8. Chapter Outline
This edited collection provides the first detailed resource for law students, academics and practitioners focused on mainstreaming climate change in legal education in Australia.
The text contains 29 peer-reviewed chapters covering every core curriculum subject and many elective offerings delivered in professionally accredited law degrees. Over 50 leading legal educators from 15 Australian universities have (co)authored chapters, as well as members of the legal profession.
The collection was published in stages, with Tranche 1 published in 2024; Tranche 2 and Tranche 3 published in 2025; Tranche 4 published in early 2026 and some outstanding final chapters published later in 2026.
This edited collection is regularly updated, with new editions reflecting the rapidly developing nature of law and legal practice relating to climate change.
Section 1 commences with three foundational chapters that introduce themes cutting across the other sections of the edited collection. The introductory chapter, ‘Legal Education in a Changing Climate’, explains the growing need for mainstreaming climate change in legal education in Australia. Chapter 2, ‘First Nations, Native Title, and Climate Change’, introduces the central importance of First Nations knowledges and perspectives for mainstreaming climate change in legal education, and for developing legal responses to climate change. There is an urgent need for Australian legal education to confront its colonial foundations and to embed First Nations law and justice across all aspects of teaching and learning. Many of the chapters in this book demonstrate the synergies between mainstreaming climate change in legal education and decolonising the curriculum. The chapter on “Access to Justice and Climate Change” shows how the challenge of ensuring access to justice in a climate changed world means approaching lawyering in a way that is ethically grounded, community-responsive, and resilient.
Section 2 includes chapters on all the core subjects required as part of a professionally accredited Australian law program (LLB and the JD courses). These have been arranged in the order in which they are commonly taught, starting with foundational subjects such as public law, tort law and criminal law and procedure; moving on to intermediate subjects such a contract law, land law, constitutional law, administrative law, company law and equity and trusts and concluding with capstone subject often taught in the last year of a law degree civil procedure; evidence law and professional responsibilities and ethics.
Section 3 includes chapters on popular elective offerings delivered in professionally accredited law degrees. These include some subjects which are compulsory at some universities such as legal theory and international law, as well as tax law; human rights law; labour law; intellectual property and technology; public health law; migration and refugee law; consumer law; strata title; personal and corporate insolvency law. The section concludes with chapters that offer a more practical perspective on mainstreaming climate change in legal education in Australia. These chapters encourage students to think about how they might apply their legal skills in practice, with chapters on clinical legal education; and public interest litigation.
