Course Coordinator:Dale Mitchell (dmitchell@usc.edu.au) School:School of Law and Society
UniSC Sunshine CoastUniSC Moreton Bay |
Blended learning | Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online. |
Please go to usc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
The law of contracts underpins commercial life. This course provides an essential understanding of the way the law protects economic activity, and the way in which voluntary agreements may become legally enforceable. Contracts A is the first of two courses examining the Australian law of contract. Taken together, they cover the 'life-cycle' of contracts from their formation to their performance or breach. In this course you will consider rules concerning the formation of contracts, their terms and meaning.
Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
Blended learning | |||
Learning materials – Online Learning Materials | 1.5hrs | Week 1 | 13 times |
Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Weekly workshops throughout the semester. Some workshops may include assessment tasks | 2hrs | Week 1 | 13 times |
This course provides a critical introduction to contract law. It explores the various elements which relate to the formation of a legally-binding contract, the legal validity of parties to a contract, and the means through which contractual terms are established.
The course, in addition to providing an introduction to contract law, covers:
200 Level (Developing)
12 units
Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... | Graduate Qualities Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... | |
1 | Analyse facts to identify legal issues raised by those facts. | Empowered |
2 | Explain the correct principle(s) of law to resolve a factual problem. | Knowledgeable |
3 | Apply knowledge of Australian contract law to resolve contractual disputes based on authentic real-world fact scenarios. |
Knowledgeable Empowered |
4 | Apply questioning techniques to obtain relevant information and provide appropriate support when interviewing a client. |
Knowledgeable Empowered Ethical |
5 | Deploy communication skills to effectively, appropriately and persuasively present legal information and advice. |
Knowledgeable Empowered |
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
LAW102 and enrolled in any Law Program except AR391
LAW101 and enrolled in AR391
Not applicable
Not applicable
Standard Grading (GRD)
High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
Students will have an opportunity to receive formative feedback on academic progress by participating in the tutorial program. Weekly tutorial questions are posted at the commencement of the semester, and students have the opportunity to complete these questions and receive both peer and instructor review of this work. Tutorial questions are designed to model real-world advice scenarios, and scaffold students towards developing responses to law assignments and exams.
Delivery mode | Task No. | Assessment Product | Individual or Group | Weighting % | What is the duration / length? | When should I submit? | Where should I submit it? |
All | 1 | Activity Participation | Group | 10% | 2 Hour Tutorials |
Throughout teaching period (refer to Format) | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
All | 2 | Quiz/zes | Individual | 15% | 15 Minutes |
Refer to Format | Online Test (Quiz) |
All | 3 | Artefact - Professional | Individual | 25% | 1500 words |
Week 10 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
All | 4 | Examination - Centrally Scheduled | Individual | 50% | 3 Hours |
Exam Period | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
All - Assessment Task 1:Tutorial Participation | ||||||||||||||||
Goal: | The goal of this task is to assess your ability to identify and respond to contract law questions. |
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Product: | Activity Participation | |||||||||||||||
Format: | Oral responses to questions within the tutorial time or written responses to the tutorial activities each week if unable to attend the tutorial. Students will need to complete participation for 10 tutorials, with each tutorial being worth 1% of the mark. |
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Criteria: |
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Generic Skills: | Communication, Organisation |
All - Assessment Task 2:Contract Law Online Quizzes | |||||||
Goal: | The goal of this assessment is to assess your ability to engage in legal analysis of simple fact scenarios based on your understanding of the legal principles governing contract law. |
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Product: | Quiz/zes | ||||||
Format: | You will have the opportunity to complete five marked quizzes, and of these, the three quizzes you score highest in will be counted towards your mark for this assessment. Each of these quizzes is worth a maximum of 5% of your final grade. Quizzes are to be completed prior to commencement of the tutorial covering the material. |
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Criteria: |
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Generic Skills: | Problem solving, Applying technologies, Information literacy |
All - Assessment Task 3:Contract Law Advice | ||||||||||||||||
Goal: | The goal of this assessment is to mirror real world practice by testing your ability to resolve a multi-issue legal problem using the knowledge learnt so far in the course, as well as your skills of legal reasoning. |
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Product: | Artefact - Professional | |||||||||||||||
Format: | Written legal advice |
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Criteria: |
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Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving, Information literacy |
All - Assessment Task 4:Invigilated Final Examination | |||||||||||||
Goal: | In this task, you will demonstrate your knowledge and application of contract law in response to unseen exam questions. |
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Product: | Examination - Centrally Scheduled | ||||||||||||
Format: | This assessment task is an online, open-book and invigilated exam. You will be required to attend a live Zoom session throughout the duration of the exam and need access to a working computer, a stable internet connection, and a webcam. |
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Criteria: |
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Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving, Information literacy |
A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.
Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.
Please note that you need to have regular access to the resource(s) listed below. Resources may be required or recommended.
Required? | Author | Year | Title | Edition | Publisher |
Required | Des Butler,Sharon Christensen,Bill Dixon,Lindy Willmott | 2018 | Contract Law Casebook | n/a | Oxford University Press, USA |
Required | Lindy Willmott,Sharon Christensen,Des Butler,Bill Dixon | 2018 | Contract Law | n/a | Oxford University Press, USA |
Nil
Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.
Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.
In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.
Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying: The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4% The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale You have not failed an assessment task in the course due to academic misconduct
Late submission of assessment tasks may be penalised at the following maximum rate: - 5% (of the assessment task's identified value) per day for the first two days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. - 10% (of the assessment task's identified value) for the third day - 20% (of the assessment task's identified value) for the fourth day and subsequent days up to and including seven days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. - A result of zero is awarded for an assessment task submitted after seven days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. Weekdays and weekends are included in the calculation of days late. To request an extension you must contact your course coordinator to negotiate an outcome.
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