CQUniversity Unit Profile

LAWS13017 - Civil Procedure

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All details in this unit profile for LAWS13017 have been officially approved by CQUniversity and represent a learning partnership between the University and you (our student).
The information will not be changed unless absolutely necessary and any change will be clearly indicated by an approved correction included in the profile.

General Information

Overview

LAWS13017 Civil procedure explores the issues of cost, delay and access to justice as critical issues in modern case management. In this unit you will examine in detail the following issues in civil litigation: court adjudication under an adversary system; the cost of litigation and the use of costs to control litigation; service of originating process - as foundation of jurisdiction, including service out of the relevant State or Territory and choice of forum; joinder of claims and parties, including group proceedings and the defence of prior adjudication as instances of the public interest in avoiding a multiplicity of proceedings and inconsistent verdicts; defining the questions for trial - pleadings, notices to admit and other devices; obtaining evidence - discovery of documents, interrogatories, subpoena and other devices; disposition without trial, including the compromise of litigation; extra-judicial determination of issues arising in the course of litigation; judgment; appeal; enforcement; alternative dispute resolution; and obligations of parties and practitioners relating to the resolution of disputes. This unit meets the LPAB requirements for civil dispute resolution.

Details

Career Level: Undergraduate

Unit Level: Level 3

Credit Points: 6

Student Contribution Band: 10

Fraction of Full-Time Student Load: 0.125

Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Pre-requisites: LAWS11059, LAWS11066, LAWS11069, LAWS12066.

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 - 2026

Online

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).

Website

This unit has a website, within the Moodle system, which is available two weeks before the start of term. It is important that you visit your Moodle site throughout the term. Please visit Moodle for more information.

Class and Assessment Overview

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

Regional Campuses

Bundaberg, Cairns, Emerald, Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton, Townsville

Metropolitan Campuses

Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney

Assessment Overview

1. Practical Assessment

Weighting: 30%

2. Examination

Weighting: 70%

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.

CQUniversity Policies

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.

Previous Student Feedback

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 Chatbot usage data and analysis of questions asked.

Feedback

The chatbot has been a welcome addition to the unit.

Recommendation

The chatbot be continually updated and included in the unit.

Feedback from General in class comments.

Feedback

The addition of a second practice assessment was appreciated.

Recommendation

Practical authentic assessments will be used wherever possible subject to accreditation requirements.

Unit Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

Comprehend and critically examine the court adjudication process under the adversarial system in Australia in comparison with the Civil Law inquisitorial system
Articulate and apply Supreme Court civil procedure, referencing legislation, rules, practice directions and court forms
Research and draft appropriate pleadings for a hypothetical fact situation
Apply civil procedure knowledge in a clinical setting including ethical considerations

Alignment of Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Graduate Attributes

N/A Level

Introductory Level

Intermediate Level

Graduate Level

Professional Level

Advanced Level

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes

Assessment Tasks	Learning Outcomes
	1	2	3	4
1 - Practical Assessment - 30%
2 - Examination - 70%

Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes

Graduate Attributes	Learning Outcomes
	1	2	3	4
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 - First Nations Knowledges
11 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures

Textbooks and Resources

Textbooks

Prescribed

Civil Procedure: Commentary and Materials, 9th edition

Edition: 9th (2025)
Authors: Stephen Colbran, Peta Spender, Tania Penovic (Contributor)
LexisNexis
North Ryde North Ryde , NSW , Australia
ISBN: 9780409361315

View textbooks at the CQUniversity Bookshop

IT Resources

You will need access to the following IT resources:

CQUniversity Student Email
Internet
Unit Website (Moodle)

Referencing Style

All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Australian Guide to Legal Citation, 4th ed

For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.

Teaching Contacts

Andrea Turner Unit Coordinator
a.turner3@cqu.edu.au

Schedule

Week 1 Court adjudication, Case management and ADR

Begin Date: 13 Jul 2026

Week 4 Parties and Joinder, Non-compliance, Amendment and Time

Begin Date: 03 Aug 2026

Module/Topic

Week 4 Parties and Joinder, Non-compliance, Amendment and Time

Chapter

Colbran, S., Spender, P. and Penovic, T., Civil Procedure: Commentary and Materials (LexisNexis, 9th ed, 2025) Ch 5, 10, 11.

Kylie Downes QC and Hamish Clift, “Queensland’s new class action regime”. (May 2017) Proctor 28-29.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 5 Pleadings and Summary Disposition

Begin Date: 10 Aug 2026

Module/Topic

Week 5 Pleadings and Summary Disposition

Chapter

Colbran, S., Spender, P. and Penovic, T., Civil Procedure: Commentary and Materials (LexisNexis, 9th ed, 2025) Ch 12, 13.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Exam Week

Begin Date: 12 Oct 2026

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Vacation/Exam Week

Begin Date: 19 Oct 2026

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Assessment Tasks

1 Practical Assessment

Assessment Title

Civil Procedure AI-Assisted Civil Litigation File Review Assessment

Task Description

LAWS13017 Civil Procedure AI-Assisted Civil Litigation File Review Assessment Instructions 2026

You will be provided with a realistic factual scenario and supporting documents and will be required to utilise a generative artificial intelligence (AI) platform to generate procedural court documents that may be required to commence proceedings and seek default judgment.

The assessment is divided into three parts:

Part A – Generation of Court Documents
You will generate the relevant procedural documents using a generative AI platform and submit both the prompts used and the resulting AI-generated output.

