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).

Lectures

Lectures are pre-recorded and loaded to Echo360 accessible via the ilearn page each week. Lectures will be available in weeks 1 - 12. 

The schedule of topics to be covered in the lectures, and notes on required readings, will be available in detail on iLearn. A list of covered topics is provided below in the Unit Schedule.

Expert interviews will also be uploaded to Echo360 for some topics. 

Class participation

Assessment Type ¹: Participatory task Indicative Time on Task ²: 30 hours Due: Weeks 1-12 Weighting: 20%

Weekly one hour tutorials begin in Week 1 and finish in Week 12 either on campus or online.

All students are required to prepare for, attend and actively participate in weekly tutorials. Attendance is compulsory in order that students may complete tutorial presentations and participation. In the absence of a successful application for special consideration and completion of required additional work, students who do not attend tutorials will receive a mark of 0 for weekly participation.

Tutorials are designed to extend the comprehensive and broad examination of commercial law principles provided in the lectures and required readings by creating the opportunity for students to engage in in-depth discussions of selected issues and engagement in problem questions. The tutorial discussion is prompted by the consideration of relevant readings, cases, and other materials to discuss conceptual questions and solve practical hypothetical problem questions.

Students are required to listen to lectures and complete required readings to discuss the questions outlined in the tutorial questions each week. Students must participate in class discussions and tutorial questions in all tutorials by consistently demonstrating understanding and critical engagement with the required readings. 

There are 12 tutorials in total. Students will receive a mark out of 10 for every tutorial and the overall average mark out of 10 throughout the semester will represent the final participation mark. 

The tutorial questions for each tutorial are found in the iLearn site arranged under each topic.

If you miss one of your tutorials, please lodge an Ask Special Consideration application online at ask.mq.edu.au. Upon obtaining a special consideration approval, please submit your written answers to your tutor who will award you a mark out of 10 for the week missed.

Tutorials commence in Week 1.

Class participation will be assessed on both the quality and regularity of participation. Class participation will be assessed on the following criteria:

• Oral contribution and participation: Effective and frequent oral contribution. An ability to try out ideas and test understanding. Consistently thoughtful and insightful comments, going beyond the descriptive level. Contributions are volunteered. Co-operative attitude, and willingness to assist others in learning.
• Engagement and answering of tutorial questions: Demonstrated evidence of reading and preparation, as well as a clear understanding of the material. Demonstrated ability to apply law in problem-solving exercises. Independent thinker, takes initiative in discussion as well as co-operating effectively with others.
• Attendance: Excellent attendance (Attends all tutorials)
• Further detail is provided in the Participation Rubric on the ilearn site.

Lectures are pre-recorded and loaded onto the ilearn page each week. Lectures will be available in weeks 1 - 12. 

The schedule of topics to be covered in the lectures, and notes on required readings, will be available in detail on iLearn. A list of covered topics is provided below in the Unit Schedule.

Resources

The required textbook is: John Trone and Clive Turner, Australian Commercial Law (Thompson Reuters, 34th ed, 2022).

The text is available to purchase as an eBook and/or Hardcopy Directly via the Thomson Reuters website or from online resellers including Booktopia, Amazon and Zookal.

Thomson Reuters has set up a student page in which 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 site is: https://legal.thomsonreuters.com.au/student/ The Text is also available through Leganto.

A limited number of hard copies are available, both on short loan and generally. An online version is available, albeit with a restriction on the number of concurrent student users.

Ian Bailey, Construction Law in Australia (Thompson Reuters, 4th edition, 2019) is the prescribed Text for topic 4 Construction Law readings accessible via Leganto, albeit with a restriction on the number of concurrent student users.

Additional materials are found on the iLearn webpage.

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.

This unit is with 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.

Unit Schedule