Graduates

2027 Graduate Program

Applications are now open for our 2027 Graduate Program, commencing in late February 2027.

If you're looking to begin your legal career with interesting litigation work, experienced lawyers who genuinely want to teach you, and a firm where you'll be known as an individual, we'd love to hear from you.

About our Graduate Program

IDP Lawyers is a mid-sized Melbourne law firm specialising in the defence of personal injury and accident compensation claims.

We act for sophisticated government clients and statutory insurers, including WorkSafe Victoria and the Transport Accident Commission (TAC). Our work involves complex litigation, interesting legal questions and an important role in the fair and proper operation of Victoria's compensation schemes.

Our graduates rotate through our key practice areas, including Statutory Benefits, Serious Injury/Common Law and Recoveries, with opportunities for exposure to our growing TAC practice.

You'll work closely with partners and senior lawyers, receive structured guidance and mentoring, and develop practical legal skills through real work on real matters.

We're proud of our supportive and collaborative culture. We're a firm of around 70 people, large enough to offer interesting work and development opportunities, but small enough that you won't get lost in the crowd.

You can learn more about our people, values and benefits by clicking “what we offer” below.

Who we're looking for

Our main selection criterion is a genuine interest in our work and enthusiasm for learning.

We'd love to hear from graduates who are curious, engaged, willing to take initiative and keen to develop into excellent litigation lawyers.

An understanding of statutory compensation schemes or previous experience in a legal practice will be looked upon favourably, but neither is essential. If you enjoyed Torts at university, that's probably a good start!

Academic results matter, but they're only part of the picture. We're interested in your work experience, your interests and what you've learned along the way. Whether you've worked in hospitality, retail, administration or another industry entirely, those experiences can tell us a great deal about you.

We're looking for people who will embrace the learning opportunities available, contribute to the team and share our values.

Practical details

• Commencement: Late February 2027
• Contract: Initial 12-month fixed-term graduate contract
• Salary: $75,000 package.
• Future opportunities: Subject to performance and business needs, we may offer our outstanding graduates ongoing employment as lawyers following completion of the program in February 2028.
• Practical Legal Training: You do not need to have completed your PLT to apply, but you must be enrolled in a PLT course before commencing with us. We provide paid study leave and the required practical work experience, although we do not offer the Supervised Workplace Training pathway.

How to apply

Applications close Sunday 8 November 2026.

Please send us:

• Your CV, including your education, employment history and other relevant experience.
• A covering letter explaining why you're interested in personal injury law, particularly the defence side, and why you would like to begin your career at IDP Lawyers.
• Your academic transcript/s

We know you're probably applying for lots of graduate positions, and it's easy to send the same application to every firm.

But we're genuinely interested in understanding why you want to work with us.

Please take a little time to learn about IDP and the work we do. Your covering letter doesn't need to be long or overly formal, but it should tell us something about you and why this opportunity appeals to you.

In return, we promise to read every application in full. We don't use AI to screen CVs or decide who progresses to interview.

Submit your application via email to: graduates@idplawyers.com.au

What happens next?

We'll review applications following the closing date and invite shortlisted candidates to participate in our selection process.

• Group interviews: Late November/Early December
• Panel interviews: December 2026.

We know group interviews can sound a little intimidating, but don't worry — they're less terrifying than they sound! They're an opportunity for us to get to know you and for you to get a better feel for IDP (and meet our current and former grads).

We aim to complete our selection process and make offers before the Christmas break.

Diversity and inclusion

We value diversity and inclusion at IDP Lawyers and encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with disability, culturally diverse candidates and people from other under-represented backgrounds.

If you require any adjustments to our recruitment process, please let us know. We're happy to work with you to ensure you have a fair opportunity to participate.