching and researching taxation issues.

Today, UNSW Faculty of Law teaches over 3800 students engaged across a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate programs. Its future is as upbeat, progressive and at the cutting edge of law development as its past, if not more so. As one graduate, now established in a successful legal career overseas, said recently: "I have absolutely no doubt that the UNSW Law School is one of the handful of top law schools in the world."




Law Faculty Building, 2006 There was much excitement on Monday 24 July 2006 when the Faculty of Law moved into the new law building.

The long awaited move brought the Faculty together into one building for the first time in 35 years. The School of Law, the Australian School of Taxation (Atax), Law’s Research and Community Centres, the Kingsford Legal Centre, Centre for Continuing Legal Education and the Law Library now share the low rise, four storey building.

Located on lower campus near Anzac Parade, the law building overlooks University Mall and the Village Green oval. The light filled atria spaces, open staircases, landscaped courtyards and student meeting places have set a benchmark in Law Faculty design, creating a quality teaching, learning and research environment for our students and staff