All written assessments that are submitted electronically 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.

Word limits are strictly applied. Work above the word limit will not be marked. Footnotes are to be used only for referencing. Referencing must conform to the requirements set out in the Australian Guide to Legal Citation 4th edition.

Marking of all assessments is moderated through a process of blind marking and the use of detailed marking rubrics.

Late penalty policy

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 assessments (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.

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 and Resources

Classes:

Lecture material will be delivered each week. Lectures are online only - as a consequence there is no designated time slot for lectures. However, the convenor will uplolad weekly lectures to ECHO360 on Wednesday afternoon each week. 

Please note that some smaller lectures will be delivered later in the week following the main lecture - though the weekly allocation will not exceed two hours per week in total. 

Tutorials are weekly and begin in Week 1.

Weekly tutorials will either be face to face or online. Please ensure that you check the designation of each tutorial (either online to face to face) before you enrol and select your preference. Zoom invitations will be sent to all students in the online tutorials in the week prior to the commencement of Session 1.

Readings and materials:

The prescribed book for this unit is - Rosemary Lyster et al, Environmental and Planning Law in New South Wales 5th edition (2021) - https://federationpress.com.au/product/environmental-and-planning-law-in-new-south-wales-2/

Additoinal materials will be included on a weekly basis. Additional materials will be available through the MQ Library database. The Reading List will be available on the iLearn page and through Leganto in the week prior to the commencement of Session 1.

The topic on Week 2, 'The interaction between planning law and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander philosophy, culture and law/lore' is a new addition to the course. 

Please note - the Reflective Paper task listed above has two elements (unfortunately this cannot be communicated in the prepopulated unit guide): 1) In class participation (10%) and 2) a reflective paper (10%).

This paper will describe the student's reflective learning (more details on reflective learning will be given on the iLearn page and in the course). 

The due date for the Reflective Paper is earlier than in 2023. This is to distribute the workload for students more evenly through the session. As a result, the content of the reflective paper will be focused more on the first half of the course.