Overview
This unit examines in greater depth the sale and purchase of an interest in land in Queensland. You will be exposed to the contractual provisions for the sale of an interest in land. You will need to identify those involved in the sale of an interest in land so as to gain not only an understanding of their contractual obligations, but also other obligations arising from the common law and legislation. This unit will examine the enforceability of contracts for the sale of an interest in land in Queensland. There will be an emphasis on the significant and evolving role of technology in land contracts and through electronic conveyancing.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisite: LAWS 12065 Foundation of Property Law. Corequisite: LAWS12066 Land Law.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2020
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from John Milburn
In term 2, 2018 for LAWS12059, I used UCROO as the primary online discussion platform for students. UCROO is to be phased out.
Use the Q&A platform in Moodle as the primary discussion forum.
- Analyse the process of sale for various types of interests in land.
- Evaluate the enforceability of contracts for various types of interest in land.
- Identify the parties involved in the sale of an interest in land and analyse their compliance with the obligations (common law and legislative) in an encountered fact situation.
The unit is accredited by the Legal Practitioners Board of Queensland.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Portfolio - 20% | |||
| 2 - Presentation and Written Assessment - 30% | |||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 50% | |||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Communication | |||
| 2 - Problem Solving | |||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | |||
| 4 - Information Literacy | |||
| 5 - Team Work | |||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | |||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | |||
| 8 - Ethical practice | |||
| 9 - Social Innovation | |||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| 1 - Portfolio - 20% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Presentation and Written Assessment - 30% | ||||||||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 50% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
Land Contracts in Queensland
Edition: 4th (2016)
Authors: SA Christiansen, WM Dixon, WD Duncan and SE Jones
The Federation Press
Sydney Sydney , NSW , Australia
ISBN: 9781760020507
Binding: Paperback
Additional Textbook Information
If you prefer to study with a paper copy, they are available at the CQUni Bookshop here: http://bookshop.cqu.edu.au (search on the Unit code). eBooks are available at the publisher's website.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Zoom Conferencing (Webcam and Microphone)
- Online Referencing Website, Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th edition), for all assignments
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Australian Guide to Legal Citation, 4th ed
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
a.m.george@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Introduction to Land Contracts and Conveyancing
Chapter
Christensen, Dixon, Duncan and Jones, Land Contracts in Queensland, 4th ed, Federation Press, Leichhardt, 2016 (LCQ), Chapter 1 See also additional resources on the Unit Moodle regarding electronic conveyancing.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Real Estate Agent
Chapter
LCQ, Chapter 2
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Seller Disclosure Before Contract - Houses and Land
Chapter
LCQ, Chapter 3
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Seller Disclosure Before Contract - Body Corporate and Commercial Contracts
Chapter
LCQ, Chapter 3
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Formation of Contracts
Chapter
LCQ, Chapter 4, [4.1]-[4.2], 180-218.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Formation of Contract-2
Chapter
LCQ, Chapter 4 [4.3]-[4.6], 218-258.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Subject Matter of Sale
Chapter
LCQ, Chapter 5
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Contract to Completion
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Special Conditions
Chapter
LCQ, Chapter 8
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Remedies
Chapter
LCQ, Chapter 9
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Review
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
No Assigned Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Portfolio
For assessment 1, you are to prepare an artefact* for inclusion in Proctor (the Queensland Law Society’s flagship publication). You may add your artefact material to your legal professional portfolio.
*What is an artefact? An artefact can be a written, visual or interactive resource. The assessment requires that you design your artefact for inclusion in the Queensland Law Society's Proctor professional publication, primarily intended for members, who would be practicing lawyers in Queensland. Proctor is now available electronically so the possible variety of items for inclusion accommodates this electronic platform for distribution.
Notes
This is an optional group assessment. You may form groups of up to 4 students. Alternatively, you can submit the 20% Portfolio assessment individually if you prefer.- You are expected to submit your assessment by the due date.
- The assessment and detailed instructions will be available at the start of term to allow you to self-manage undertaking the assessment up until the due date. You are encouraged to submit your response to the assessment at a time consistent with your other commitments, up to the due date.
- Late submissions will incur a late penalty consistent with University policy unless you were granted an extension.
- You will be required to upload your assessment through the LAWS12059 Moodle unit assessment portal. Detailed instructions will be provided on Moodle.
- If you are submitting a group response, only one assessment document is required to be submitted clearly indicating the student names and SIDs for all group members.
- Please submit your entire response as a single file. Detailed instructions will be provided on Moodle.
- There is no prescribed format or template for this assignment and its final form will reflect your own individual and evolving approach to current issues in Conveyancing.
