Unit Synopsis
This unit will first pave the foundation to understand how contracting parties engage in enforceable contracts, both in respect of building owners and contractors, as well as contractors and subcontractors. Then, you gradually obtain knowledge of how the dynamics of the contract change during the course of the building project, in respect of variations and extensions of time. This will further ensure you become familiar with the circumstances of how contracts can be breached, the methods of providing remedy for the breaches, and of dispute resolution. The unit will then consider the legal framework of government legislation in terms of the Acts of Parliament that relate to Builders Licensing, the Building Code of Australia, The Development Act and Occupational Health and Safety. All previous knowledge areas make you become competent in the reading and understanding of building contracts, and the application of government regulations that apply to building projects.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 1 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 2 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
There are no pre-requisites for the unit.
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). |
| Class Timetable | View Unit Timetable |
| Residential School | No Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2026
Term 3 - 2026 Profile
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.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Written Assessment | 25% |
| 2. Written Assessment | 35% |
| 3. Written Assessment | 40% |
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%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site .
Term 3 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 46.15% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 28.26% response rate.
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.
Source: Student Unit Comments Report- T3- 2023
Students find excellent learning materials followed by real would scenario assessment questions within the unit delivery. This has led them to gain wealth of knowledge to apply in the current practice.
The same strategy will be adopted for future delivery.
The assessments used hypothetical case studies based on the industry's most common issues, and the lecture presentations used numerous real-world case studies. The same approach will be used for the next offering.
Source: Student Unit Comments Report- T3- 2023
The lecturer should consider giving more specific/ individualized feedback for each question of the assessment tasks.
It is recommended to revisit and improve the marking rubrics of assessment tasks. At the same time, lecturer will be advised to provide assessment feedbacks considering specific/ individualized concerns/ points identified.
Due to the nature of assessments and the fact that students could use different regulations to answer the questions, a general marking rubric was first created. Then, it was individualised based on each student's performance, and individual comments were provided both formally in the assignments and through email to the students who asked for it.
Source: Staff Feedback
The assignments are designed to replicate real-world scenarios and require students to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the regulations covered in the unit. This approach effectively supports the development of practical, industry-relevant skills but may present challenges for students unfamiliar with interpreting legislation independently.
To support student success while maintaining the integrity of the assessments, it is recommended that additional scaffolding, such as guided tutorials, annotated examples, and explanations in lectures, be provided early in the term to help students build confidence in applying regulations to real-world contexts.
In Progress
Source: Student Feedback
It would be beneficial to keep the recording running for general discussion/questions after the lecture presentation is over.
For the next offerings of this unit, the lecture recordings should also include the Q&A session at the end of each lecture.
In Progress
Source: Student Feedback
The unit content promotes the application of legal principles to practical scenarios, supporting deep learning. Providing more real-life examples could further enhance student confidence and clarity in responding to tasks.
It is recommended to use more real-life examples during the lectures to further support the understanding of students.
In Progress
Source: Student Feedback
The open-ended nature of the assessments encourages independent research and critical thinking, aligning with industry practices. However, some students may benefit from additional guidance on interpreting case studies and aligning responses with assessment expectations.
It is recommended to provide more information for the assessments, and also dedicate a specific time at each lecture to discuss about the assignments.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Contrast and compare how contracting parties engage in enforceable contracts, both in respect of building owners and contractors, as well as contractors and subcontractors.
- Investigate the dynamics of the contract change during the course of the building project, in respect of variations and extensions of time.
- Discuss the circumstances of how contracts can be breached, the methods of providing remedy for the breaches, and of dispute resolution.
- Explain the legal framework of government legislation in terms of the Acts of Parliament that relate to Builders Licensing, the Building Code of Australia, The Development Act and Occupational Health and Safety.
- Describe building contracts, and the application of government regulations that apply to building projects.
N/A
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment | • | • | |||
| 2 - Written Assessment | • | • | |||
| 3 - Written Assessment | • | • | |||
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | • | • | • | • |
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | • | • | • | • |
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | • | • | • | • |
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | • | • | • | • | |
| 8 - Ethical practice | • | • | • | • | • |
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |