Monash University’s approach to clinical legal education
The Law Faculty at Monash University has been providing clinical education to students for approximately 50 years. Monash Law Clinics has the vision:
“To lead by readdressing the imbalance on access to justice by engaging and applying the clinical legal education resources of the Faculty of Law at Monash University”.
The Monash Tax Clinic commenced in early 2022 and fits within Monash’s extensive clinical program. It benefits from the Law Faculty’s long experience in operating such programs.
Monash Tax Clinic’s objective to provide students with a meaningful educational experience while working to help meet the community’s growing need for accessible tax advice fits naturally within Monash Law Clinics’ mission:
“To empower disadvantaged members of our local and global communities through access to legal services and advocacy support, and to inspire life-long learning in our students”.
Services to clients
As with all tax clinics, Monash Tax Clinic provides members of the public with independent advice about tax issues.
The Monash Tax Clinic is part of the Law Faculty, so the focus of the clinic is on matters that involve legal issues associated with tax. Assistance often extends to other areas of law (e.g. criminal law, insolvency law and family law). Monash Tax Clinic does not prepare tax returns or business activity statements.
Typical clients of the Monash Tax Clinic include self-represented litigants in court proceedings, people who have received director penalty notices, victims of domestic abuse and people involved in tax fraud.
The clinic generally interacts with clients one day per week but work on files continues on other days.
In 2023, Monash Tax Clinic performed work on 58 client files. In broad terms, these 58 matters involved:
- 25 were about income tax debts
- 17 were about tax debts arising from GST fraud
- 5 were about DPN issues
- 11 were other assorted inquiries.
Seven matters involved domestic abuse/sexually transmitted debt and 3 other matters involved tax debts arising from financial abuse by family members.
Referrals to the clinic came from a range of sources including the County Court of Victoria, financial and other counsellors and other Monash Law Clinics.
Student involvement
Students participating in the Monash Tax Clinic get credit towards their degree while obtaining experience of legal practice.
The tax clinic provides students with a qualitatively different experience from the clerkship programs operated by law firms. Rather than just researching law and providing advice to people within the firm, students in the clinic interview clients, determine the options available to clients, and deliver advice to the clients. Under the guidance and supervision of experienced lawyers, the students are responsible for determining how the client matters are dealt with.
Students enrolled in the Monash Tax Clinic program participate in the clinic for a 12-week placement, with one day per week in person at the clinic and another half day per week working on client files.
The Monash Tax Clinic operated through 3 separate clinical period in 2023, and a total of 18 students participated in the program.
What our students have to say
The following are comments by students involved in the program.
“This clinic was a lot of fun! We got to engage in tax problems centred on issues we don’t study in class, and go through the process of interviewing clients, ascertaining what extra information we need, and then providing that advice. There were lots of other interesting talks from different walks of legal/tax careers too … which is good for getting an idea of the options out there when it comes to deciding what to do for a career!”
“I really loved interacting with real clients, along with the safety net of having a supervisor ready just in case which adds to your confidence, ultimately preparing for the future.”
“My experience at the Monash Tax Clinic was incredibly eye-opening and exceeding my expectations. The program combined my interest in tax law and disputes with community legal service… [A]ny student thinking about applying should absolutely go for it.”
“The Monash Tax Clinic was a spectacular introductory program to tax law. We were offered opportunities to apply our tax law knowledge to real-life scenarios. The hands-on experience … not only enhanced our legal skills, but also our communication and problem-solving skills. Further, the guest speakers … provided us valuable insights into the day-to-day life of tax lawyers. Overall, the Monash Tax Clinic was an enriching and fulfilling experience.”
Monash staff
- Professor Jeff Giddings – Associate Dean (Experiential Education)
- Joel Townsend – Director of Monash Law Clinics
- Melissa Fletcher – Senior Manager Partnerships and Clinics
- Patrick Cussen – Supervising Lawyer, Monash Tax Clinic
- Sophie Winzar – Clinical Program Officer
- Thalia Thirunavukarasu – Client Services Officer
- Elizabeth Smart – Client Services Officer