- All referencing must be AGLC 4th ed compliant.
- You will receive feedback on your assessment.
- You are directed to information on the LAWS12059 Moodle unit website regarding plagiarism.
Additional discussion sessions will be offered via zoom to discuss the 20% portfolio assessment in weeks 1 and/or 2.
Week 5 Monday (10 Aug 2020) 5:00 pm AEST
Instructions on Moodle.
Week 7 Monday (31 Aug 2020)
Return two weeks from due date.
Students will be assessed on their ability to demonstrate thinking and creative skills, to comprehend current issues in conveyancing, to present this in an engaging manner and to provide an artefact suitable to the issue identified for a mock Proctor submission.
High distinction standard
- Your artefact is sophisticated and very well designed emphasising clarity, conciseness and professionalism
- You presented your artefact in a logical structure
- You demonstrated a clear appreciation of the issues involved
- Your artefact demonstrated a detailed insight and analysis
- You demonstrated mastery of the AGLC referencing system, as appropriate
Distinction Standard
- Your artefact is well designed and expressed
- You produced a well-structured and interesting artefact
- You clearly identified, and appreciated, relevant current issues in conveyancing
-
You referenced your material correctly, as appropriate
Credit Standard
- Your artefact is generally well designed and expressed
- Your artefact is well developed and logically presented
- Your coverage of current conveyancing issues is reasonably comprehensive with a good treatment and analysis
- Referencing is satisfactory, as appropriate
- Your presented artefact is not as detailed or engaging as for distinction standard
Pass Standard
- I could follow and understand your artefact
- You could better organise and structure your artefact
- You could identify and address current conveyancing issues in more depth
- Your artefact is potentially confusing or incorrect
-
Current conveyancing issues not clearly understood or identified
-
Your presented artefact is somewhat simplistic
- Referencing needs improvement, as appropriate
- Your artefact is not as detailed and engaging as for credit standard
- Analyse the process of sale for various types of interests in land.
- Evaluate the enforceability of contracts for various types of interest in land.
- Identify the parties involved in the sale of an interest in land and analyse their compliance with the obligations (common law and legislative) in an encountered fact situation.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Ethical practice
2 Presentation and Written Assessment
For the 30% assessment, you are to assume that you are in practice and your supervising partner requests that you prepare a detailed memorandum of advice.
Your final product should take the form of a persuasive, well-set-out document. You should include reference to relevant practitioners’ conduct rules, statutes, case law, academic commentary and the standard REIQ contracts for sale and purchase of land in Queensland as appropriate as well as the law governing appointment of agents. The assessment could potentially require advice in relation to drafting terms of a land contract as well as consideration of contract negotiation strategies in a property law transaction, and/or the implications of electronic conveyancing in Queensland.
One of the key foundations of this unit is a professional standard of writing. You are writing for a professional, informed audience.
Notes
- This is an individual assignment, not group work.
- You are expected to submit your assessment by the due date.
- Late submissions will incur a late penalty consistent with University policy unless an extension is granted.
- You must upload your assessment through the LAWS12059 Moodle unit assessment portal. Detailed instructions will be provided.
- Please submit your entire response as a single Word document. Please do NOT submit multiple documents.
- There is no prescribed format or template for this assignment and its final form will reflect your evolving approach to law and legal problems in Conveyancing. However, you are encouraged to use sub-headings to logically structure your responses according to the issues you identify which require discussion and analysis. You will be assessed on your ability to communicate effectively.
- All referencing must be AGLC 4th ed compliant.
- You will receive personalised feedback on your assessment.
- You are directed to information on the LAWS12059 Moodle unit website regarding plagiarism.
Week 8 Monday (7 Sept 2020) 5:00 pm AEST
Instructions on Moodle.
Week 10 Monday (21 Sept 2020)
Return two weeks from due date.
Students will be assessed on their ability to demonstrate thinking and writing skills, to comprehend the material, to process the material and to provide a critical analysis and logical discussion of issues relevant to the information and tasks outlined in the assessment. Students are required to communicate an answer clearly and logically, and in a concise manner. You are expected to formulate your response in a professional manner. Please paginate your paper and use correct spelling and grammar. You must reference your work appropriately and attribute the work of others.
