Unit Synopsis
This unit introduces you to the law of Torts in Australia as one of the main categories in the law of civil obligations. Along with Contract law, this unit will provide you with a solid foundation in many of the civil law issues faced in legal practice. You will gain an understanding of civil wrongs as developed by the common law yet increasingly supplemented by legislation. This unit will commence with an overview of tort law, its development and aims. You will also study the torts of negligence, trespass, nuisance and defamation, including available defences. Forms of concurrent liability are also considered along with remedies in tort and alternative statutory compensation schemes. Finally, the unit will consider the protection available in tort from unfair business practices. Tort law is constantly evolving and often raises unique and complex social and moral questions. The unit will develop your ability to think critically about the relationship of law to social, economic and political conditions. This unit meets the Legal Practitioners Admissions Board requirements for Torts.
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 |
Co-requisite: LAWS11057 Introduction to Law. 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. Written Assessment | 50% |
| 2. Examination | 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.
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: End-of-term Unit Coordinator Report
Fail rate above 25%
Reintroducing the weekly quizzes, weighted at 10% of the final grade, is likely to enhance students’ academic performance, as was observed in previous offerings of the unit.
This change requires approval from the Legal Practitioners Admissions Board, which is a lengthy process. Other teaching strategies are being developed in a refresh of the unit, including weekly writing tasks focused on formative feedback and enabling students to test their understanding.
Source: Students' emails, unit evaluations and self-reflection
Two-hour tutorials
Maintain the two-hour tutorial format, as it allows sufficient time to explore and discuss key legal concepts in depth, while promoting higher levels of student engagement and participation.
The two-hour tutorial format was retained, providing time to explain legal principles, work through problem questions and respond to student queries. This format also allowed discussion of practical examples and exploration of alternative arguments, supporting students in developing their legal reasoning and application skills.
Source: Students' emails, unit evaluations and self-reflection
Engaging and interactive tutorials
The tutorials should continue to be delivered in a manner that actively fosters student discussion and critical debate, using authentic, real-world legal scenarios to deepen engagement and practical understanding.
Tutorials incorporated practical scenarios and examples drawn from the sessional staff's experience as a practising personal injury lawyer, connecting tort law principles with their application in legal practice. Discussion of interesting matters encouraged students to consider how factual circumstances, evidence and competing arguments inform legal analysis. Visual material was also used to support engagement, including a video of an incident at a play centre, which was particularly well received. This provided a concrete scenario for discussion and helped students connect abstract legal concepts with observable events. Continued use of practical examples and varied teaching materials is recommended for future offerings.
Source: Previous unit review recommendation and current unit coordinator reflection.
Students, particularly those early in their studies, may benefit from regular opportunities to check their understanding of foundational concepts before major assessments.
Consider introducing short, weekly tasks/exercises with opportunities for formative feedback to support regular revision and help students identify areas requiring further attention.
In Progress
Source: SUTE data, staff observation
Students enjoyed learning about real world examples from a personal injury expert and discussion of the tutorial questions with an authentic and practical context.
Consider introducing a professional skills component to the first assessment to provide a practical and authentic learning experience.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Explain the essential elements of tort obligations and the development of tort law in response to changing social, economic and political conditions
- Explain the principles of tort law at common law and as supplemented by the Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) and other legislation
- Apply relevant legal principles and exercise legal reasoning to determine obligations, rights and remedies in tort disputes
- Demonstrate written and oral communication skills in response to a legal scenario
This unit satisfies the Priestley 11 requirements for Torts as approved by the Legal Practitioners Admissions Board.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Examination | • | • | • | • |
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | • | ||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | • | • | |
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | • | ||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | • | |||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |