Overview
LAWS13009 Corporations Law examines the various business structures available under Australian law, with a particular focus on companies. Topics include partnerships, corporate personality; the incorporation process; the corporate constitution; company contracts; administration of companies and management of the business of companies; duties and liabilities of directors and officers; share capital and membership; members’ remedies; company credit and security arrangements; and winding up of companies. This unit meets the LPAB requirements for company law.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisites: LAWS11057, LAWS11059, LAWS11061 and LAWS11062
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 3 - 2019
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 Feedback to UC in zoom sessions.
Students commented that the textbook was clear and well structured to the weekly modules.
UC will continue with the current textbook or an alternate textbook that is structured in a similar way.
Feedback from Feedback to UC in zoom sessions.
Students praised the availability of unit materials when the unit went live on Moodle.
UC will ensure all unit materials are available on Moodle when the unit goes live.
Feedback from Recommended by UC to Head of Course.
Unit materials require an overview to ensure they cover all current areas of Corporations Law.
This has been actioned by Stephen Colbran. The unit is currently being rewritten by Peter Robinson for the Term 3 2019 offering.
Feedback from Via the 'have your say' survey
Students praised the informative nature of the weekly notes that were uploaded onto Moodle and available to students the day the unit went live.
The UC will continue to update the weekly notes (that outline the key legislation and case law relevant to the weekly topic) and ensure they are presented in a clear and concise writing style.
- Advise on different forms of business organisation in Australia
- Research business structures in foreign jurisdictions and compare them to Australian business structures
- Understand and explain the rules and ethics of internal governance of companies, directors' duties and members' rights, and apply these principles to problem scenarios
- Advise on the civil and criminal responsibility of a company for the actions of individuals purporting to act on its behalf
- Understand and explain the different forms of financing for companies and the regulation of securities markets
- Advise on various forms of external administration of companies.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
1 - Group Discussion - 10% | ||||||
2 - Written Assessment - 30% | ||||||
3 - Examination - 60% |
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
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 - Group Discussion - 10% | ||||||||||
2 - Written Assessment - 30% | ||||||||||
3 - Examination - 60% |
Textbooks
Australian Company Law Commentary Premium
Edition: N/A (2019)
Authors: Peter A. Tillman and CCH Editors
CCH Australia (Intelliconnect)
Sydney Sydney , NSW , Australia
ISBN: N/A
Binding: Website Link
Halsbury's Laws of Australia
Edition: N/A (2018)
Authors: Stephen Graw
LexisNexis Australia (Lexis Advance Pacific)
Sydney Sydney , NSW , Australia
ISBN: N/A
Binding: Website Link
Additional Textbook Information
The prescribed textbooks are online services available for free through the CQU library, so you do not need to buy a textbook for this unit. However, the unit does have an open book examination, so if you want to take a textbook into the examination, you may wish to work from the reference readings given in the Study Guide for:
Pamela Hanrahan, Ian Ramsay and Geof Stapledon, Commercial Applications of Company Law (Oxford University Press, 20th ed, 2019)
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Australian Guide to Legal Citation, 4th ed
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
p.robinson1@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Corporations and Other Business Organisations
Chapter
Prescribed readings
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The Nature of the Company and its Promoters
Chapter
Prescribed readings
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Internal Governance and Management Structures
Chapter
Prescribed readings
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Company Liabilities
Chapter
Prescribed readings
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Revision
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Directors' Role and Fiduciary Duties
Chapter
Prescribed readings
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Directors' Duty of Care and Insolvent Trading
Chapter
Prescribed readings
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Members and their Remedies
Chapter
Prescribed readings
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Corporate Reporting, Record Keeping and Auditing
Chapter
Prescribed readings
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Corporate Financing
Chapter
Prescribed readings
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
External Administration: Schemes, Receivership and Voluntary Administration
Chapter
Prescribed readings
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
External Administration: Liquidation
Chapter
Prescribed readings
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Securities Trading and Takeovers
Chapter
Prescribed readings
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Exam preparation
Chapter
Revision
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Group Discussion
This is a task in which you will perform research online relating to foreign and local business structures and make a post on an online forum for discussion by other students. You will also be expected to perform research on at least two other students' posts and post comments upon them. Detailed requirements for this assessment task will be presented on the Moodle site at the beginning of term.
