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. |
Online |
Online | You can do this course without coming onto campus, unless your program has specified a mandatory onsite requirement. |
Please go to unisc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
This course provides you with an introduction to the procedural rules that govern how civil litigation is conducted in the courts. The course contains an overview of the entire body of rules of civil procedure ranging from commencement of proceedings, to defining issues for trial, to enforcement of judgments. There is particular emphasis upon case management procedures adopted by courts and the various alternative dispute resolution mechanisms that are used to assist people to resolve civil disputes without recourse to a contested hearing and judgment by a court.
| Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
| Blended learning | |||
| Learning materials – Online Learning Materials | 1.5hrs | Week 1 | 12 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – On-Campus Tutorial | 2hrs | Week 2 | 10 times |
| Online | |||
| Learning materials – Online Learning Materials | 1.5hrs | Week 1 | 12 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Online Tutorial | 2hrs | Week 2 | 10 times |
In this comprehensive course on Civil Procedure, students will develop a thorough understanding of the legal framework and processes governing civil litigation. In addition to an overview of civil litigation, its stages and processes, key topics covered include:
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 | Identify legal issues within civil dispute scenarios, including alternative dispute resolution options. |
Knowledgeable Empowered |
| 2 | Explain the relevant laws, processes and concepts of civil procedure to resolve a legal issue. | Knowledgeable |
| 3 | Utilise analysis and legal reasoning to apply knowledge effectively, generating appropriate and practical responses to complex civil procedure problems. |
Knowledgeable Ethical |
| 4 | Demonstrate effective, persuasive, and contextually appropriate written and oral communication, including the drafting of court documents that are compliant with the relevant laws. | Empowered |
| 5 | Develop and demonstrate effective presentation skills, including proper referencing and citation techniques, to communicate legal information accurately and professionally. | Empowered |
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
((LAW100 or LAW101) and (LAW105 or LAW103)) or (LAW102 or LAW108)
Not applicable
LAW304
Not applicable
Not applicable
Standard Grading (GRD)
| High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
Early feedback on progress will be enabled through discussion of students’ responses to hypothetical scenarios during tutorials. These collaborative environments allow students to practice their own role as advocate – not only on behalf of their imagined client, but through the practice of professional skills like mediation and negotiation.
| 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 | Portfolio | Individual | 50% | Varied |
Refer to Format | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All | 2 | Examination - Centrally Scheduled | Individual | 50% | 3 Hours |
Exam Period | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All - Assessment Task 1:Legal Documents | ||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | To demonstrate your understanding of key concepts of civil procedure and your skills of legal drafting. This is an Aligned Assessment Point. |
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| Product: | Portfolio | |||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||||||||
| Format: | This assessment which requires students to address legal issues by drafting the appropriate legal documents. The documents must be drafted to comply with the law and in an appropriate format. These activities align with the tutorial program, and as a result the due dates are varied throughout the trimester. Please see the course site for further details. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving, Organisation, Information literacy |
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| All - Assessment Task 2:Final Examination | |||||||||||||
| Goal: | To demonstrate your understanding of the concepts and principles studied throughout this course and your capacity to apply that understanding to a given fact scenario that mirrors the exigencies of legal practice. |
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| Product: | Examination - Centrally Scheduled | ||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||
| 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 |
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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.
You need regular access to the resource(s) below. Many texts are available as ebooks through the Library at no additional cost.
| Required? | Author | Year | Title | Edition | Publisher |
| Required | Bernard Cairns | 2020 | Principles of Civil Procedure in Queensland | 2nd edition | Thomson Reuters |
| Recommended | Hugh Zillman | 2019 | A Civil Litigation Practice Manual | n/a | Thomson Reuters |
This course meets the necessary content requirements for Civil Procedure under the Prescribed Areas of Knowledge of Schedule 1 of the LACC Uniform Admission Rules 2015 (the ‘Priestley 11’). This course contains an Aligned Assessment Point. You will need to have access to the following legislation: Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld) Civil Proceedings Act 2011 (Qld) Service and Execution of Process Act 1992 (Cth) Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-Vesting) Act 1987 (Cth) Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-Vesting) Act 1987 (Qld)
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:
(a) The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4%; and
(b) The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale
Late submissions may be penalised up to and including the following maximum percentage of the assessment task’s identified value, with weekdays and weekends included in the calculation of days late:
(a) One day: deduct 5%;
(b) Two days: deduct 10%;
(c) Three days: deduct 20%;
(d) Four days: deduct 40%;
(e) Five days: deduct 60%;
(f) Six days: deduct 80%;
(g) Seven days: A result of zero is awarded for the assessment task.
The following penalties will apply for a late submission for an online examination:
Less than 15 minutes: No penalty
From 15 minutes to 30 minutes: 20% penalty
More than 30 minutes: 100% penalty
For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:
For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching
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