Students

LAWS5020 – Family Law

2024 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
Francesca Dominello
francesca.dominello@mq.edu.au
Contact via Privately on iLearn
Michael Kirby Building, Room 335
Monday 10am
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
(130cp in LAW or LAWS units) or (130cp including LAWS260 or LAWS2060 or GEND2000 or GEN210)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit covers the study of legal regulation of family relations. Although a great number of laws have a bearing on the 'family', this unit focuses on the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth) and the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). The unit is divided into five main parts: the concept of family and its historical development; the concept of marriage; dissolution of marriage; financial relationships, especially when they breakdown; children and their rights under family law. An interdisciplinary approach to family law will enable students to analyse the interrelationship between the state, law and society.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: describe and explain links between sociological, historical, philosophical and political perspectives on the family and developments in areas of family policy and law.
  • ULO2: explain and analyse how multidisciplinary ideas about the family shape state family policies and laws and, in turn, how these policies and laws regulate family life.
  • ULO3: critically evaluate legal mechanisms relating to the resolution of family disputes, including alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
  • ULO4: critically evaluate legal principles (statute and case law) and consider the role of law reform in the area of Family Law in relation to inequality in society.
  • ULO5: communicate arguments related to the area of Family Law effectively in written and verbal form appropriate to a range of audiences.

General Assessment Information

Special Consideration:

All applications for special consideration must be made through Ask. Please refer to the University policy on special consideration on how to apply. 

Late Assessment Submission Penalty  

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue.    

This late penalty will apply to non-timed sensitive assessment (incl essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings etc). Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs etc) will only be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application. Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic. 

Note the first paragraph applies to the essays, and the second paragraph applies to the participatory tasks.

Submission:

The written essays are to be submitted electronically by way of Turnitin on the iLearn page. Plagiarism detection software is used in this unit. Please submit in Word format and not in PDF.

Moderation

Detailed marking rubrics will be made available on iLearn. If there are other markers assisting the convenor then a process of 'blind marking' to establish a common marking standard will be adopted and all Fail papers will be double marked.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
In-class discussion and activities 20% No when on-call
Research Essay 1 40% No 14/04/24
Research Essay 2 40% No 02/06/24

In-class discussion and activities

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 0 hours
Due: when on-call
Weighting: 20%

 

In class discussion, debate, collaboration and other activities

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • describe and explain links between sociological, historical, philosophical and political perspectives on the family and developments in areas of family policy and law.
  • explain and analyse how multidisciplinary ideas about the family shape state family policies and laws and, in turn, how these policies and laws regulate family life.
  • critically evaluate legal mechanisms relating to the resolution of family disputes, including alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
  • critically evaluate legal principles (statute and case law) and consider the role of law reform in the area of Family Law in relation to inequality in society.
  • communicate arguments related to the area of Family Law effectively in written and verbal form appropriate to a range of audiences.

Research Essay 1

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: 14/04/24
Weighting: 40%

 

A research essay based on a topic on Family law.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • describe and explain links between sociological, historical, philosophical and political perspectives on the family and developments in areas of family policy and law.
  • explain and analyse how multidisciplinary ideas about the family shape state family policies and laws and, in turn, how these policies and laws regulate family life.
  • critically evaluate legal mechanisms relating to the resolution of family disputes, including alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
  • critically evaluate legal principles (statute and case law) and consider the role of law reform in the area of Family Law in relation to inequality in society.
  • communicate arguments related to the area of Family Law effectively in written and verbal form appropriate to a range of audiences.

Research Essay 2

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: 02/06/24
Weighting: 40%

 

A research essay on a topic related to family law

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • describe and explain links between sociological, historical, philosophical and political perspectives on the family and developments in areas of family policy and law.
  • explain and analyse how multidisciplinary ideas about the family shape state family policies and laws and, in turn, how these policies and laws regulate family life.
  • critically evaluate legal mechanisms relating to the resolution of family disputes, including alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
  • critically evaluate legal principles (statute and case law) and consider the role of law reform in the area of Family Law in relation to inequality in society.
  • communicate arguments related to the area of Family Law effectively in written and verbal form appropriate to a range of audiences.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Delivery:

The learning activities in this unit include listening to 12 x 2 hour lectures and attending 12 hours of weekly tutorials. 

Lectures commence in Week 1 of the semester. Tutorials commence in Week 2.

