BLAR11039 - Building Law & Regulations

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit will enable you to: understand how contracting parties engage in enforceable contracts, both in respect of building owners and contractors, as well as contractors and subcontractors; obtain knowledge of how the dynamics of the contract change during the course of the building project, in respect of variations and extensions of time; become familiar with the circumstances of how contracts can be breached, the methods of providing remedy for the breaches, and of dispute resolution; consider the legal framework of government legislation in terms of the Acts of Parliament that relate to Builders Licensing, the Building Code of Australia, The Development Act and Occupational Health and Safety; become competent in the reading and understanding of building contracts, and the application of government regulations that apply to building projects.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 1
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites There are no pre-requisites for the unit.

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).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 3 - 2021

Term 3 - 2021 Profile
Online
Term 3 - 2022 Profile
Online
Term 3 - 2023 Profile
Online
Term 3 - 2024 Profile
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).

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.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Written Assessment 5%
2. Written Assessment 20%
3. Written Assessment 5%
4. Written Assessment 30%
5. Online Quiz(zes) 10%
6. Written Assessment 30%

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

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 3 - 2022 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 80.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 28.99% response rate.

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.

Source: Student Unit Teaching Evaluations (SUTE) Unit Comments
Feedback
Very well structured unit with prompt feedback on assessments. The lecturer was very clear with the requirements for the unit and followed the lecture notes and learning materials closely without diversion.
Recommendation
The same delivery strategy will be adopted.
Action Taken
The delivery continued adopting the same delivery strategy as the last year.
Source: Student Unit Teaching Evaluations (SUTE) Unit Comments
Feedback
Question three in assignment six should be more flexible and allow students to research the law regulating different building practitioners professions (i.e. building surveyors) rather than be restricted to only designers and architects.
Recommendation
The teaching team will revisit the question, and necessary amendments based on the feedback will be made before the next unit delivery.
Action Taken
The necessary adjustments were incorporated in that particular question.
Source: Student Unit Teaching Evaluations (SUTE)
Feedback
The course was well structured and informative. Assessments questions and expectations were clear. Lecturer was great.
Recommendation
The same delivery strategy will be adopted.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Student Unit Teaching Evaluations (SUTE)
Feedback
Six pieces of assessment is too much; having something due every two weeks for just one subject is an exhaustive task. It is anticipated this is reduced for future students.
Recommendation
The given feedback will be thoroughly investigated for the viability in the reduction of assessment tasks for future deliveries.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Understand how contracting parties engage in enforceable contracts, both in respect of building owners and contractors, as well as contractors and subcontractors
  2. Obtain knowledge of how the dynamics of the contract change during the course of the building project, in respect of variations and extensions of time
  3. Become familiar with the circumstances of how contracts can be breached, the methods of providing remedy for the breaches, and of dispute resolution
  4. Consider the legal framework of government legislation in terms of the Acts of Parliament that relate to Builders Licensing, the Building Code of Australia, The Development Act and Occupational Health and Safety
  5. Become competent in the reading and understanding of building contracts, and the application of government regulations that apply to building projects.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Written Assessment
2 - Written Assessment
3 - Written Assessment
4 - Written Assessment
5 - Online Quiz(zes)
6 - Written Assessment
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Communication
2 - Problem Solving
3 - Critical Thinking
4 - Information Literacy
6 - Information Technology Competence
8 - Ethical practice
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Written Assessment
2 - Written Assessment
3 - Written Assessment
4 - Written Assessment
5 - Online Quiz(zes)
6 - Written Assessment