Week 4 Thursday (5 Dec 2019) 11:45 pm AEST
The forum will be closed and inaccessible after the due date and time. The due date is set to allow plenty of time for students to comment on your post, so your original post should be submitted well before the due date.
Week 6 Monday (23 Dec 2019)
The 10 marks will be separately allocated for your original submission and for your comments on other students' submissions, so you must complete both aspects to get full marks. Six (6) marks will be allocated to your original contribution and any further discussion flowing from it, and two (2) marks each will be available for your comments on other students' contributions.
Marks for your contributions and comments will be awarded based on:
1. The quality of your research (including referencing);
2. The logical quality of your argument;
3. The insightfulness/originality of your observations, arguments and comments;
4. The clarity of your presentation.
There is no specific weighting of marks for each of these items, as shortfalls in one criterion may be compensated by strengths in another. The exact balance of research, logical argument and insight/originality expected will depend on the overall nature of the contribution/comment.
- Communication
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Research business structures in foreign jurisdictions and compare them to Australian business structures
2 Written Assessment
Detailed information about this assessment task will be provided on the Moodle site at the beginning of the term.
The assignment will involve a number of tasks:
1. Studying and researching business structures under Australian law;
2. Thinking about how that law impacts real life decisions about business structures;
3. Thinking about what facts you would need to learn from a client in order to advise on an appropriate business structure;
4. Explaining to your (imaginary) supervising partner how you would use those facts to advise a client, and how differing facts would affect your advice;
5. Conducting an interview with a real life (pretend) client and reporting on that interview.
The submission will involve the following parts and sub-parts:
Part A (20 marks) – Written report to the supervising partner pre-interview (1,500 words)
This written report will have three sections:
(a) A description of the law that you think would be relevant to someone deciding on the appropriate business structure (10 marks);
(b) An explanation of why you think that law is relevant to the client’s decision (5 marks); and
(c) An explanation of the information you require from the client to give the advice and to make a recommendation (5 marks).
Part B (10 marks) – Written report to supervising partner post-interview (maximum 800 words).
A written report on the interview with the client, containing the following sections:
(a) A summary of the information that you extracted from the client (5 marks); and
(b) A summary of how you advised the clients, what recommendations you made and why (5 marks).
Week 8 Thursday (16 Jan 2020) 11:45 pm AEST
Week 10 Monday (27 Jan 2020)
The allocation of marks is shown in the task description above. The marking criteria, and the aspects of the task to which they relate, are as follows:
1. The quality of your research (Part A, sub-part (a). For this sub-part, the quality of the research will also take into account proper referencing);
2. The depth of your thinking about the real life issues (Part A, sub-parts (b) and (c); Part B, sub-part (b));
3. The insightfulness/originality of your observations, arguments and comments (Part A, sub-parts (b) and (c); Part B, sub-part (b));
4. The clarity of your presentation (all sub-parts).
NOTE:
Apart from Criterion 4 (clarity of presentation):
- Criterion 1 is the only criterion for Part A, sub-part (a);
- Criteria 2 and 3 are the only criteria for Part A, sub-parts (b) and (c), and Part B, sub-part (b). Criteria 2 and 3 are part of a single concept and will not be allocated marks separately.
For Part A and Part B, sub-part (b), Criterion 4 (clarity of presentation) will be taken into account as a deduction if the presentation is poor. It will not have a separate mark allocation.
For Part B, sub-part (a), Criterion 4 (clarity of presentation) is the only criterion. It will take into account both written presentation to the supervising partner and whether your presentation was sufficient to extract the information required in Part A, sub-part (c).
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Ethical practice
- Advise on different forms of business organisation in Australia
- Understand and explain the rules and ethics of internal governance of companies, directors' duties and members' rights, and apply these principles to problem scenarios
- Advise on the civil and criminal responsibility of a company for the actions of individuals purporting to act on its behalf
Examination
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.