Unit Synopsis
This unit introduces you to the Australian legal system, its institutions, processes and sources of law. It explores foundational principles and concepts, such as the Westminster system of governance, rule of law, doctrine of precedent and principles of statutory interpretation to provide you with insight into how the Australian legal system functions. The unit explores thinking, researching and communicating like a lawyer through the development of legal, ethical and technological literacy and a range of legal skills, which provides a foundation for your future law studies.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 1 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 4 |
| 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
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. Online Quiz(zes) | 20% |
| 2. Written Assessment | 30% |
| 3. Written Assessment | 50% |
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 2 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 10.45% 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: Tutor reflection
The incorporation of referencing and research quiz into the unit has helped improve research and referencing skills overall. However, the JADE should also be introduced to the unit content and assessed in the quiz.
Maintain research and referencing quiz but incorporate the JADE database into the unit content and assessment.
The research and referencing quiz continues to be updated, with JADE integration ongoing.
Source: Tutor reflection
Students struggle with the mid-term assessment focused on the doctrine of precedent.
Provide further resources on the doctrine of precedent and review whether a further week could be spent on the doctrine of precedent in the unit schedule.
Additional resources and classwork on the doctrine of precedent and additional assessment preparation content was introduced.
Source: Student feedback
Target unit updating and revision towards changes to legal research platforms
A number of legal research platforms have revised their websites in 2025; unit content should guide students through these changes.
In Progress
Source: Student feedback, self-reflection
Continue ALC integration
ALC integration was well-received by students and effective in supporting good outcomes; it should be retained and developed.
In Progress
Source: Self-reflection
Combine good practice from across units and terms
As this unit is team taught and led by different Unit Coordinators each term, ensure experiences and good practice are shared between teaching staff and across terms. Continue also the process of harmonisation between First Year units.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Analyse sources of law, legal institutions and processes, and the principles of professional ethical responsibility.
- Apply the rules of precedent and principles of statutory interpretation to a practical scenario.
- Conduct legal research and communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
Written Assessment 3 will be conducted as a take home paper around week 11. Students who are studying Accounting will be invigilated to ensure compliance with the Accounting body's requirements.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Online Quiz(zes) | • | • | |
| 2 - Written Assessment | • | • | • |
| 3 - Written Assessment | • | • | |
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | ||
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | ||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | ||
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | ||
| 5 - Team Work | • | ||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | • | ||
| 8 - Ethical practice | • | • | |
| 9 - Social Innovation | • | ||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | • | ||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |