Course Coordinator:Timothy Peters (tpeters@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. |
Please go to usc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
The main focus is on companies incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). The course is structured around the ‘life-cycle’ of registered companies from pre-incorporation to dissolution. It considers corporate governance with an emphasis on directors’ duties and the rights and remedies of members; corporate finance and external administration. The course also considers the context in which companies operate, their role in society and the implications of the concept of corporate personality.
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 |
Structuring Business Activities
The Corporate Form: Theory, History and Regulatory Framework
Registration and its Effects
Internal Management and the Distribution of Corporate Power
Dealing with Third Parties: Corporate Liability, Company Contracts and Promoters Duties
Directors’ Duties: Duty to Act for a Proper Purpose; Duty to Avoid a Conflict of Interest; Duty of Care, Skill and Diligence; Avoiding Insolvent Trading; and the Business Judgement Rule
Member’s Rights and Remedies: Oppression, Personal Rights of Members and the Statutory Derivative Action Process
Corporate Finance: Operation of Credit, Raising Equity, Declaring Dividends, Securitisation
Winding Up Procedures, Insolvency and the Role of Liquidators
300 Level (Graduate)
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 | Demonstrate knowledge and critical understanding of fundamental principles and procedures of Australian Corporations Law |
Knowledgeable Empowered |
2 | Demonstrate knowledge of the ethical issues that may confront a corporate lawyer and explain appropriate professional responses to those issues | Ethical |
3 | Access, use, interpret and apply complex statutory material to resolve corporate law problems and issues |
Knowledgeable Empowered |
4 | Evaluate theoretical perspectives of Australian Corporations Law and assess how theories may apply, influence, or critique corporate law issues |
Knowledgeable Creative and critical thinker Engaged |
5 | Exercise the communication skills that are required of lawyers including presenting and drafting |
Empowered Engaged |
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
(LAW100 and LAW105) or (LAW204 or LAW208)
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Standard Grading (GRD)
High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
Formative feedback will be provided during tutorials with the completion of tutorial exercises and discussing of correct answers and approaches in Weeks 1-4. In addition, a formative quiz is available in Week 4 for students to assess their understanding of the course materials.
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 | Quiz/zes | Individual | 0% | 15 questions |
Week 4 | Online Test (Quiz) |
All | 2 | Essay | Individual | 25% | 1500 words |
Week 8 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
All | 3 | Oral | Individual | 25% | 10 minutes |
Throughout teaching period (refer to Format) | In Class |
All | 4 | Examination - Centrally Scheduled | Individual | 50% | 3 Hours |
Exam Period | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
All - Assessment Task 1:Optional Quiz | |||||||
Goal: | To test your understanding of key concepts and principles covered in weeks 1-3 of the course. |
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Product: | Quiz/zes | ||||||
Format: | Short answer questions (Optional). |
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Criteria: |
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Generic Skills: | Problem solving, Organisation, Applying technologies |
All - Assessment Task 2:Critical Essay | |||||||||||||
Goal: | To demonstrate theoretical and critical understanding of corporate law by analysing an area of doctrine in light of theories of the corporation. Students are expected to focus on analysis, justification and critique of doctrinal elements of corporate law through comparing and contrasting different theories and critiques of the corporation. |
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Product: | Essay | ||||||||||||
Format: | This is a 1500-word individual written assignment. |
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Criteria: |
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Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving, Organisation, Information literacy |
All - Assessment Task 3:Oral Moot Presentation | ||||||||||||||||
Goal: | To assess your detailed knowledge of particular area of corporations law and your ability to present formal arguments that apply the law to a particular fact scenario. It will also assess your problem-solving and oral communication skills. |
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Product: | Oral | |||||||||||||||
Format: | You will form teams of two to present moot arguments in one of the tutorials between week 5 and week 12, responding to a hypothetical fact scenario dealing with a particular area of corporations law. You will be required to prepare and present a 10 minute oral moot submission (including responding to questions from the moot judge) which adheres to the formality of a moot presentation. |
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Criteria: |
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Generic Skills: | Communication, Collaboration, Problem solving, Organisation |
All - Assessment Task 4:Invigilated Final Examination | ||||||||||||||||
Goal: | To assess your understanding of Corporations Law principles and your capacity to apply that understanding to new fact scenarios. |
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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 | Jason Harris and Timothy D Peters | 2023 | Company Law: Theories, Principles and Applications | 3rd Edition | Lexis Nexis |
Required | n/a | 0 | Australians Corporations Law 2001 Cth Legislation [Available at: www.legislation.gov.au] | n/a | n/a |
This course meets the necessary content requirements for Corporations Law under the Prescribed Areas of Knowledge of Schedule 1 of the LACC Uniform Admission Rules 2015 (the ‘Priestley 11’).
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
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