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Unit Synopsis
In this unit, you will examine the relationship between human services and the legal context in which they operate, with a focus on how law, statutory frameworks, and professional ethics intersect to inform legally accountable and ethical professional practice. The unit introduces the historical development and contemporary applications of statutory frameworks relevant to human service work in Australia, including their role in promoting human rights and socially just outcomes. You will analyse how the statutory framework informs the legal roles, responsibilities, and obligations of human service workers across a range of practice contexts, with particular attention to statutory authority, the ethical use of power, professional decision-making, and responses to the needs of marginalised groups.
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 2 - 2026
Term 2 - 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. Group Discussion | 50% |
| 2. 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.
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: Course Committee
Learning outcomes are assessed in each assessment task, which limits incentives to complete all assessments.
Review learning outcomes across assessments to better reflect scaffolded learning throughout the unit.
A unit change proposal was completed to address this recommendation.
Source: Student qualitative evaluation
Great assessment feedback that was helpful and informative.
Continue to ensure students receive detailed feedback on assessments.
Students continue to receive early and detailed feedback during the term.
Source: Unit Coordinator
Variations in the quality and substance of group discussion input.
Provide a weighting for this assessment task.
A unit change proposal was weighting is now applied to Assessment 2 - Group Discussion.
Source: Student evaluation
Two lectures were difficult to engage with.
Review lectures to identify ways to increase student engagement.
In Progress
Source: Student evaluation
The unit Moodle site was easy to navigate, and there was a great range of resources. I was surprised at my enjoyment of this subject.
Retain the Moodle site format and the interactive elements of Assessments 1 and 2, and continually review and update unit resources.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Explain the historical development, purpose and contemporary use of legal systems and statutory frameworks relevant to human service work in Australia, including recognition of First Nations systems of law, and their role in promoting human rights and socially just outcomes
- Examine and apply statutory frameworks to human service practice, including the roles, responsibilities, obligations and limits that shape practice across diverse practice contexts
- Analyse how statutory authority and legal processes inform professional decision making in human service pratice, including responses to lived experience, need, strengths and risk, and the protection of the rights, safety and wellbeing of human service users consistent with professional and ethical responsiblities
- Evaluate the impact of statutory systems and legal processes on service users, human service workers, organisations, and the community, with consideration of their differential effects on marginalised populations
- Explore how statutory systems and legal processes interact with professional codes of ethics to support legally accountable, ethical and socially just human service practice.
The revised learning outcomes align with the ASWEAS (2024) as follows:
Domain 1: Readiness for Professional Practice
Standard 1 – Knowledge, skills and attributes and Standard 2 – Professional identity
The learning outcomes support the development of foundational legal knowledge, ethical understanding, accountability, and emerging professional identity required for safe, ethical, and socially just entry‑level practice.
Domain 2: Alignment of Theory and Practice
Standard 3 – Knowledge for practice
The learning outcomes emphasise understanding, analysis, and application of statutory frameworks, legal processes, and professional ethics to human service practice, ensuring students can integrate theory, law, and values across diverse practice contexts.
Domain 2: Alignment of Theory and Practice
Standard 5 – Assessment
The learning outcomes support the progressive demonstration of learning, including the analysis, application, and evaluation of the statutory and ethical dimensions of practice, consistent with AQF Level 7 expectations.
The learning outcomes also align with the ASWEAS (2024) new directions:
The learning outcomes aim to prepare students to navigate the increasing complexity of contemporary human service practice. They emphasise statutory accountability, safety, risk mitigation, and the protection of marginalised people, while supporting ethical and socially just practice across diverse and evolving service contexts.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Group Discussion | • | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - 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 | • | • | • | • | • |
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | • | • | • | ||
| 8 - Ethical practice | • | • | • | • | |
| 10 - First Nations Knowledges | • | • | • | • | • |
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |