by Ganesh Sahathevan
Australia's Graduate Diploma Of Legal Practice is now the only legal qualification in ASEAN and Australia that is deemed not fit for purpose by its own regulator, the NSW LPAB. While the NSW LPAB has forced changes in course form , delivery and costs in NSW, the thousands if not hundreds of thousands from ASEAN and Australia who have "Graduate Diploma Of Legal Practice ,College Of Law" among their qualifications ,in their resumes, are now left to live with the embarrassment of having a qualification that its regulator , the NSW LPAB, has finally admitted is , not for purpose, and is no indication of the legal practical skills holders of the GDLP are supposed to have as a result of their training.
The NSW LPAB has up until recently vigorously defended the College Of Law PLT and GDLP, going so far as to try and discourage overseas bodies like the Attorney General's Chambers Malaysia from being informed of problems with the course, and of the College's conduct in Malaysia.
TO BE READ WITH
Sunday, November 9, 2025
UiTM's Australian Professor found to have sold practical legal training courses that are not fit for purpose-Findings by the Chief Justice NSW Andrew Bell latest chapter in the story of Neville Carter, who claims to have identified and cured "gaps" in Malaysian legal practice
by Ganesh Sahathevan
The Chief Justice Of NSW Andrew Bell and his NSW Legal Profession Admission Board, which he chairs, has declared that the College Of Law Australia's Professional Legal Practise course is not fit for purpose.
The Chief Justice's declaration is the latest chapter in a year long war against The College of Law Australia's poor standards
The College has been led for over 30 years by its immediate past CEO , Neville Carter, who has made claims about his role in improving legal practice in Malaysia, which he and the College used as part of their advertising.
TO BE READ WITH
Saturday, May 5, 2018
UiTM's Australian Professor says he identified and cured "gaps" in Malaysian legal practice
UiTM's Professor Neville Carter, an Australian who taught at the then MARA Institute of Technology in Shah Alam for a year in 1985-86, claims that he identified and cured "gaps" in Malaysian legal practice (not just legal training) while at MARA, now known as UiTM.
Nevilla Carter had worked in a number
of small firms, including one he owned with
three others, before arriving in Malaysia
in 1985.
Carter says on his Linkedin profile:
I was seconded (between 85-86 for one year) from the College of Law, to UiTM in Malaysia to create a fourth advanced year of study that would enable law graduates to secure legal practice skills and qualify for immediate admission to legal practice. The course successfully addressed gaps in law practice in Malaysia.
Neville Carter
Board Director at The College of Law Australia
Experience
- - Executive leader of the disaffiliation process by which College separated from UTS in 1996 and quickly secured the College as an independent, commercially autonomous higher education provider. Managed the College through various accreditations including meeting QL IV standards and ISO 9000. Introduced e-Learning in 1997, positioning the College as pioneers in educational design.
- Established the College of Law New Zealand (2004), College of Law Victoria (2006), College of Law Queensland (2005), College of Law Western Australia (2007), Master of Applied Law Programs (2008), College of Law South Australia (2013) and College of Law Asia (2016).
- Founded new lines of business for education consulting in South East Asia. These have proved to be a rapidly expanding area for the College, and will be a key focus in the coming years.
- Built an international alliance with the College of Law of England and Wales (2001)
- Contributed to policy development through advocacy for the creation of an all-state common approach to a nationally regulated legal profession
- Established the College of Law Alumni Association in 2011 to engage with the College’s many graduates
- Created the online Jobs Board (2000) as a free service to both students and employers. This popular page receives over 40,000 views per month and advertises roles for law graduates and lawyers - In 2009 the College of Law sought orders in the Supreme Court of NSW to support major constitutional change recasting it as an Australasian entity ultimately owned by its stakeholders within the legal community across Australia and New Zealand. The College sought out and secured board members who have established frameworks that ensure the College’s position as the world leader in legal education. The board continues to manage and oversee the Corporate Governance Charter, the College’s Constitution, and the operations of the College.
- The College of Law at this time was affiliated with the University of Technology Sydney, and my role was bicameral – reporting to the Board of Governors of the College, and to the Law Society. I established operating principles to fit within the university framework and was appointed to various senior roles within the University. Also co-authored a report and contributed to the shaping of reforms that regulated the 1994/5 NSW legal admitting authority.
- Established a national school of legal practice and a new national pre-admission curriculum, sponsored jointly by the NZ Law Society and the NZ Council of Legal Education with support from the Ministry of Justice. The program achieved full accreditation by the admitting authorities and government within 12 months of inception; the organisation and its core curriculum (which was based on a then-novel conception of pedagogy) is still successfully in place thirty years later.
- Created a new curriculum and teaching strategy to accommodate escalating numbers of law school graduates. Appointed to various committees. Represented the College in the reference group to the Commonwealth Governments ‘Pierce Review’ of the legal education sector.
I was seconded from the College of Law, to UiTM in Malaysia to create a fourth advanced year of study that would enable law graduates to secure legal practice skills and qualify for immediate admission to legal practice. The course successfully addressed gaps in law practice in Malaysia. More than thirty years later, the Advanced Diploma in Law is now a full LLB qualification, still successfully providing students with skills that benefit the broader law-consuming public.
During my time in Malaysia I produced the inaugural Legal Practice Handbook with instructional details, materials and resources for Malaysian law and practice and also mentored an elite pilot group of 20 students who became the first cohort of UTM graduates admitted to legal practice in the Malaysian legal profession.- Established Barnett Nicol & Carter in partnership with two Canberra-based colleagues, and in association with a Brisbane-based practice. Intending to commence a career at the Bar, I transferred the practice as an ongoing concern with sale for good return.
- Established as William Arnott & Poole in 1890, this reputable firm changed its name in 1995.
- Part time employment while completing law studies
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