Unit Outline

The unit develops an understanding of the Law of Contract and the enforceability of contractual obligations in the contemporary contexts of Australian and international commercial relations. The unit also considers the development and continuing evolution of the Law of Contract, and contemporary theories of contract.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1	Understand the nature of contract law and contractual obligations and contract case law and legislation. Also understand the context of the evolution of contract law globally, theoretical challenges, values underlying contract law and dynamic changes in contract law
2	Characterise the different areas of contract law and apply it to the varied areas of operation of contracts; Apply principles of contract law to hypothetical factual scenarios to assess how parties, lawyers or judges may resolve issues on those facts; Analyse critically case law and legislation in different areas of contract law; Develop problem‐solving abilities, decision‐making and judgment; Ability to search and annotate case‐law and history; and, continue to develop collaboration skills.
3	Demonstrate effective communication skills (both written and oral); and, Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Pre-requisite	LAW107 and an additional 25 credit points of Law units.

Alterations as a result of student feedback

Changes to the unit because of previous years’ feedback include:

increasing the tutorial time to sufficiently cover the course material;

more of a focus on developing students’ reading skills considering the relatively high reading load in this unit; and

scheduling the tutorial topics so that students have more time to digest the material before tackling tutorial problem questions.

developing assessment that builds on previous assessment.

As with other units, your feedback on this unit at the end of the semester via eVALUate is highly valued. This feedback will be taken into account when reviewing the unit for delivery in 2026.

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Assessment Task 3: Tutorial participation and engagement	See the MyLO site for the due date	10 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 2:	Assessment Task 4: Exam	See the MyLO site for the due date	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 3:	Assessment Task 1: Written assignment A	Week 5	20 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 4:	Assessment Task 2: Written assignment B	Week 9	30 %	LO1, LO2, LO3

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Assessment Task 3: Tutorial participation and engagement

Task Description:

Tutorial participation and engagement

Tutorial participation and engagement will be assessed across 10 tutorials against the rubric. Student marks for this assessment will be released at the end of the semester.

Task Length:

N/A

Due Date:

See the MyLO site for the due date

Weight:

10 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Students to be assessed on their tutorial participation and engagement across the 12 tutorials.	LO1, LO2, LO3

Assessment Task 2: Assessment Task 4: Exam

Task Description:

Invigilated open book exam

Task Length:

3,500 words, 2 hour exam

Due Date:

See the MyLO site for the due date

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Complete invigilated open book exam	LO1, LO2, LO3

Assessment Task 3: Assessment Task 1: Written assignment A

Task Description:

In Assessment Task 1, you are required to write a legal opinion for a partner of a law firm providing advice on a contract interpretation problem in the assignment question. You will also be asked to respond to a legal theory question in the form of an essay.

Task Length:

1200 words

Due Date:

Week 5 (28/Mar/2025)

Weight:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Legal opinion	LO1, LO2, LO3

Assessment Task 4: Assessment Task 2: Written assignment B

Task Description:

In Assessment Task 2, you are required to write a legal opinion for a partner of a law firm providing advice on a contract interpretation problem in the assignment question. You will also need to undertake further research demonstrating library and research skills.

Task Length:

2000

Due Date:

Week 9 (28/Apr/2025)

Weight:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Legal opinion	LO1, LO2, LO3

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Academic progress review

The results for this unit may be included in a review of your academic progress. For information about progress reviews and what they mean for all students, see Academic Progress Review in the Student Portal.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.