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The law program for Indigenous peoples has been a most effective equity initiative for Indigenous people to qualify from one of the most demanding degree courses in higher education.

Initially one or two Indigenous students deemed likely to succeed in law were given provisional entry into the program in the late 1980s. In 1991 the Australian Law Teachers Association passed a resolution supporting establishment of an intensive short course bridging program of legal studies for Aboriginal and Islander peoples to address the chronic failure to include Indigenous people in this area. In the ensuing discussions it became clear that a regional program based in Western Australia was favoured by Aboriginal representatives from Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

In 1994, the Pre-Law Program was established as a joint initiative between the School of Indigenous Studies and the Faculty of Law. The program was based on the model developed in Canada where an Indigenous pre-law program had been in place since 1973, and in which Richard Bartlett had taught. The law program at UWA, which now supports Indigenous studies throughout their entire four-year degree, has enabled 41 Indigenous people to qualify as lawyers: the largest number in the country. These graduates have gone on to work as barristers, solicitors, academics, policy advisors, judges' associates and members of the three arms of government.