Students

LAWS2300 – Business Organisations

2026 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Hannah Harris
David Birchall
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
60cp including LAWS104 or LAWS1200
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit will introduce students to the field of corporate law and corporations. The corporation is examined in its legal, historical and cultural context with consideration of the various actors involved. Particular attention is given to the social and legal role of directors and shareholders. The topics covered in this unit include: Incorporation and the corporate personality and constitution; corporate decision-making and financing; directors' duties; shareholder rights and remedies; and winding up of companies  This is a required unit for any student in the LLB and a requirement for admission as a legal practitioner.

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: Analyse and articulate the substantive corporate law rules in legislation and case law.
  • ULO2: Evaluate the effectiveness of corporate legislation and its impact on corporate stakeholders.
  • ULO3: Describe the influence of history and social context on the development of corporations law including directors' duties and shareholders rights
  • ULO4: Apply relevant corporate and commercial law principles to resolve legal problems.
  • ULO5: Communicate, interact and collaborate professionally and effectively in verbal and non-verbal contexts across diverse settings.
  • ULO6: Work independently, meet deadlines, take initiative and be adaptable to diverse and changing environments.

General Assessment Information

 

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 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).

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due Groupwork/Individual Short Extension AI Approach
Practice-Based Task 30% No Week 8 Individual No Open AI
Exam 50% No In Exam Period TBA Individual No Observed
Professional Skills 20% No Ongoing Individual No Observed

Practice-Based Task

Assessment Type 1: Professional task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Week 8
Weighting: 30%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Open AI

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:
  • Analyse and articulate the substantive corporate law rules in legislation and case law.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of corporate legislation and its impact on corporate stakeholders.
  • Describe the influence of history and social context on the development of corporations law including directors' duties and shareholders rights
  • Apply relevant corporate and commercial law principles to resolve legal problems.
  • 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.

Exam

Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: In Exam Period TBA
Weighting: 50%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Observed

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:
  • Analyse and articulate the substantive corporate law rules in legislation and case law.
  • Apply relevant corporate and commercial law principles to resolve legal problems.
  • 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%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Observed

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:
  • Analyse and articulate the substantive corporate law rules in legislation and case law.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of corporate legislation and its impact on corporate stakeholders.
  • Describe the influence of history and social context on the development of corporations law including directors' duties and shareholders rights
  • Apply relevant corporate and commercial law principles to resolve legal problems.
  • 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
  • Academic Success 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.

3 An automatic short extension is available for some assessments. Apply through the Service Connect Portal.

Delivery and Resources

Required Textbook:

Bottomely et al, Contemporary Australian Corporate Law (3rd Edition, 2025)

Purchase in physical or eBook format from Cambridge University Press with discount code for enrolled students: "MAC20"

Other required and additional materials will be available directly through iLearn.

Unit Schedule

12 weeks of lectures and accompanying tutorials beginning in week one:

  1.  Business Organisations & the History of the Corporation
  2. Corporate Personality & the Process of Incorporation
  3. The Corporate Constitution & Internal Rules
  4. Corporate Contracting
  5. Decision-making, Meetings & Reporting
  6. Corporate Finance
  7. Corporate Fundraising
  8. Directors' Duties Part 1
  9. Directors' Duties Part 2
  10. Members Rights & Remedies
  11. Receivership, Schemes of Arrangement & Voluntary Administration
  12.  Corporate Takeovers

 

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.

Changes from Previous Offering

Updated textbook, materials and unit content. The most recent (3rd Edition) of the textbook is mandatory for this unit. Historic editions should not be used as a substitute.

Unit information based on version 2026.03 of the Handbook