The lectures will be recorded at the start of the week prior to the scheduled tutorials and posted to echo360 on the iLearn page. The location for the in-person tutorials can be found in eStudent and the links for the online tutorials will be available on iLearn. 

Students will be required to use a computer to interact with online research databases and web based research tools.

The unit uses an ilearn website. Students should check iLearn regularly for announcements and updates.

Participatory Tasks (on-call tutorials):

Preparation: Reading the prescribed materials and preparing for class discussions as per the weekly tutorial questions available on iLearn.

Attendance: Lectures will be pre-recorded weekly, starting in Week 1. Tutorials begin in Week 2 and end in Week 13. Students will be on-call and will be assessed for participation in the tutorials to which they are allocated. Attendance is compulsory for students when they are on-call. On-call allocations will be posted on iLearn at the end of Week 1. If you know in advance you are unable to attend a tutorial please contact the unit convenor before the end of Week 1. From the start of Week 2 onwards, students must apply for special consideration if they miss an allocated on-call tutorial. As there is a public holiday on Easter Monday, 1 April 2024, class participation will not be assessed that week (week 7). If a student misses a tutorial when they are scheduled to be on-call and they meet the Special Consideration policy, they should apply for special consideration through Ask.mq.edu.au. After their special consideration application is approved, they will be need to contact the unit convenor privately on iLearn for an alternative assessment.  

Rubric: A detailed rubric on how class participation will be assessed will be available on iLearn.

Research Essay 1

Research essay on a set topic based on Lectures 1-7 and related readings in the unit readings. The topic will be available on iLearn in the Assessment tab in Week 2.

Research Essay 2

Research essay on a set topic based on Lectures 8-12 and related readings in the unit readings. The topic will be available on iLearn in the mid-semester break

General instructions for both essays:

Word Length:

The maximum word length for both essays is 2000 words. The word limit will be strictly applied and work above the word limit will not be marked.

Format:

Footnotes and Bibliography are required for both essays but will not be included in the word count.

The body of the essays and all the footnotes and bibliographies are required in AGLC4 style. 

The essays should be double spaced in 12 pt Times New Roman. The footnotes can be in 10 pt Times New Roman. The bibliography can be single spaced with a space in between each reference.

Research for both essays: 

Students may use the prescribed unit readings but are expected to research beyond these materials. Each student must determine for themselves how many additional references they need to support the development of their argument. The essay will not be assessed on how much research has been done, but on how well the research materials are used to advance the argument.

Rubrics: Further instructions on how to complete the essays and how they will be assessed will be available on iLearn.

Resources:

Students will be provided with a reading list for each week in iLearn and those sources will be available in Leganto.

It is recommended that students purchase Harland, Cooper, Turnbull, and Rundle Family Law Principles (Thomson Reuters, revised 3rd ed, 2023) as this provides a practical foundation for studying family law and will be referred to throughout the course. There will be limited access to the online version of this text in the library.

Tutorial questions and additional readings will also be on iLearn.

Here are instructions for purchasing the texbook:

  • Directly via the Thomson Reuters website:

Students can receive 15% discount and free shipping if they sign up for the student Promo Code. Book and eBook bundles can be purchased at a 25% discount. The Promo Code is: UNIS15

The site is: https://legal.thomsonreuters.com.au/student/

The specific link for Family Law Principles 3e Revised is: https://legal.thomsonreuters.com.au/family-law-principles-third-edition-revised/productdetail/131527

  • Online Resellers:

The text may also be in stock with online resellers Booktopia, Amazon.  All online bookshop sites offer discounted prices on our texts and good delivery options:

Booktopia: https://www.booktopia.com.au/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com.au/

Unit Schedule

This is the schedule for lectures in the unit. Note that the lectures commence in Week 1 and the tutorials are in the week following the lecture. For eg., The tutorial for the Week 1 lecture is in Week 2 and so on.

Week 1

 Studying Family Law - Concepts

Week 2

 The Family Law and its Institutions - history and institutions

Week 3

 Marriage and Marriage like Relationships

Week 4

 Relationship Breakdown & Violence

Week 5

 Financial Relations

Week 6

 Spousal Maintenance

Week 7

 Private Ordering in Property Proceedings

Week 8

 Child Related Disputes

Week 9

 Children in Court Proceedings

Week 10

 Child Maintenance and support

Week 11

 Dependency and the law - social welfare support

Week 12

 Children and Family Formation - abortion, child protection, adoption, surrogacy, IVF

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Unit information based on version 2024.03 of the Handbook