Curtin call to train lawyers and doctors

Plans for a medical school and a new law program in Western Australia herald a major change for those professions.

Curtin University is stepping up efforts to break into two of the elite professions, with initial plans approved for the development of a bachelor of laws degree and a campaign under way to drum up community support for its proposed medical school.

It has hired a South Australian academic to establish the undergraduate law course and has begun recruiting for a foundation head of medicine, despite opposition from the medical establishment.

Curtin’s entry into the fields would increase competition in an area which has traditionally been dominated by the University of Western Australia.

The plan to offer the bachelor of laws has been approved by the university’s council and a full-course proposal is now being developed under Professor Paul Fairall, who was responsible for establishing the University of South Australia’s law school.

Curtin will submit the proposal to the Legal Practice Board of WA for external accreditation.

Curtin’s vice-chancellor, Jeanette Hacket, told WA Business News the university was hoping the accreditation process would be completed this year, with the first intake as early as 2013.

Ms Hacket said it was essential the course gained full accreditation before the first intake – a requirement which Edith Cowan University failed to achieve when it developed its physiotherapy course.

Curtin’s first law intake would be limited to 100 students but an increase would be considered if demand was sufficient.

Ms Hacket said the decision to offer a law degree was in response to UWA’s move to restructure its law program. 

From this year, UWA students are required to complete a three-year undergraduate degree before progressing to the three-year postgraduate law degree.

“Why should a person have to spend six or seven years preparing for a profession when we are quite capable of providing for a profession in say, five years?” Ms Hacket said.

“There’s no reason why people need to take that longer course.

“We seek to serve the WA community as best we can and we think with one university vacating the (undergraduate) law program, this (proposal) simply provides more choice,” Ms Hacket said.

UWA’s acting vice-chancellor, Bill Louden, wished Curtin well in its proposal and said any differentiation in the education sector was welcomed.

The proposed undergraduate law degree would bring Curtin into competition with Murdoch University, which offers a four-year Bachelor of Laws undergraduate degree.

But Ms Hacket said the initial intake of 100 students was unlikely to make a significant impact on the market and Curtin would differentiate itself by focusing on law around the resources industry with specialities in minerals and energy and compliance and governance.

“All of the universities offer similar degrees in many areas; this is just another example. But, of course, somebody offering a course would want to be sure that they offer something different and new or its unlikely they would be able to attract students,” she said.

Murdoch University’s dean of the school of law, Professor Jurgen Brohmer, said the institution’s 20-year history of teaching law meant it had an established degree that differed from others because of its focus on international law.

Professor Brohmer said he was unaware of any demand in the market for an additional law course.

“It will be interesting to see what the new competitor will offer in terms of quality. If it gets us to improve the quality of our product even more, it’s a good thing,” he said.

Ms Hacket said an in-depth feasibility study had established there was demand both in the market and from potential students for an additional and specific law course in WA.

Meanwhile, the university is still waiting to hear from the federal government on whether it can proceed with plans to open a medical school. 

Its proposed direct-entry five-year medical degree would be a faster route for students than the post-graduate options offered by both UWA and Notre Dame.

Ms Hacket said the government would not make a decision on whether to grant approval until an investigation on future demand for health workers in Australia was completed.

However, the university had already begun recruiting for a foundation head of medicine – a move which the Australian Medical Association (WA) president David Mountain said was premature.

“We have seen the number of medical students in WA grow by around 250 per cent over the last three to four years but we have got no idea where these students will all find jobs or receive specialist training after graduation,” Dr Mountain said.

But Ms Hacket said the university considered it essential that an agreement was formed with the state government for postgraduate training places to be funded before a medical school was opened.

Last month the university launched a public awareness campaign aimed at educating people on future demand for doctors, which it said was based on predictions that hospital activity in WA would increase 32 per cent over the next decade.