All written assessments submitted electronically must be submitted through the link provided in iLearn. This unit will utilise Turnitin plagiarism detection software. Students should carefully check that they submit the correct file for an assessment, as re-submissions will not be accepted after the due date and time, including instances where students upload an incorrect file in error.

The design, moderation and feedback of all assessments is in accordance with the Macquarie University Assessment Procedure (link provided under ‘Policies and Procedures’ below).

Late Submission Policy

A maximum penalty of five (5) percentage points of the total possible marks will be applied per day to late submissions, for up to a maximum of seven calendar days. Tasks that have not been submitted within the maximum number of additional late days will receive a mark of zero. This provision does not apply to online exams or other assessment with a time limit of less than 24 hours.

Penalties for late submission will be applied consistently and equitably to all students enrolled in the unit. Where short-term, serious and unavoidable circumstances have affected their ability to submit an assessment task, a student must submit a formal application for Special Consideration as per the Special Consideration Policy. Students should not request an informal arrangement from their tutor, lecturer or Unit Convenor.

Where an application for Special Consideration is approved, and the outcome is an extension to the due date of a task, submissions that are received after the new due date will be subject to late penalties that are calculated from the new due date. This only applies where the outcome is an extension to the due date – see the Special Consideration Policy for a schedule of all possible outcomes.

Special Consideration

Students should submit applications for Special Consideration electronically via ask.mq.edu.au, along with the supporting documentation. Before submitting their applications, students should refer to the Special Consideration Policy (link provided under ‘Policies and Procedures’ below).

Delivery

Please note that this unit is worth 10 credit points, which equates to 150 hours of work across the semester. Therefore, students should expect to commit an average of 10 hours per week to this unit, including all scheduled and unscheduled activities and preparing and executing the assessment tasks.

Lectures

Session 2 commences on Monday 22nd July, 2024 (Week 1 of the teaching calendar). Commencing in Week 1, there will be a weekly 1hr live lecture and a 1hr prerecorded lecture, both of which will be made available on Echo360 in iLearn. Students are strongly encouraged to attend the live lectures in person in order to keep up with the weekly content, and students will have an opportunity to ask questions. The schedule of topics to be covered in the lectures, and corresponding required readings, will be available in detail on iLearn. 

Tutorials

Weekly one hour tutorials begin in Week 2 (week commencing Monday 29th July), and finish in Week 13. Therefore there is a total of 12 weekly tutorials. Discussion questions for each tutorial will be available on the iLearn page the week prior to the tutorial. There is no tutorial in Week 1.

Resources

There is one required text and one recommended text for this unit:

Required text: Robin Creyke, John McMillan, Mark Smyth, Control of Government Action: Text, Cases and Commentary (LexisNexis Butterworths, 2022, 6th ed); and

Recommended text: Doron Goldbarsht and Nathan Johnston, Fundamentals of Australian Administrative Law Questions and Answers (LexisNexis Butterworths, 2022) - this is a companion to the Creyke et al text, working as a quick search resource with short questions and answers about foundational principles, terms, and legal authorities. It then directs students to where they can find the more detailed explanation in the Creyke et al text.

If you purchase your textbooks directly from the LexisNexis Store, you can use code Academics15 to receive a 15% discount on any purchase of LexisNexis academic texts.

Additional readings will be available via Leganto, iLearn, or linked to a publicly available source. Students require access to a computer, internet with decent speed, and a secure and reliable internet provider.

Communication

The Convenor of this unit is Dr Catherine Greentree. Students should direct all queries regarding the course content and assessment to the Convenor, either via the Discussion Forum or the Private Communication tool on iLearn. Direct emails should not be sent unless the student has lost access to iLearn. Students are not to contact their tutors outside of class under any circumstances, in accordance with Law School policy. Tutors have been instructed not to respond to messages from students.

Week 1 - Introduction, Theory, History, and Context; Constitutional Considerations

Week 2 - Executive Power and Administrative Decision-Making; Subordinate Legislation and Delegated Decision-Making

Week 3 - Merits Review - Tribunals; Procedure and Evidence of Tribunals 

Week 4 - Merits Review - Other Review Methods and Bodies; Introduction to Judicial Review

Week 5 - Judcial Review - Introduction; Statutory Framework and Common Law Review

Week 6 - Limits on Judicial Review - Justiciability, Standing, Privative Clauses, 'Matter'

Week 7 - Unauthorised Decision-Making

Week 8 - Grounds for Judicial Review; Law, Fact and Evidence

Week 9 - Jurisdictional Error and Jurisdictional Fact; Procedural Fairness

Week 10 - Statutory Purpose and Relevant Considerations; Unreasonableness, Fraud, and Bad Faith

Week 11 - Judicial Review Remedies; Obtaining Reasons for Decisions

Week 12 - Access to Information and Privacy; Recap

Week 13 - No Lectures

This unit now includes an invigilated exam that will be run centrally by the university and held in the University Exam Period