Overview
This unit examines the process of property development and the systems of land use control, with a particular focus on stakeholders, sustainability, and the evolving influence of property technologies in shaping planning and development practices. You will be introduced to Australia’s contemporary land use planning regime and its application in managing development through digital platforms, geospatial technologies, and data-informed decision-making. You will investigate the historical foundations and guiding principles of environmental planning, alongside the regulatory frameworks that govern land use. Emphasis is placed on the social and environmental impacts of property development, highlighting both the challenges and opportunities related to sustainability, equitable outcomes, and meaningful community engagement.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisites: PROP11001 Property Valuation
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2026
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Student evaluation of learning and teaching.
One student could see unit improvements in 'useful feedback' and 'useful knowledge/skills.
Unfortunately there were no formative comments provided and no other information available to investigate this further. This will however be monitored and considered in the 2026 offering.
- Explain the history, principles and current operation of land uses in Australia
- Apply planning principles to specific properties, leveraging property technologies to deliver development outcomes that meet owner expectations while addressing the needs of the broader community and environmental considerations
- Demonstrate knowledge of the procedures involved in obtaining development approval, including the management of dispute resolution
- Undertake legal research to identify case law, legislation, policies and procedures relevant to particular property development and planning problems
- Apply ethical judgement for appropriate planning and development outcomes.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Practical Assessment - 50% | |||||
| 2 - Take Home Exam - 50% | |||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Communication | |||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | |||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | |||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | |||||
| 5 - Team Work | |||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | |||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | |||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | |||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | |||||
| 10 - First Nations Knowledges | |||||
| 11 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||||
Textbooks
International Valuation Standards
- Edition: 31 January 2025 (2025)
- Authors: International Valuation Standards Committee
- International Valuation Standards Committee
- ISBN: 978-0-9931513-7-8
An electronic version of the resource will be made available through the reading list in Moodle.
An electronic version of the resource will be made available through the reading list in Moodle.
Property Development
- Edition: 7th (2021)
- Authors: Richard Reed
- Routledge
- 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon , Oxon OX14 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon , Oxon OX14 , UK
- ISBN: 978-0-367-85835-3
This text is a supplementary. Some students may find it a useful read that supports concepts discussed in class. An electronic version of the resource will be made available through the reading list in Moodle.
- Binding: Paperback
This text is a supplementary. Some students may find it a useful read that supports concepts discussed in class. An electronic version of the resource will be made available through the reading list in Moodle.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Microsoft Office
- Zoom Conferencing (Webcam and Microphone)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 7th Edition (APA 7th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
s.boyd@cqu.edu.au
Week 1
Begin Date: 09 Mar 2026Module/Topic
Introduction to property development
Chapter
Property Development by Reed and Sims, chapter 1
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 2
Begin Date: 16 Mar 2026Module/Topic
Land for development
Chapter
Property Development by Reed and Sims, chapter 2
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 3
Begin Date: 23 Mar 2026Module/Topic
Development appraisal
Chapter
Property Development by Reed and Sims, chapter 3. The topic extends beyond Reed and Sims to look deeper into financial analysis.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 4
Begin Date: 30 Mar 2026Module/Topic
Development feasibility and finance
Chapter
Property Development by Reed and Sims, chapter 4. The topic extends beyond Reed and Sims to look deeper into feasibility analysis.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 5
Begin Date: 06 Apr 2026Module/Topic
Property cycles
Chapter
Property Development by Reed and Sims, chapter 5
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 6
Begin Date: 13 Apr 2026Module/Topic
Planning
Chapter
Property Development by Reed and Sims, chapter 6
Events and Submissions/Topic
Vacation Week
Begin Date: 20 Apr 2026Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 7
Begin Date: 27 Apr 2026Module/Topic
Construction
Chapter
Property Development by Reed and Sims, chapter 7
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 8
Begin Date: 04 May 2026Module/Topic
Market research
Chapter
Property Development by Reed and Sims, chapter 8
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 9
Begin Date: 11 May 2026Module/Topic
Technology
Chapter
Property Development by Reed and Sims, chapter 9
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 10
Begin Date: 18 May 2026Module/Topic
Marketing and sales
Chapter
Property Development by Reed and Sims, chapter 10
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 11
Begin Date: 25 May 2026Module/Topic
Sustainable development
Chapter
Property Development by Reed and Sims, chapter 11
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 12
Begin Date: 01 Jun 2026Module/Topic
Property Development 2.0 and emerging markets
Chapter
Property Development by Reed and Sims, chapter 12. The topic extends beyond Reed and Sims to look deeper into the future of property development.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Exam Week
Begin Date: 08 Jun 2026Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Vacation/Exam Week
Begin Date: 15 Jun 2026Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Practical Assessment
Choose and explain your process to the development of a real prescribed property. This document should help explain your approach to identify the highest and best use and the property development to potential stakeholders (such as financiers, joint venture partners and consultants).
This assessment requires adherence to the guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence tools as specified in the Artificial Intelligence Assessment Scale (AIAS). Any misuse or lack of disclosure regarding the use of AI tools will be considered a breach of academic integrity. You may use AI for planning, idea development, and research. Your final submission should show how you have developed and refined ideas.
Complete details to be found on the Moodle site.
Week 9 Friday (15 May 2026) 11:45 pm AEST
Week 11 Friday (29 May 2026)
This assessment is aligned to the learning outcomes and graduate attributes noted. The rubric criteria are not equally weighted and further details regarding the assessment criteria may be found on the Moodle site.
- Explain the history, principles and current operation of land uses in Australia
- Apply planning principles to specific properties, leveraging property technologies to deliver development outcomes that meet owner expectations while addressing the needs of the broader community and environmental considerations
- Demonstrate knowledge of the procedures involved in obtaining development approval, including the management of dispute resolution
- Undertake legal research to identify case law, legislation, policies and procedures relevant to particular property development and planning problems
- Apply ethical judgement for appropriate planning and development outcomes.
2 Take Home Exam
The exam will be released approximately three hours before submission. It will include current case studies and may require the gathering property and market information. Parts of the exam may be answered through video and audio recordings.
This assessment requires adherence to the guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence tools as specified in the Artificial Intelligence Assessment Scale (AIAS). Any misuse or lack of disclosure regarding the use of AI tools will be considered a breach of academic integrity. You may use AI to assist with specific tasks such as drafting text, refining and evaluating your work. You must critically evaluate and modify any AI-generated content you use.
Further details to be found on the Moodle site with an more explicit exam brief provided around week 10.
The proposed date, day and timing align with the weekly class. That said, it is only finalised in week 10 as we review study plans and work around timing conflicts.
The final assessment task grade is released at the same time as term grades are finalised. However, you are welcome to speak with your unit coordinator at any stage regarding your progress.
This assessment is aligned to the learning outcomes and graduate attributes noted.
- Explain the history, principles and current operation of land uses in Australia
- Apply planning principles to specific properties, leveraging property technologies to deliver development outcomes that meet owner expectations while addressing the needs of the broader community and environmental considerations
- Demonstrate knowledge of the procedures involved in obtaining development approval, including the management of dispute resolution
- Undertake legal research to identify case law, legislation, policies and procedures relevant to particular property development and planning problems
- Apply ethical judgement for appropriate planning and development outcomes.
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
