Students

LAWS5018 – Indigenous Peoples and the Law

2024 – Session 2, Online-scheduled-weekday

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 iLearn
17WW Room 335
see iLearn
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
(130cp in Law or LAWS units) or (130cp including LAWS260 or LAWS2060 or ABST304 or ABST3040)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

The special place of Indigenous peoples in Australia gives rise to unique questions of law. Most fundamentally, there is the challenge of acknowledging the existence of more than one legal order in the one geographical space. Following this, there are the terms of coexistence of these legal orders. And finally, to the extent that Indigenous peoples are subject to the official State and Commonwealth legal systems, there is a question of how effectively these legal systems regulate issues particular to Indigenous peoples.

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: Demonstrate advanced knowledge of the history of Australian law and system of government and the place of Indigenous customary law within that system.
  • ULO2: Explain and analyse important legal and political issues that have impacted on Indigenous Australians, linking the issues to past policies and laws.
  • ULO3: Critically analyse the operation of Australian law and structure of government in continuing to impact on Indigenous Australians.
  • ULO4: Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the Australian legal and political system to further Indigenous peoples' aims and evaluate the role of law reform in key areas affecting Indigenous Australians.

General Assessment Information

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).

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Participation 20% No Ongoing
Mid semester essay 40% No 2024-09-14
Final essay task 40% No 2024-11-02

Participation

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

 

Discussion, debate, collaboration and other activities based on unit readings and independent research.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate advanced knowledge of the history of Australian law and system of government and the place of Indigenous customary law within that system.
  • Explain and analyse important legal and political issues that have impacted on Indigenous Australians, linking the issues to past policies and laws.
  • Critically analyse the operation of Australian law and structure of government in continuing to impact on Indigenous Australians.
  • Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the Australian legal and political system to further Indigenous peoples' aims and evaluate the role of law reform in key areas affecting Indigenous Australians.

Mid semester essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: 2024-09-14
Weighting: 40%

 

An essay on a topic related to Indigenous peoples and the law.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate advanced knowledge of the history of Australian law and system of government and the place of Indigenous customary law within that system.
  • Explain and analyse important legal and political issues that have impacted on Indigenous Australians, linking the issues to past policies and laws.
  • Critically analyse the operation of Australian law and structure of government in continuing to impact on Indigenous Australians.
  • Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the Australian legal and political system to further Indigenous peoples' aims and evaluate the role of law reform in key areas affecting Indigenous Australians.

Final essay task

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: 2024-11-02
Weighting: 40%

 

This topic will require independent research and comprehensive understanding of the unit materials

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate advanced knowledge of the history of Australian law and system of government and the place of Indigenous customary law within that system.
  • Explain and analyse important legal and political issues that have impacted on Indigenous Australians, linking the issues to past policies and laws.
  • Critically analyse the operation of Australian law and structure of government in continuing to impact on Indigenous Australians.
  • Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the Australian legal and political system to further Indigenous peoples' aims and evaluate the role of law reform in key areas affecting Indigenous Australians.

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 unit will be delivered in a Lecture and Tutorial format.

Lectures: There will be a lecture each week. The lectures will be pre-recorded and released to students in the week prior to the tutorials.

Tutorials: There will be a one hour tutorial each week. Tutorials commence in Week 2.

This unit is worth 10 credit points, which equates to 150 hours of work. 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.

Resources

The required textbooks are as follows:

The prescribed text for the unit is Larissa Behrendt et al, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Relations (OUP, 2nd ed, 2019) available for purchase from online resellers such as Booktopia, Amazon and Zookal. Hard copies and e-copies should also be available in the library.

Recommended text is Heather McRae et al, Indigenous Legal Issues: Commentary and Materials (Lawbook Co, 4th ed, 2008). Hard copies and e-copies should be available in the library.

Students require access to a computer, internet with decent speed and a secure/reliable server. The iLearn page contains all Unit requirements and a weekly schedule for teaching, readings and tutorials. Information about all assessment tasks is also available on iLearn.

 

Unit Schedule

Lectures commence in Week 1. Tutorials commence in Week 2.

Semester 2 begins on Monday 22 July.

Lecture Schedule:

Lecture  1: Dispossession and Colonisation (tutorial in Week 2) 

Lecture 2: Overview of Government Policies (tutorial in Week 3) 

Lecture 3: Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children's Welfare (tutorial in Week 4)

Lecture 4: Juvenile Justice (tutorial in Week 5)

Lecture 5: Criminal Justice (tutorial in Week 6)  

Lecture 6: Indigenous Women and Criminal Justice (tutorial in Week 7) 

Lecture 7: Land Rights (tutorial in Week 8) 

Lecture 8: Native title (tutorial in Week 9 - after the mid-semester break) 

Essay 1 due 14 September, 11:55pm

Mid-semester break 16 September - 27 September

Lecture 9: Cultural Heritage (tutorial in Week 10)  

Lecture 10: Racial Discrimination and the Law (tutorial in Week 11)  

Lecture 11: Indigenous Rights v The New Paternalism (tutorial in Week 12)  

Lecture 12: Unfinished Business (tutorial in Week 13) 

Week 13: No Lecture/Last Tutorial

Essay 2 due 2 Nov, 11:55pm

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 connect.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 the Service Connect Portal, 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 2024.01 of the Handbook