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Course Outline

LAW310 Children & the Law

Course Coordinator:Jackson Orman-Ditchfield (jditchfi@usc.edu.au) School:School of Law and Society

2026Session 1

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.

What is this course about?

Description

In this course you will enhance and build upon your knowledge of the law as it relates to children (minors). You will study legal and ethical issues relating to children including child protection; children's decision-making; and criminal responsibility. Along with Australian law, you will examine international and human rights perspectives and specific issues affecting First Nations children.

How will this course be delivered?

Activity Hours Beginning Week Frequency
Online
Learning materials – Online learning materials 10hrs Week 1 Once Only
Seminar – Online recorded seminars 1hr Week 2 2 times
Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Online tutorials 4hrs Week 3 4 times

Course Topics

Decision-making

Criminal justice and criminal law 

Online behaviours

Child protection

Medical treatment

** All topics contain mature content

Mature Content

Sex/Sexual references, Violence, Adult themes

What level is this course?

300 Level (Graduate)

Demonstrating coherence and breadth or depth of knowledge and skills. Independent application of knowledge and skills in unfamiliar contexts. Meeting professional requirements and AQF descriptors for the degree. May require pre-requisites where discipline specific introductory or developing knowledge or skills is necessary. Normally undertaken in the third or fourth full-time study year of an undergraduate program.

What is the unit value of this course?

12 units

How does this course contribute to my learning?

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 Critically analyse contemporary legal developments with reference to broader contexts. Knowledgeable
Creative and critical thinker
2 Identify and articulate legal and ethical issues arising from circumstances relating to children. Knowledgeable
Creative and critical thinker
3 Analyse and critically evaluate legal, factual and policy issues to generate appropriate responses to problems. Knowledgeable
Creative and critical thinker
4 Research, interpret legal decisions and statutes, and synthesise relevant legal principles. Knowledgeable
Creative and critical thinker
5 Communicate professional conclusions on legal matters effectively in a required format. Knowledgeable
Creative and critical thinker

Am I eligible to enrol in this course?

Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.

Pre-requisites

((LAW100 OR LAW101) and (LAW105 or LAW103)) or ((LAW102 or LAW108) and (LAW104 or LAW107) and (LAW202 or LAW106))

Co-requisites

Not applicable

Anti-requisites

Not applicable

Specific assumed prior knowledge and skills (where applicable)

Not applicable

Microcredential Information

Not applicable

How am I going to be assessed?

Grading Scale

Standard Grading (GRD)

High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL).

Details of early feedback on progress

There will be an opportunity for formative feedback in the week 3 tutorials.

Assessment tasks

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 1a Oral Individual 25% 
Up to 10 minutes in length
 Week 4 Online Submission
All 1b Oral Individual 25% 
Up to 10 minutes
 Week 5 Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check
All 2 Written Piece Individual 50% 
2000 words
 Week 8 Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check
All - Assessment Task 1a:Oral presentation
Goal: 
To demonstrate excellent oral communication skills in response to a children's law topic.
Product: Oral
Authorship Statement:
Format: 
A pre-recorded oral presentation, with video, to be uploaded.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Communication skills
 5
2 
Research skills
 4
3 
Critical analysis
 1 2 3
Generic Skills: 
Communication, Problem solving, Applying technologies
All - Assessment Task 1b:Oral examination
Goal: 
To demonstrate the ability to think critically and explain concepts raised in the pre-recorded oral presentation.
Product: Oral
Authorship Statement:
Format: 
Students will answer questions based upon their oral presentation in person, to an assessor, using an online platform such as Zoom or Teams.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Critical analysis
 1 2 3
Generic Skills: 
Communication, Problem solving
All - Assessment Task 2:Critical analysis
Goal: 
The goal of this assessment task is to find, synthesise and evaluate a children's law issue using high quality primary and secondary source resources.
Product: Written Piece
Authorship Statement:
Format: 
This is an individual written assessment task.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Research skills
 4
2 
Critical thinking, analysis and reasoning
 1 3
3 
Written communication
 5
4 
Referencing
 5
5 
Application of knowledge
 2
Generic Skills: 
Communication, Problem solving, Organisation, Information literacy

Directed study hours

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.

What resources do I need to undertake this course?

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.

Prescribed text(s) or course reader

There are no required/recommended resources for this course.

Specific requirements

Nil

How are risks managed in this course?

Health and safety risks for this course have been assessed as low. It is your responsibility to review course material, search online, discuss with lecturers and peers and understand the health and safety risks associated with your specific course of study and to familiarise yourself with the University’s general health and safety principles by reviewing the online induction training for students, and following the instructions of the University staff.

What administrative information is relevant to this course?

Assessment: Academic Integrity

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.

Assessment: Additional Requirements

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

Assessment: Submission penalties

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

Links to relevant University policy and procedures

For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:

  • Assessment: Courses and Coursework Programs
  • Review of Assessment and Final Grades
  • Supplementary Assessment
  • Central Examinations
  • Deferred Examinations
  • Student Conduct
  • Students with a Disability

For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching

Student Charter

UniSC is committed to excellence in teaching, research and engagement in an environment that is inclusive, inspiring, safe and respectful. The Student Charter sets out what students can expect from the University, and what in turn is expected of students, to achieve these outcomes.

General Enquiries

For course-specific questions, contact your teaching staff or Course Coordinator.  

For other enquiries or to access support, please contact Student Central: 

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