Overview
Family Law is a third-year unit delivered via intensive mode. The assessment in Family Law will require you to participate in advocacy-based tasks, which may include live oral assessment in the form of a viva voce, peer work conducting a hearing, written advice and submissions. Family Law will equip you with the knowledge and skills to practice family law. You will develop the ability to identify legal issues and structure legal arguments to resolve the issue. Family Law will provide you with an understanding of the legislation and case law relating to the dissolution of the marriage relationship and de facto relationship, financial arrangements including the division of property, spousal maintenance and child support, the role of dispute resolution in family law and negotiating child focused arrangements pertaining to children.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Pre-Requisites:72 credit points in LAWS units including LAWS12078 Equity and Trusts
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 - 2023
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 Communication with UC, survey
Students have requested a focus on family law advocacy
The UC will continue to discuss family law scenarios from the court room perspective and design assessment tasks that build and assess advocacy skills.
Feedback from Communication with UC, survey
The unit materials were available the day Moodle went live which was great for studying via intensive mode
The UC will continue to have all unit materials, podcasts or video, and assessment one question available for students to access on Moodle the day the unit goes live.
Feedback from Communication with UC, survey
Positive feedback from students in regard to the live Zoom sessions which discussed family law scenarios from a real life perspective
The UC will continue to provide live Zoom sessions for each module and in each of those Zoom sessions will discuss the various family law topics from the perspective of a legal practitioner representing a client
- Research and analyse the approach taken by the courts in resolving family law issues applying the family law legislation, Practice Directions, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Rules and case law.
- Critically evaluate family law disputes, identifying relevant legal issues and options to resolve family law disputes relating to relationships, property, maintenance, child support, children and international jurisdictional issues including the removal of children from Australia.
Not applicable.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | |
| 1 - Practical Assessment - 40% | ||
| 2 - Take Home Exam - 60% | ||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | |
| 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 | ||
Textbooks
Family Law Principles
3rd Edition (2021)
Authors: Harland, Cooper, Turnbull and Rundle
Thomson Reuters Lawbook Co.
Sydney Sydney , NSW , Australia
ISBN: 9780455244532
Binding: Paperback
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.
l.rundle@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Module 1 Introduction to family law, dispute resolution, the court process, and relationships
Chapter
4, 5, 2, 3, 14
Events and Submissions/Topic
Zoom module 1 week 1
Module/Topic
Module 2 Property, spousal maintenance and child support
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Module 3 Children, parental responsibility, ICL, evidence, family violence, relocation, location, contravention and child abduction
Chapter
6, 7, 8, 11, 10, 9, 18 (607-628) 19
Events and Submissions/Topic
Zoom module 3 week 2
Module/Topic
Self guided learning
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Self guided learning
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Self guided learning
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Family Law is delivered via intensive mode. The study of the modules and the assessment tasks is delivered and due over a five-week period of time. The purpose of intensive study is to prepare students for a career in legal practice where file work and court appearances will be completed over a short period of time and often in urgent circumstances, take for example a recovery order or an injunction to prevent the disposal of property.
It is expected students will have an understanding of Equity and Trusts before they commence Family Law.
Some assessment tasks in Family Law may require students to complete oral advocacy via Zoom and conduct advocacy hearings with other students.
1 Practical Assessment
The assessment question will be released on Moodle when Moodle goes live two weeks before the commencement of term.
The question will include a marking rubric and marker's expectations to guide students in their research and to answer the problem scenario.
You will be required to undertake research of family law legislation and case law and apply this research to support your legal argument and conclusion.
Week 3 Monday (24 July 2023) 8:00 am AEST
To be uploaded as a word document via the assessment one upload link on Moodle
Week 5 Monday (7 Aug 2023)
Grade and feedback will be returned on Moodle. Assessments cannot be returned until all students have submitted the task. Therefore, the proposed date of return may change if there are approved extensions in this unit.
You will be assessed on your research skills, your ability to reference case law, reference legislation and outline your legal argument and conclusion linking the law to the question using concise, clear and grammatically correct language. The marking rubric will apply the following criteria which are a general guide as to the standard expected at the various levels. It is not necessarily the case that all criteria will be met at a particular standard, as there may be superior performance on one of the criteria and not so satisfactory performance on another.
High Distinction standard:
· the assignment is very well written/spoken and clearly expressed
· there is a demonstrated appreciation and understanding of the issues involved
· the assignment is well structured and logically organised
· demonstrated mastery of referencing system
· there is evidence of a comprehensive analysis of the issues
Distinction standard:
· the assignment is well written/spoken and expressed
· the assignment is structured and logical
· the issues have been reasonably well identified and appreciated
· there is the correct use of referencing
· issues have been analysed
Credit standard:
· the assignment is generally well written/spoken and expressed
· the assignment is structured and sequential
· referencing is satisfactory
· issues are identified and addressed
· there has been an attempt to analyse some of the issues
Pass standard:
· the assignment is able to be followed and understood
· the assignment could perhaps be better organised and structured
· the referencing may need improvement
· issues may need to be identified and addressed in more depth
· analysis when present may be incorrect
Fail standard:
· the assignment is sometimes significantly short of the required length
· the expression is poor and difficult to understand
· the assignment is poorly organised
· there has been a failure to address the issues in the question
· referencing is generally inadequate
- Research and analyse the approach taken by the courts in resolving family law issues applying the family law legislation, Practice Directions, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Rules and case law.
- Critically evaluate family law disputes, identifying relevant legal issues and options to resolve family law disputes relating to relationships, property, maintenance, child support, children and international jurisdictional issues including the removal of children from Australia.
2 Take Home Exam
The Final Take Home Paper will be released on Moodle on Friday 11 August at 9 am and is due on Friday 11 August at 1 pm (midday).
The assessment will comprise family law problem scenarios requiring legal argument and a conclusion with reference to family law legislation and case law.
The question will include a marking rubric and marker's expectations overview to guide students.
This assessment task must be completed by the due date. Failure to submit by the deadline will result in a mark of zero for this assessment as the paper will not be marked. Extensions are not available for this assessment. Exam conditions apply to all take home papers.
Week 5 Friday (11 Aug 2023) 1:00 pm AEST
To be uploaded as a word document via the assessment two upload link on Moodle
Given the final take home paper is treated like an examination, results will be released online on the date of certification of grades with a marker's feedback report on Moodle.
You will be assessed on your research skills, your ability to reference case law, reference legislation and outline your legal argument and conclusion linking the law to the problem scenario using concise, clear and grammatically correct language.
A marking rubric and marker's expectations overview will be released with the take home exam paper.
- Research and analyse the approach taken by the courts in resolving family law issues applying the family law legislation, Practice Directions, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Rules and case law.
- Critically evaluate family law disputes, identifying relevant legal issues and options to resolve family law disputes relating to relationships, property, maintenance, child support, children and international jurisdictional issues including the removal of children from Australia.
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?
