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Native Title Legal Internships
Overview The Program introduces law students and graduates to career opportunities in native title, policy, human rights, social justice and Indigenous affairs and aims to provide assistance to under-resourced and over-worked Native Title Representative Bodies (NTRBs) and Native Title Service Providers (NTSPs) as well as various Other Organisations working in these areas including Indigenous corporations, government bodies, community groups, not-for-profit and policy organisations. Most NTRB and NTSP placements involve native title and land right-related work. Interns working in this area can also expect to deal with areas of law as diverse as constitutional law to local government regulations. By contrast, placements in Other Organisations could potentially provide exposure to a wider range of issues arising in Indigenous affairs, such as Indigenous policy and governance, health, education and economic development. While these issues may arise as part of an internship at an NTRB or NTSP, they are more likely to be the core aspect of work as a policy intern. Interns placed at one of these Other Organisations should be aware that they may not be involved in any native title work whilst on placement. Applications are open to all law students and graduates who have completed, or are currently completing the property law component of their legal studies and are interested in working in native title, policy and Indigenous affairs. Most internships run for 5 to 6 weeks over the June to August and November to March university breaks. They are a full-time workload usually around 40 hours per week and are unpaid. Aurora Native Title Internship Program - Summer 2010/11
Longer-term placements: part-time, locum and full-time paid opportunities In general we try to propose people for longer-term placements who have graduated and/or concluded a 6 week unpaid internship. This gives both the intern and the host organisation an opportunity for a 'try-out' work experience in the area. If you are neither an Aurora alumnus, nor a graduate, and you are interested in paid opportunities, we encourage you to apply for an Aurora internship. If you progress to the interview stage, you will have the opportunity then to mention your interest in an ongoing paid placement which might then eventuate following on from your unpaid internship. Participation in the Aurora internship program links alumni to Aurora’s extensive network which in turn offers future employment opportunities in the areas of native title, policy and Indigenous affairs. Alumni of the Aurora Native Title Internship program are encouraged to apply for paid positions at any time either by contacting the Placements Team or the organisation directly when specified in job opportunity correspondence distributed by Aurora. Graduates and qualified practitioners interested in paid opportunities are encouraged to contact the Placements Team to discuss their specific qualifications and circumstances. Please note that we rely completely on demand from the host organisations so it is difficult to know what positions may be available. Selection criteria Selection for an internship will require that applicants:
Locations of internships are Australia-wide at the 15 NTRBs and NTSPs as well as at around 40 Other Organisations, working in policy and Indigenous affairs. We request that interns provide their preferences at the interview stage and we do our best to accommodate them. Placements are dependent upon the individual organisation's needs and we therefore cannot guarantee interns’ preferences will be met. NTRBs and NTSPs are located in:
Other Organisations that host Aurora interns are located in:
Click here to see a map of the NTRB regions. Click here to see a map of Other Organisations. Click here to see a list of the NTRBs, NTSPs and Other Organisations.
Travel costs and accommodation will, in some instances, be covered, either partially or totally, by the host organisations. Where this is not possible due to resource constraints, internships will be available to those who can self-fund. Regardless, the internships are unpaid and interns are required to cover their own day-to-day expenses (eg. food, entertainment, local travel etc.) Interns are expected to work 5 days/week for the 5-6 week duration. The Aurora Project does not provide financial support for interns. Some universities have offered funding to students being placed through Aurora. It is the students’ responsibility to make enquiries directly through their university. Aurora is aware that Griffith University, Macquarie University, Queensland University of Technology and the University of Melbourne offer such funding. >> back to top
Some universities provide course credit for undertaking internships or for a paper arising from internships. In some cases universities offer a Practical Legal Training (PLT) program to postgraduate students. Aurora is aware of the following universities that offer such assistance:
Regardless of whether you are placed at an NTRB, NTSP or Other Organisation, your role as an intern is to assist the over-worked and under-resourced host organisation. The nature of your tasks will vary depending upon the type of organisation at which you are placed. Although each placement is unique, set out below are some general guidelines on the sort of work you may be asked to do as part of your placement. As a legal intern placed at a NTRB or NTSP, you could be involved in:
As a legal intern placed at an Other Organisation you may be required to undertake significant research and analysis. You must have an ability to work independently, with minimal day-to-day guidance on your tasks. These placements are sometimes project-based and may involve the preparation and presentation of findings in a particular area. However, the specific nature of your tasks will vary, and may include:
We encourage all interns to adopt the attitude that they are volunteers at the host organisations and are recipients of a real privilege. These internships are unique in that they are much more about the over-worked and under-resourced organisations than they are about the intern.
During your internship, a number of obligations will need to be fulfilled and as ambassadors of the program, interns will be expected to assist with the promotion of the internship program upon your return. These are to:
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