High distinction standard
- You expressed your arguments exceptionally clearly and concisely
- You presented your paper in a logical structure
- You demonstrated mastery in critically thinking about the issues involved
- You backed up your responses with compelling, well-reasoned arguments demonstrating a detailed insight and analysis of issues
- You correctly applied the AGLC referencing system for your citations
- No errors, or very few errors, in grammar, spelling, punctuation
Distinction Standard
- Your response is communicated very well; clear and concise
- Your paper is structured in a logical way
- You clearly identified, and demonstrated a good understanding of, the relevant legal issues
- You referenced your material correctly using AGLC; high level of attention to spelling, grammar, punctuation
- You referred to appropriate case law, but your analysis and interpretation was not as detailed and reasoned as for high distinction standard
Credit Standard
- Your response is generally well written and expressed
- Your paper is well structured and sequential
- Your coverage of issues is reasonably comprehensive with a good treatment and analysis
- Referencing is satisfactory, needs more attention to detail in grammar, spelling, punctuation
- Your analysis is not as detailed and reasoned as for distinction standard
Pass Standard
- I could understand your paper
- You could better organise and structure your paper
- You could identify and address issues in more depth
- Your paper is potentially confusing or incorrect
- Core facts/issues were not clearly understood or identified
- You demonstrated some familiarity with legislation and case law
- Your conclusions reached are somewhat simplistic or problematic
- You included quantities of material of marginal relevance in your paper
- Referencing needs improvement and/or spellling/grammar/punctuation checking
- Your analysis is not as detailed and reasoned as for credit standard
- Analyse the process of sale for various types of interests in land.
- Evaluate the enforceability of contracts for various types of interest in land.
- Identify the parties involved in the sale of an interest in land and analyse their compliance with the obligations (common law and legislative) in an encountered fact situation.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
3 Written Assessment
The last assessment in LAWS12059 Conveyancing is a Take-home paper and is worth 50% of your final grade.
You have one day to complete the task.
More detailed instructions regarding the Take home paper will be uploaded to the LAWS12066 unit Moodle after the Mid-term recess.
Notes
- Working to a short deadline and submitting work on time is part of the assessment.
- You will be advised of the process to follow and what application to make if you become aware prior to the release of the take home paper that you will not be able to undertake the assessment.
- Please note this is NOT an assignment and no extensions are possible.
- Take home papers will be released to students following certification of grades. However, there will be NO personalised feedback. Your mark forms part of your grade for LAWS12059 Conveyancing.
- You will upload your Take home paper responses through the Moodle unit website in a single Word (NOT .pdf) document. Please do NOT submit multiple documents.
- The Take home paper is an individual assessment and you may not collude; which means that you cannot act together or plagiarise or engage in academic misconduct.
Due date and time to be announced, and further submission instructions, on Moodle.
50% Take home papers will be released to students following certification of grades.
You will be assessed on your ability to demonstrate thinking and writing skills, to comprehend the material, to process the material and to provide a critical analysis and logical discussion of the law. Students are required to communicate an answer clearly, logically and in a concise manner. You will be expected to present your paper in a professional manner. Please use proper referencing, paginate your paper and use correct spelling, grammar and punctuation as per criteria for assessment 2.
Fail
Your responses will reflect that:
- the written expression is poor and difficult to understand
- the answer is poorly organised
- lack of familiarity with the legislation and case law and its application
- failure to identify and address the issues in the question
- reasoning and application demonstrated is poor
Pass
You will have:
- made a conscientious attempt to address the topic and/or answer the questions
- shown evidence of having done the required reading and of having understood relevant concepts, legislation and case law
- presented a reasonable argument to back up your conclusions
- demonstrated a reasonable level of spelling and grammatical usage
- issues that may need to be identified and addressed in more depth
Credit
You will have:
- addressed the topic and/or answered the questions directly
- presented soundly based arguments and supported these with reasons
- gone beyond description to analysis of key issues
- used the plain English language well
- shown evidence of concepts, law and legal principles from the unit covered well covered
- demonstrated understanding of the reading
Distinction
You will have:
- met the above criteria for a credit
- demonstrated the attainment of a high degree of understanding of the concepts and legal principles of the unit
- demonstrated deep insight into the application of knowledge and skills to complex theoretical and practical situations
- referred to all appropriate legislation and case law
High Distinction
You will have:
- met the above criteria for a distinction
- demonstrated the attainment of an outstanding level of achievement regarding the objectives of this unit
- demonstrated an interesting and/or original approach/idea/argument
- ensured your conclusions are supported by well-reasoned arguments demonstrating a detailed insight and analysis of issues
-
ensured your references are made to the appropriate legislation and case law for all issues intended to be discussed
- Analyse the process of sale for various types of interests in land.
- Evaluate the enforceability of contracts for various types of interest in land.
- Identify the parties involved in the sale of an interest in land and analyse their compliance with the obligations (common law and legislative) in an encountered fact situation.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Ethical practice
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