Part B – Procedural Analysis and Critique
You will critically evaluate the AI-generated documents and provide advice regarding their procedural compliance, suitability for filing, and any issues arising under the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld). This will include consideration of pleading adequacy, missing particulars, service requirements, default judgment procedures, strategic considerations, and any assumptions made by the AI system.

Part C – Reflection on AI Use
You will reflect upon the usefulness, limitations and risks associated with the use of AI in legal practice, together with the professional and ethical responsibilities of lawyers who utilise AI-generated work.

This assessment has been designed to reflect contemporary legal practice, where lawyers are increasingly required to supervise, evaluate and verify AI-generated work rather than simply produce documents themselves. The assessment focuses on procedural reasoning, professional judgement, litigation strategy, ethical decision-making and responsible AI use.

A detailed assessment brief and marking rubric are available on Moodle.

Your submission must be uploaded via Moodle as a single document by the due date specified in the Unit Profile.

The assessment has a maximum word limit of 2,000 words, comprising:

Part B – Procedural Analysis and Critique: 1,500 words
Part C – Reflection on AI Use: 500 words
The word limit applies only to Parts B and C.

The following are excluded from the word count:

Part A (AI prompts, AI-generated outputs and hyperlinks);
court forms and procedural documents generated by the AI;
headings;
references and bibliography.

Students are expected to write concisely and professionally. No consideration will be given to material exceeding the prescribed word limit.

This assessment complies with CQUniversity's Guided-Assured Assessment Model and permits the use of generative AI in accordance with the assessment instructions provided.

Level of GenAI use permitted:
Level 2 – AI Integration (Authentic Professional Use). Students are required to use a generative AI platform to generate draft procedural documents and must disclose the prompts used and the AI-generated outputs. Students are assessed on their ability to critically evaluate, verify and critique the AI-generated work. Students remain responsible for the accuracy, legality and appropriateness of all content submitted.

The answers must be saved as one document in MS Word (not as a PDF) in the following format: LastName_FirstName.docx.

Assessment Due Date

Vacation Week Monday (24 Aug 2026) 9:00 am AEST

This assessment must be submitted by the specified due date and time. Due to the nature of this task, the standard 72-hour grace period does not apply. Extensions of more than 14 days are not available for this assessment. Due to the need to provide prompt feedback to students and the content of feedback provided, submissions received after the assessment has been returned to students cannot be accepted for academic integrity reasons. Students seeking extensions beyond this timeframe will be required to undertake a different version of the assessment task.

Return Date to Students

Estimated return time is two weeks from the due date. Papers will be returned once all submissions, including those with authorised extensions have been marked.

Weighting

30%

Assessment Criteria

Criteria	HD	D	C	P	F	Marks
Part A – AI Process Record	Complete and transparent record of prompts, outputs and AI use. Demonstrates thoughtful interaction with AI.	Minor omissions. Clear record of AI use.	Adequate documentation of AI use.	Limited documentation.	Incomplete or absent documentation.	/5
Part B – Identification of Procedural Issues and Deficiencies	Identifies almost all significant procedural, factual and strategic issues including omissions, assumptions, pleading deficiencies, service concerns and jurisdictional issues.	Identifies most significant issues.	Identifies several important issues.	Identifies some issues but misses significant concerns.	Very limited identification of issues.	/8
Part B – Procedural Analysis and Application of Civil Procedure Principles	Demonstrates sophisticated understanding of civil procedure. Accurately applies UCPR principles and explains consequences and corrective action.	Strong understanding and application of procedural principles.	Sound procedural understanding with some analysis.	Basic procedural understanding.	Significant misunderstandings or incorrect application of principles.	/7
Part B – Professional Judgement and Critical Evaluation of AI Output	Demonstrates excellent professional judgement. Critically evaluates AI assumptions, reliability, risks and suitability for filing. Identifies where further instructions or information are required.	Strong critical evaluation and professional judgement.	Competent evaluation of AI output.	Limited evaluation.	Accepts AI output largely uncritically.	/5
Part C – Reflection on AI Use in Legal Practice	Insightful reflection demonstrating mature understanding of benefits, limitations, risks and ethical obligations associated with AI use in legal practice.	Thoughtful reflection with good insight.	Competent reflection.	Descriptive reflection with limited insight.	Superficial or incomplete reflection.	/5

Referencing Style

Australian Guide to Legal Citation, 4th ed

Submission

Online

Submission Instructions

The answers must be saved as one document in MS Word (not as a PDF) in the following format: LastName_FirstName.docx.

Learning Outcomes Assessed

Comprehend and critically examine the court adjudication process under the adversarial system in Australia in comparison with the Civil Law inquisitorial system
Articulate and apply Supreme Court civil procedure, referencing legislation, rules, practice directions and court forms
Research and draft appropriate pleadings for a hypothetical fact situation
Apply civil procedure knowledge in a clinical setting including ethical considerations

Examination

Outline

Complete an invigilated examination

Date

During the examination period at a CQUniversity examination centre

Weighting

70%

Length

150 minutes

Exam Conditions

Open Book

Materials

Dictionary - non-electronic, concise, direct translation only (dictionary must not contain any notes or comments).
Law dictionaries, Business and Law dictionaries (discipline specific dictionaries) are authorised.

Academic Integrity Statement

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.