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 the Service Connect portal, 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

Lectures: There will be one two hour lecture during Weeks 1-12. Tutorials will run in Weeks 2-13. The lectures will be recorded on ECHO by the Convenor. In p[rinciple, lectrures should be available by Monday of the designated week.

Tutorials: Tutorials are conducted both face to face and online. Your Professional Skills grade will be based on performance in tutorial exercises. Consequently, attendance and participation are essential.

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 textbook/s is/are:

David Rolph, Media Law 3rd ed (Oxford University Press 2022)

Students can purchase this textbook online.

Additional readings will be accessible through iLearn.

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 iLe

Our goal is to learn law in a very contemporary context. Topics of focus are subject to change depending on current events and vary from year to year. Details for 2025 will be provided on the iLearn page. Topics covered might include: 

• The Nature of Media 
• Freedom of Expression
• Defamation Law
• Intellectual Property Issues related to ownership and use of media content
• Law of Confidential Information, Privacy, Data Protection
• Open justice, contempt of court and suppression orders
• Offensive publications
• Censorship
• Recent privacy legislation
• Liability for online content
• Issues raise by artificial intelligence
• Issues raised by social media

As per University and departmental policy, students should not send emails to faculty members but should exclusively communicate through the iLearn communication facilities:

• Any questions about the unit content, classes or assessments should be posted in the discussion forum - not in private messaging. Please ensure you have read the Unit Guide and instructions on iLearn carefully before posting questions about textbooks or assessments. The unit convenor will check the forum regularly and will endeavour to respond to questions within 2 working days. 

Tutorials will take place in weeks 1 -12 following the topic of lectures.