Students

LAWS2500 – Equity and Trusts

2025 – Session 2, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

Download as PDF
Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Michael Nancarrow
Contact via Ilearn
Max Barnett
Contact via Ilearn
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
LAWS216 or LAWS2200
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit builds on student's knowledge of Property Law focusing on equitable notions of property, with a particular emphasis on the law of trusts. The unit examines the historical development of equity and its relationship to common law, the assignment and other dispositions of property in equity, the obligation of confidence in equity with respect to information, and fiduciary obligations. This unit will provide students with a theoretical grounding in the relevant principles as well as equip them with the capacity to apply these principles in practice.

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: Critically analyse the legal doctrine and policy that underpins equity and trusts.
  • ULO2: Formulate and present arguments about equity and trusts, drawing upon relevant precedent and policy considerations.
  • ULO3: Analyse and resolve hypothetical problems, identifying legal and factual issues involving the law relating to equity and trusts.
  • ULO4: Communicate, interact and collaborate professionally and effectively in verbal and non-verbal contexts across diverse settings.
  • ULO5: Work independently, meet deadlines, take initiative and be adaptable to diverse and changing environments.

General Assessment Information

  • Submission - All assessments must be submitted electronically. 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.
  • Turnitin plagiarism detection software is used to check all written assessments.
  • Word limits - Word limits are strictly applied. Work above the word limit will not be marked. Footnotes are to be used only for referencing.
  • Referencing - Referencing must conform to the requirements set out in the Australian Guide to Legal Citation 4th edition.
  • Late submission 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 submission penalty policy will apply to non-timed sensitive assessments (incl essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings etc).
  • Late submission of time-sensitive tasks - 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 - 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). Please do not email to request an extension or email to seek the outcome of a lodged application via email. No information can be provide via email, all information will be provided via the Connect system.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Exam 40% No University Exam Period
Professional Skills 20% No Ongoing
Practice-Based Task 40% No 17 September 11.55pm

Exam

Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: University Exam Period
Weighting: 40%

 

An invigilated exam held in the formal examination period. The exam may cover any or all topics and materials covered in the unit.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically analyse the legal doctrine and policy that underpins equity and trusts.
  • Formulate and present arguments about equity and trusts, drawing upon relevant precedent and policy considerations.
  • Analyse and resolve hypothetical problems, identifying legal and factual issues involving the law relating to equity and trusts.
  • Communicate, interact and collaborate professionally and effectively in verbal and non-verbal contexts across diverse settings.
  • Work independently, meet deadlines, take initiative and be adaptable to diverse and changing environments.

Professional Skills

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

 

Students will engage in classroom activities including mooting, presentations or demonstrations, structured discussion and problem solving, doctrinal analysis, simulated client consultations, and collaborative legal research. Through these activities students will develop skills in oral advocacy, legal analysis, critical reasoning, teamwork and team leadership, and/or strategic problem-solving. These activities are designed to strengthen students' ability to communicate legal concepts verbally and engage professionally within a supportive learning environment.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically analyse the legal doctrine and policy that underpins equity and trusts.
  • Formulate and present arguments about equity and trusts, drawing upon relevant precedent and policy considerations.
  • Analyse and resolve hypothetical problems, identifying legal and factual issues involving the law relating to equity and trusts.
  • Communicate, interact and collaborate professionally and effectively in verbal and non-verbal contexts across diverse settings.
  • Work independently, meet deadlines, take initiative and be adaptable to diverse and changing environments.

Practice-Based Task

Assessment Type 1: Practice-based task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: 17 September 11.55pm
Weighting: 40%

 

An assessment on professional skills and knowledge relevant to the unit. This could be a legal or policy brief, a report, an essay, a law reform proposal, legal pleadings or other related professional task. This assessment may require students to prepare a response through research and adhere to discipline-specific scholarly conventions.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically analyse the legal doctrine and policy that underpins equity and trusts.
  • Formulate and present arguments about equity and trusts, drawing upon relevant precedent and policy considerations.
  • Analyse and resolve hypothetical problems, identifying legal and factual issues involving the law relating to equity and trusts.
  • Communicate, interact and collaborate professionally and effectively in verbal and non-verbal contexts across diverse settings.
  • Work independently, meet deadlines, take initiative and be adaptable to diverse and changing environments.

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

Readings will be set from

  • Sourcebook: Bryan et al A Sourcebook on Equity and Trusts in Australia, 3rd ed, CUP, 2022.
  • Textbook: Bryan et al, Equity and Trusts in Australia, 3rd ed, CUP, 2022 

Additional readings will be accessible through iLearn.

Lectures start in Week 1 and tutorials start in Week 2.

All 12 lectures are given in person and wil be provied as recordings online.

All online content is available via 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 iLearn.

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.

Unit Schedule

This unit will cover the following topics:

Overview of Equity

Selective Equitable Remedies

Equitable Assignments

Fiduciary Relations and Obligations

Participants in Breach of Fiduciary Obligations

Express Trusts

Trusts for Chaitable Purposes

Non-Consensual Trusts: Resulting and Constructive Trusts

Breach of Confidence

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/

Academic Success

Academic Success 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.

Professional Skills assessment

Professional Skills assessment worth 20% of the final grade replaces Class participation.

Unit information based on version 2025.03 of the Handbook