VCE Legal Studies introduces students to the Australian and Victorian legal systems, the institutions that uphold the law, and the principles that guide justice. Throughout the course, you will explore real and hypothetical cases, apply legal knowledge to real-world scenarios, and build strong research, analytical, and critical thinking skills.
This guide breaks down the study design, assessments, and the most effective study strategies to help you feel confident — and ultimately aim for a 45+ study score in VCE Legal Studies.
KIS Summary:
- Overview of the VCE Legal Studies course, including all four units and how SACs and the final exam work.
- Effective study strategies such as glossaries, task-word mastery, cue cards, mind maps, acronyms, and practice exams.
- Tips for high-scoring responses
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Table of Contents
- What You’ll Learn in VCE Legal Studies
- How Assessment Works in VCE Legal Studies
- How to Get Ahead: Essential Study Strategies
- How to succeed in VCE Legal Studies Exams
📘 What You’ll Learn in VCE Legal Studies
The study design is organised into four units, each focusing on a major area of Australia’s legal system. Every unit contains areas of study with outcomes, skills, and required knowledge.
Unit 1 — Guilt and Liability
Unit 1 revolves around the presumption of innocence, focusing on criminal law. Students explore:
- The foundations of the criminal justice system
- The roles and types of laws in society
- How the principles of justice — fairness, equality and access — are upheld or limited
- Offences, proving guilt, sanctions, and the courts involved
Unit 2 — Sanctions, Remedies and Rights
Unit 2 explores wrongs and rights, with a focus on civil law. Students learn:
- How the civil justice system protects individuals’ rights
- Dispute resolution institutions and methods
- Negligence, defamation, liability and remedies
- How remedies compensate parties and resolve disputes
- Key concepts in human rights
Unit 3 — Rights and Justice
Unit 3 examines how the criminal and civil justice systems protect individual rights, including:
- Key personnel in trials
- Rights of the accused and victims
- Determining sanctions and remedies
- Evaluating the effectiveness of courts and dispute resolution methods
Unit 4 — The People, the Law and Reform
Unit 4 focuses on:
- Law-making in Parliament and the courts
- Constitutional limits on parliamentary power
- The High Court’s role in constitutional interpretation
- How individuals and bodies influence law reform
📝 How Assessment Works in VCE Legal Studies
Most schools give SACs for each unit—sometimes one SAC per unit, sometimes split into two.
These SACs usually include:
- Short-answer questions
- Structured responses
- Case study applications
The end-of-year exam is worth 50% of your study score and assesses the majority of the course content. Preparing early and consistently is key to doing well.
📚 How to Get Ahead: Essential Study Strategies
1. Build a Glossary Early
Legal Studies includes complex terminology, so creating a personal glossary of legal terms is extremely helpful. Organise definitions by area of study and add words you find challenging. This improves understanding and gives you a strong foundation to build on throughout the year.
2. Know Your Task Words
It's important to create a document with common task words, their definitions, and what each requires in a response. This ensures your answers are structured correctly — something that has a major impact on your marks.
3. Use Active Recall: Cue Cards Work Wonders
Making cue cards for each unit reinforces your knowledge through active revision. This helps commit information to long-term memory, making it easier to remember key terms in the exam.
4. Mind Maps for Visual Learners
If you’re a visual learner, mind maps can make a huge difference. Break down each area of study into branches, colour-code your ideas, and visually map how concepts connect.
5. Use Acronyms and Acrostics
Acronyms and acrostics are powerful tools for remembering lists or names. Making the first letter of each term form a familiar or funny word helps you retrieve information more easily.
🎯 How to succeed in VCE Legal Studies Exams
Do Practice SACs and Exams
Completing practice tests before each SAC and before the final exam helps you:
- Improve application of knowledge
- Strengthen response structure
- Become familiar with exam-style questions
Self-Mark with Marking Guides
Use official marking guides to understand what assessors expect. This improves the accuracy and depth of your answers.
Get Teacher or Tutor Feedback
Submit practice questions to a teacher or tutor and use their feedback to rewrite your responses. Re-doing answers helps ensure you’ve actually improved.
💡 Understand the Content — Don’t Just Memorise It
Legal Studies often asks you to argue, evaluate, and interpret scenarios, so simply memorising definitions won’t be enough. Understanding the content deeply helps you form strong, logical arguments in longer responses.
✍️ Tips for Structuring High-Scoring Responses
- Break down the prompt: Highlight key phrases, tick off each part as you answer it.
- Use the stimulus: Quote words from case studies and apply your knowledge directly.
- Use paragraphs for longer questions: This helps organise your arguments clearly and shows assessors exactly where you’ve hit each marking point.
🌟 Final Thoughts
VCE Legal Studies can be an incredibly enjoyable and rewarding subject when you understand the content and feel confident in how to approach questions. With the right strategies—consistent active revision, structured responses, and a strong understanding—you can significantly strengthen your skills and aim for a 45+ study score.
Want more study guides to get ahead of your studies? Check out these articles!
KIS Academics team
Manoj Arachige
Manoj Arachige
FAQs
How hard is VCE Legal Studies?
VCE Legal Studies is considered moderately challenging, but very manageable with consistent revision. The content is straightforward and logical, and many students find it easier than heavily mathematical or scientific subjects. The main challenge is the amount of terminology and the need to apply legal principles to case studies, rather than simply memorising definitions. With strong note-taking, active revision and practice answering structured questions, most students can do very well.
Does Legal Studies scale up in VCE?
Legal Studies typically scales down slightly each year. This is because large numbers of students take the subject, and scaling adjusts scores based on the strength of the overall cohort. However, the scaling is usually small (around –1 to –2). A high score is still absolutely achievable, and your raw score matters far more than the small scaling adjustment. If you perform well, scaling will not prevent you from achieving an excellent ATAR.
What VCE subjects should I do to be a lawyer?
There are no required VCE subjects to study law at university in Australia. You can get into a law degree with any subject combination, as long as you meet the ATAR and English requirements for your chosen university.
However, some subjects can help prepare you for law school, including:
- English or English Language — essential for reading, writing and argumentation
- Legal Studies — helpful foundation for understanding the legal system
- History (Modern or Revolutions) — builds analytical and essay-writing skills
- Business Management or Economics — useful for commercial law pathways
That said, the best subjects are the ones you enjoy and can score highly in, since a strong ATAR is the key to entering a law program.
Want more personalised guidance to help support you through your studies? Find a KIS Academics tutor today!
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Written by KIS Academics Tutor for Legal Studies, Sienna Erzetic-Nadalin. Sienna is pursuing a Bachelor of Business and Design at Monash University and has received stellar reviews from her past KIS Academic students. You can view Sienna’s profile here and request her as a tutor.
