| Semester 1, 2020 On-campus Toowoomba | |
| Short Description: | Family Law |
| Units : | 1 |
| Faculty or Section : | Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts |
| School or Department : | School of Law and Justice |
| Student contribution band : | Band 3 |
| ASCED code : | 090907 - Family Law |
| Grading basis : | Graded |
Staffing
Examiner:
Requisites
Pre-requisite: LAW1201 or LAW1111 or LAW5501 or LAW5111
Other requisites
Students are required to have access to a personal computer, e-mail capabilities and Internet access to UConnect. Current details of computer requirements can be found at .
Synopsis
Family law is a major area of legal practice which also overlaps with important social issues. The course will focus on the main areas to equip students with the ability to practice in Family Law. In relation to children's issues the course will maintain a child-centred focus to give students direction as to the requirements of the courts and the community that the best interests of the child should be taken into account. The course will also focus on the dispute resolution processes that pertain to Family disputes in a changing policy and legal environment.
Objectives
On successful completion of this course students should be able to:
- Demonstrate [interpret and synthesise] an understanding of a coherent body of knowledge of family law, and the broader contexts in which family law issues arise (PO1, TLO1);
- Identify and articulate family legal issues, and apply legal reasoning and research to generate appropriate responses to family legal issues (PO3, TLO3);
- Demonstrate [apply] the intellectual and practical skills needed to identify, research, evaluate and synthesise relevant factual, legal and policy issues relating to family law (PO4, TLO4);
- Communicate family law issues in ways that are effective, appropriate and persuasive for legal and non-legal audiences (PO5, TLO5); and
- Identify applicable legislation and delegated legislation in family law, and deploy appropriate techniques in the course of solving interpretative problems in family law (PO7).
Topics
| Description | Weighting(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Introduction to family law | 10.00 |
| 2. | The legal framework | 10.00 |
| 3. | Concept of Family/Marriage/Nullity and Divorce | 10.00 |
| 4. | Children's matters | 20.00 |
| 5. | Property settlements | 20.00 |
| 6. | Child Support | 10.00 |
| 7. | Spousal maintenance | 10.00 |
| 8. | Family violence and abuse | 10.00 |
Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed
ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from (unless otherwise stated). (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/textbooks/?year=2020&sem=01&subject1=LAW3421)
Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)
Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)
Mills, E and Ebejer, M 2017, Focus Family Law, 7th edn, LexisNexis Butterworths, Chatswood NSW.
Reference materials
Reference materials are materials that, if accessed by students, may improve their knowledge and understanding of the material in the course and enrich their learning experience.
Parkinson, P 2011, Family law and the indissolubility of parenthood, Cambridge 精东传媒app Press, Melbourne, Victoria.
Parkinson, P 2015, Australian family law in context: commentary and materials, 6th edn, Thomson Reuters, Pyrmont, New South Wales.
Young, L, Monahan, G, Sifris, A & Carroll, R 2016, Family law in Australia, 9th edn, LexisNexis Butterworths, Chatswood, New South Wales.
CCH IntelliConnect [electronic database]: Family Law Library, including Australian Family Law and Practice - accessible via USQ Library Database Services .
LexisNexis AU [electronic database]: 'Australian Journal of Family Law' - accessible via USQ Library Database Services at .
Student workload expectations
| Activity | Hours |
|---|---|
| Assessments | 40.00 |
| Directed 精东传媒app | 50.00 |
| Lectures and Tutorials | 39.00 |
| Private 精东传媒app | 36.00 |
Assessment details
| Description | Marks out of | Wtg (%) | Due Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASSIGNMENT | 50 | 50 | 15 May 2020 | (see note 1) |
| ONLINE EXAM | 50 | 50 | End S1 | (see note 2) |
Notes
- Please refer to the Assessment file on the 精东传媒appDesk for details of all assessment items for clinical legal education placement participants and non-clinical legal education participants.
- This will be an online exam. Students will be provided further instruction regarding the exam by their course examiner via 精东传媒appDesk. The examination date will be available via UConnect when the Alternate Assessment Schedule has been released.
Important assessment information
-
Attendance requirements:
Online: There are no attendance requirements for this course. However, it is the students' responsibility to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.
On-campus: It is the students' responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities (such as lectures, tutorials, laboratories and practical work) scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration. -
Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
Due to COVID-19 the requirements for S1 2020 are: To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks for that item.
Requirements after S1, 2020:
To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks. (Depending upon the requirements in Statement 4 below, students may not have to satisfactorily complete each assessment item to receive a passing grade in this course.) -
Penalties for late submission of required work:
Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4) -
Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
Due to COVID-19 the requirements for S1 2020 are: To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.
Requirements after S1, 2020:
To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must obtain at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course .
To be awarded a passing grade for a supplementary assessment item (if applicable), a student must achieve at least 50% of the available marks for the supplementary assessment item as per the Assessment Procedure (point 4.4.2). -
Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course. -
Examination information:
Due to COVID-19 the requirements for S1 2020 are: An Open Examination is one in which candidates may have access to any printed or written material and a calculator during the examination
Requirements after S1, 2020:
This is an open examination. Candidates may have access to any printed or written material and a calculator during the examination. -
Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
Due to COVID-19 the requirements for S1 2020 are: The details regarding deferred/supplementary examinations will be communicated at a later date
Requirements after S1, 2020:
Any Deferred or Supplementary examinations for this course will be held during the next examination period. -
精东传媒app Student Policies:
Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene 精东传媒app policies and practices. These policies can be found at .
Assessment notes
-
Referencing in assignments:
Students studying this course as part of a Bachelor of Laws or Juris Doctor must use the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC) style. Students who are not enrolled in either of these programs may use either Harvard (AGPS) or the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC) in their assignments to format details of the information sources they have cited in their work. For AGLC style guide enquiries, consult the AGLC manual from the USQ Library's referencing guide at or contact the Law librarian. The Harvard (AGPS) style to be used is defined by the USQ Library's referencing guide at .