by dtc » Sat Aug 17, 2013 8:01 am
Young law student wanting to do refugee law...nice to see idealism still around. In Australia, if you want to do refugee law then you are basically going to be in Sydney or Darwin (no surfing in Darwin - I'm assumming SUPpers get eaten by the crocs (like they deserve...)) or maybe Melbourne; or if you want to act for the evil empire (the govt) then there is a bit of work in Canberra (no surf there either). Perth doesnt have a great deal.
Transferring over once you are admitted in the UK does require a bit of extra study; but remember that is after you are admitted (completed articles/traineeship or whatever). Until then you cant get qualifications here. That said, just like in the UK, there are plenty of grad lawyers around in Australia so its not that easy to get a job. There are jobs associated with law, like community liaison officers helping new arrivals navigate the system and so forth, but a lot of these jobs are not in surf locations and, in any case, apparently Australia will no longer be 'bothered' by refugees under our potential new government overlords.
You may want to get a working holiday maker visa and resign yourself to just backpacking around in temp jobs for 12 months then heading back to the UK. After you have a bit of experience in law, you can see if anyone is hiring in Australia. Remember that being from the UK gives you no immigration advantages in Australia, so its not just a matter of choosing Sydney or Perth and then getting a visa. In particular, if you have no work experience then its hard (impossible?) to get a work related visa; you may want to look at the skilled independent visa (after you graduate and its not easy to get) or potentially look at transferring to an Australian uni for a year or so while you are a student. But working holiday is definitely the easiest (assuming you are under the age limit - I think its 28 but you should look that up).
Now, having been all negative, if your boyfriend is able to get a job here, then I am pretty sure you can tag along as well. So even if legal jobs are not available, he might be able to get something if he is more experienced and you can surf all day.
As to where to go - well, anywhere in Aust between Noosa and, I guess, Cable Beach (going southward) has surf.