Students

LAWS2200 – Property Law

2022 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Tutor
Dr Liza Rybak
liza.rybak@mq.edu.au
Tutor
Mr Ilija Vickovich
ilija.vickovich@mq.edu.au
Cathy Sherry
cathy.sherry@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
60cp including LAWS104 or LAWS1200
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

Property law lies at the heart of our legal system. Jeremy Bentham once aptly observed: 'Property and Law are born together and die together. Before laws were made there was no property; take away law, and property ceases'. This unit provides a contextual analysis and outline of the Anglo-Australian law on property and covers such topics as the history and theory of property law; systems of title to, and resolution of competing interests in, property; concurrent ownership of property; native title; and mortgages, leases, easement and covenants in relation to real property.

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: Explain the historical development of Australian property law and the major historical and theoretical principles that underlie it.
  • ULO2: Critically analyse the way in which native title has been placed in the framework of Australian property law.
  • ULO3: Critically analyse the major forms of title to land in Australia and appreciate the fundamental difference between the creation and transfer of property rights in law and in equity.
  • ULO4: Critically analyse complex priority disputes between competing claimants to the same property through the application of doctrinal and procedural rules of law and equity.

General Assessment Information

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – 10 marks out of 100 credit will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted seven days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Class Participation 20% No Ongoing
Quiz 20% No 28 March 2022
Time Limited Take Home Test 60% No 6 June 2022, 9 am - 1 pm

Class Participation

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 36 hours
Due: Ongoing
Weighting: 20%

Students will be assessed on their contributions to class activities and discussions.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain the historical development of Australian property law and the major historical and theoretical principles that underlie it.
  • Critically analyse the way in which native title has been placed in the framework of Australian property law.
  • Critically analyse the major forms of title to land in Australia and appreciate the fundamental difference between the creation and transfer of property rights in law and in equity.
  • Critically analyse complex priority disputes between competing claimants to the same property through the application of doctrinal and procedural rules of law and equity.

Quiz

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: 28 March 2022
Weighting: 20%

Students will complete a multiple choice quiz on Property Law.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain the historical development of Australian property law and the major historical and theoretical principles that underlie it.
  • Critically analyse the way in which native title has been placed in the framework of Australian property law.

Time Limited Take Home Test

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 68 hours
Due: 6 June 2022, 9 am - 1 pm
Weighting: 60%

The take home test will contain hypothetical problem questions on Property Law that students will need to solve.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically analyse the major forms of title to land in Australia and appreciate the fundamental difference between the creation and transfer of property rights in law and in equity.
  • Critically analyse complex priority disputes between competing claimants to the same property through the application of doctrinal and procedural rules of law and equity.

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

Compulsory Text Brendan Edgeworth, Chris Rossiter, Pamela O’Connor, Andrew Godwin, Leon Terrill, Sackville & Neave Australian Property Law (LexisNexis, 11th edition, 2020).

Lectures Lectures will be recorded and uploaded weekly on iLearn.

Tutorials Tutorials will be held each week. Attending the tutorials are beneficial for achieving the learning outcomes. Class participation shall be assessed in the tutorials.

Online Content Online content can be accessed on iLearn. Personal computer and Internet access are required.

Unit Schedule

Week

Week Commencing

Lecture Topic

Tutorial Topic

1

21-Feb

Unit Introduction & the Concept of Property

NO TUTORIAL

2

28-Feb

Fundamental Property Principles & Native Title

The Concept of Property

3

7-Mar

Land, Fixtures & Chattels

Fundamental Property Principles & Native Title

4

14-Mar

Common Law & Equitable Interests in Land

Land, Fixtures & Chattels

5

21-Mar

Old System Title Priorities

Common Law & Equitable Interests in Land

6

28-Mar

Torrens Title & Indefeasibility

Old System Title Priorities

7

4-Apr

Torrens Title Priorities

Torrens Title & Indefeasibility

8

25-Apr

Co-Ownership & Strata Title

Torrens Title Priorities

9

2-May

Leases

Co-Ownership & Strata Title

10

9-May

Mortgages

Leases

11

16-May

Easements

Mortgages

12

23-May

Freehold Covenants

Easements

13

30-May

NO LECTURE

Freehold Covenants

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.

Changes since First Published

Date Description
28/01/2022 The unit guides have been merged.

Unit information based on version 2022.02 of the Handbook