Students

LAWS8009 – Property Law

2023 – Session 1, Online-scheduled-weekday

General Information

Download as PDF
Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor, Tutor
Michael Nancarrow
michael.nancarrow@mq.edu.au
Lecturer
Cathy Sherry
cathy.sherry@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
LAWS803 or LAWS8030
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

Property is a fundamental legal concept in contemporary western societies. In this unit the property concept is examined from theoretical and practical perspectives. Initially, the question of what the concept should encompass is raised, looking particularly at the person/property distinction and at the boundaries of property such as ownership of the human body and its parts and digital property. Moral implications and economic justifications for the allocation of property rights are then introduced. The major portion of the unit is concerned with a thorough examination of the practical application of property law in Australia beginning with the law of personal property and continuing with systems of title to land (old system, Torrens and native title), the primary interests in land such as mortgages, easements, leases and covenants and concurrent ownership. Analytical and problem solving skills are developed through hypothetical problem exercises and careful consideration of authoritative case law.

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: Critique and describe the historical development of Australian property law and of 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: Explain and critique the major forms of title to land in Australia and the fundamental difference between the creation and transfer of property rights in law and equity.
  • ULO4: Explain 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

Students should be aware of and apply the University policy on academic honesty.

 

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. 

 

No late submissions will be accepted for the exam as it is a timed assessment. If a supplementary final exam is granted, this may include a viva voce component. 

All written assessments are submitted electronically. Turnitin plagiarism detection software is used to check all written assessments. Use of Artifical Intelligence software in the writing of any written assessments is not permitted. If this is detected the student will be subject to the University's academic intregity process.

Students should carefully check that they submit the correct file for an assessment as no re-submissions will be accepted after the due date and time, including instances where students upload an incorrect file in error.

Word limits are strictly applied. Work above the word limit will not be marked. There is no +/- 10% leeway. Footnotes are to be used only for referencing. Referencing must conform to the requirements set out in the Australian Guide to Legal Citation.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Class Participation 20% No Weekly
Quiz 0% No 27 March
Essay 30% No 6 April 11.55pm
A Time-Limited Take Home Test 50% No 9 June 2023 10am-1pm

Class Participation

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 24 hours
Due: Weekly
Weighting: 20%

 

Students will be assessed on their ability to demonstrate knowledge of the required readings and lecture material and their oral discussion of those materials in tutorials.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critique and describe the historical development of Australian property law and of 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.
  • Explain and critique the major forms of title to land in Australia and the fundamental difference between the creation and transfer of property rights in law and equity.
  • Explain 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: 4 hours
Due: 27 March
Weighting: 0%

 

The quiz will be based on the material covered in Lectures 1 – 3. This quiz is for the purposes of self assessment and carries no weight.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critique and describe the historical development of Australian property law and of 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.

Essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 36 hours
Due: 6 April 11.55pm
Weighting: 30%

 

Students will prepare a properly referenced response with appropriate analysis and argument supported by relevant authoritative cases and commentary.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critique and describe the historical development of Australian property law and of 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.
  • Explain and critique the major forms of title to land in Australia and the fundamental difference between the creation and transfer of property rights in law and equity.
  • Explain complex priority disputes between competing claimants to the same property through the application of doctrinal and procedural rules of law and equity.

A Time-Limited Take Home Test

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 4 hours
Due: 9 June 2023 10am-1pm
Weighting: 50%

 

The hypothetical take home problem question/s will be based on the material from the whole course

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain and critique the major forms of title to land in Australia and the fundamental difference between the creation and transfer of property rights in law and equity.
  • Explain 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

 

Please note

All readings and unit content is contained in the online textbook on iLearn. There is no hardcopy or e-copy text that students need to purchase. However, the following two additional texts are provided as recommended reading

  • Nancarrow et al, Australian Property Law: Principles to Practice (Cambridge University Press, 2022) - information of purchasing a copy of this text is provided on ILearn and the Macquarie University Library will have two print copies available for loan
  • Edgeworth, Butt's Land Law (Thomson, 7th ed, 2017) - there is a digital copy of this in Macquarie Library

Students must complete their reading each week.

Tutorials will be held each week for students to discuss the law, ask questions and practise the application of law. Participation will be assessed.

A lecture will be given each week, and recorded, for students who find oral explanations of the law useful. However, the lectures are not the primary delivery of course content. Course content is contained in the readings.

Unit Schedule

Topics covered:

  1. History of Anglo-Australian land law
  2. Native Title
  3. Torrens system
  4. Co-owernship
  5. Leases
  6. Mortgages
  7. Easements
  8. Freehold covenants
  9. Personal Property

A week by week schedule is available on iLearn.

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 from Previous Offering

The content and delivery of Property Law has been updated in 2023. Students are advised not to expect the same material and delivery or to rely on material or notes from previous years. Unlike previous years, students are not required to purchase a text or casebook.

Unit information based on version 2023.01R of the Handbook