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Course Outline

LAW322 Commercial and Consumer Law

Course Coordinator:Ashley Pearson (apearson@usc.edu.au) School:School of Law and Society

2026Trimester 2

UniSC Sunshine Coast

UniSC 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.

What is this course about?

Description

Consumer and Commercial Law is an in-depth exploration of Australia's legal framework governing consumer rights and commercial transactions. This course offers a comprehensive study of key legislation, regulations, and case law that safeguard consumers' interests, foster fair trading practices, and regulate business interactions. In this course you will study diverse topics, including consumer protection, product liability, and competition regulation.

How will this course be delivered?

Activity Hours Beginning Week Frequency
Blended learning
Learning materials – Online Learning Materials 1hr Week 1 12 times
Tutorial/Workshop 1 – On-Campus Tutorial 2hrs Week 2 10 times
Online
Learning materials – Online Learning Materials 1hr Week 1 12 times
Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Online Tutorial 2hrs Week 2 10 times

Course Topics

This course will introduce you to the multiple frameworks that govern Australia’s commercial and consumer laws. Throughout the course, you will canvas a variety of relevant topics, including:

  • Commercial Law – What obligations does the law place on businesses in a commercial setting to protect the market, business property, and fair trading? (Anti-Competitive Laws, Market Manipulation, Bankruptcy, Securitisation)
  • Consumer Law – How does the law protect consumers in a commercial transaction? (Consumer Protection Provisions, Insurance, Uncommercial Transactions, Product Liability)

 

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 Identify legal issues within complex commercial and consumer law scenarios. Knowledgeable
Empowered
2 Explain the relevant laws, processes and concepts of commercial and consumer law to resolve a legal issue. Knowledgeable
3 Utilize critical thinking, analysis, and sound judgment to apply legal knowledge effectively in diverse contexts, generating appropriate and practical responses to complex problems and ethical issues. Creative and critical thinker
Empowered
Ethical
4 Demonstrate effective, persuasive, and contextually appropriate written and oral communication. Engaged
5 Develop and demonstrate effective presentation skills, including proper referencing and citation techniques, to communicate legal information accurately and professionally. Empowered

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 ((LAW100 or LAW101) and (LAW102 or LAW108))

Co-requisites

Not applicable

Anti-requisites

LAW307 and LAW312

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

Early feedback will be provided within the Week 2-4 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 1 Oral and Written Piece Individual 50% 
2000 Words
 Week 8 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 Advice
Goal: 
Written legal advice in response to a problem question, and oral reflection.
Product: Oral and Written Piece
Authorship Statement:
Format: 
Writen legal advice to your client that outlines the legal issues and provides comprehensive commercial law advice. Accompanied by a short oral that justifies the advice given and explains the decision-making process for the advice.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Illustrate your ability to identify legal issues in a commercial and consumer law setting and demonstrate an understanding of the relevant legal frameworks and issues.
 1 2
2 
Produce a clear explanation of the approach taken to providing the advice, and justification for decisions made throughout the advice process.
 3 4 5
3 
Demonstrate professional writing skills that communicate complex issues with clarity.
 4
Generic Skills: 
Communication, Problem solving, Organisation
All - Assessment Task 2:Final Examination
Goal: 
To assess your understanding of the concepts and principles studied throughout this course and your capacity to apply that understanding to unseen exam questions.
Product: Examination - Centrally Scheduled
Authorship Statement:
Format: 
This assessment task is an online, open-book exam.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Demonstrate understanding of commercial and consumer law principles by applying your knowledge from the course to generate a response to legal issues arising from the exam questions.
 1 2 3
2 
Communicate clearly and effectively.
 4 5
Generic Skills: 
Communication, Problem solving, Applying technologies, 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

Not applicable

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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