Four weeks in a city that never quite cools down.
What you need before you fly, where you live, how you get around, and what the weekends look like. Written for our students, not for tourists.
You are met at the airport.
Pick up is in the fee
Send us your itinerary once booked. Someone from the programme meets you at arrivals with your number, and the transfer to the apartment is covered.
Two hours behind Melbourne
Malaysia does not change clocks. Two hours behind Melbourne in winter, three when Victoria is on daylight saving.
Digital arrival card, then the gate
Australian passport holders enter Malaysia without a visa for short visits, but every traveller must complete the Malaysia Digital Arrival Card online in the three days before landing. A placement can sit on a different entry basis from a holiday, so we confirm the right one with you before you book flights. How to get to Malaysia, step by step.
Sri Hartamas.
Your own private apartment, a ten minute walk or five minutes by car from the firm. Weekly cleaning. Breakfast is at the cafe next to the office, daily, and it is in the fee.
If your intake falls in Ramadan.
Most of Malaysia observes Ramadan, a month of fasting from dawn to sunset, followed by Hari Raya Aidilfitri. The placement runs as normal, but the rhythm of the office and the city changes, and it is worth knowing before you choose a month.
| Ramadan 2027 | Expected Monday 8 February to Tuesday 9 March 2027 |
| Hari Raya 2027 | Wednesday 10 and Thursday 11 March 2027, public holidays |
| Ramadan 2028 | Expected from about 28 January to 26 February 2028 |
| Hari Raya 2028 | Expected Sunday 27 and Monday 28 February 2028, public holidays |
Dates are expected, not fixed. Malaysia confirms them after the moon sighting, often only a few days beforehand.
- Colleagues who are fasting will not eat or drink during the day. Keep food and drinks out of meetings and shared spaces while they are fasting.
- The working day can start earlier and finish earlier so people can get home to break the fast at sunset.
- The week of Hari Raya is quiet. The firm and the courts close for the public holidays and many people take leave either side.
- Travel around Hari Raya is busy, as much of the country goes home at once. Book any flights and weekend trips early.
- The evenings are the best part. Ramadan bazaars open before sunset with food you will not find the rest of the year.
A February or March intake overlaps Ramadan and Hari Raya. It still runs, with a quieter week. If you would rather avoid it, say so when you apply and we will suggest another month.
Ride hail and rail.
Our driver, daily
You are driven to the firm and back each day. If the driver is unavailable, take a ride hail and we reimburse the fare. Set Grab up before you land anyway; it is how the city moves on evenings and weekends.
Your transport card is preloaded
You are given a transport card with RM 30 on it. The rail network is clean, air conditioned and the fastest way across town at peak hour.
Less than you think
Footpaths come and go and the afternoon heat is real. Plan for short walks and rides, not long walks.
Dress to the firm’s standard, not a student one.
Black
A black suit. Court is weekly and the standard is the one applied to the firm’s own staff.
Business dress
Business attire Monday to Thursday, business casual on Friday. Buildings are cold, the street is hot, so bring a layer.
Your own laptop
Bring it, with a charger and a universal adaptor. Malaysia uses the UK three pin plug.
Ringgit, and a local SIM.
Malaysian ringgit
Cards are widely accepted in the city and cash still matters at hawker stalls and small shops. Tell your bank you are travelling.
Buy one on arrival
A local prepaid SIM or an eSIM is cheap and worth it for Grab, maps and the group chat. Keep your Australian number active for banking codes.
Compulsory
Travel insurance covering medical treatment, evacuation and liability is required before departure and is not included in the fee.
The best food is the cheapest.
Kuala Lumpur eats Malay, Chinese and Indian, often in the same street. Hawker centres and kopitiams are where the city eats lunch. Tell us any dietary or religious requirements before you fly and we plan around them.
PracticalWater, spice, and the things nobody tells you
Water
Drink bottled or filtered. Ice in restaurants and cafes is fine.
Spice
Ask. Dishes are often hotter than the Australian version of the same name.
Ramadan
If your placement falls during Ramadan, eating in public in the daytime is legal for non Muslims but discreet is polite. Evenings are the best eating of the year.
Three trips are already in the fee.
The itinerary is subject to change. Malacca is a day; Port Dickson is a night on the coast; Batu Caves and the city are built into the programme. The Malay lessons are for daily life rather than the legal work, and by week three they start to stick.
Familiar in the bones, foreign everywhere else.
Common law, different courts
The system will feel familiar and the courts will not. English is the language of the firm and much of the profession; Malay is the national language.
Cover up at mosques
Shoulders and knees covered at places of worship, shoes off at homes and temples, right hand for handing things over. Nobody expects perfection; they notice effort.
Hot, humid, afternoon rain
Around thirty degrees most days, with short heavy showers most afternoons. A small umbrella lives in your bag.
Twenty four hour contacts in both countries.
You have a programme contact in Kuala Lumpur and one in Australia, with a documented escalation chain. Numbers are in your student handbook and in the welcome briefing. The Australian High Commission is in Kuala Lumpur.