LAWS13018 - Australian Consumer Law

General Information

Unit Synopsis

Australian Consumer Law examines the key concepts and principles of Australian Consumer Law. You will examine the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) and analyse case law interpreting and applying the legislation. You will also examine the role of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in regulating the conduct of consumer law ensuring the rights and responsibilities of business and individuals. Current issues and recent case law regarding consumer law will provide you with an understanding of how the legislation is applied.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 3
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Pre-Requisite: 48 credit points of law units


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 1 - 2024

Term 2 - 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 40%
2. Written Assessment 60%

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 1 - 2020 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 4.9 (on a 5 point Likert scale), based on a 62.79% 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 feedback in class, emails and via the 'have your say' survey.
Feedback
Students have suggested this unit should be split into two separate electives. One elective on Competition Law and a second elective on Consumer Law. Students have suggested two separate electives would enable them to decide if they want to study Competition Law or Consumer Law instead of both.
Recommendation
It is strongly recommended this unit is split into two electives, an elective in Competition Law and a separate elective in Consumer Law. Splitting the unit will enable students to select and spend a full term of study in either area of the law.
Action Taken
Competition and Consumer Law was split into two separate units. In term 1 2020 we delivered Australian Consumer Law. In term 1 2021 we will deliver Competition Law.
Source: Student feedback to the UC
Feedback
UC informed students before the commencement of term and on Moodle that the unit would be delivered via intensive mode so students were able to manage the unit in addition to other units.
Recommendation
It is suggested the unit profile is amended to state the unit is delivered via intensive mode.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Student feedback to the UC
Feedback
Intensive format enabled students to focus on the unit and when they completed all assessment tasks, to then focus on other units with assessment tasks due in the later half of term 1.
Recommendation
Continue to deliver the unit via intensive mode.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Student feedback to the UC
Feedback
Unit materials, podcasts and zoom sessions were up to date and well structured.
Recommendation
The UC will continue to update the unit materials in preparation for the next offering in term 1 2022.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Student feedback to the UC
Feedback
The topics were delivered as modules and students could focus on a module at their own pace before moving onto the next module.
Recommendation
The UC will continue to deliver the unit notes, podcasts and zoom sessions in a module format.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Student feedback to the UC
Feedback
All materials were made available to students two weeks before the term commenced for students who wished to get a head start on their study.
Recommendation
The UC will continue to deliver all materials for students two weeks before the term commences.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Explain the rationale for, and implementation of, consumer law policy in the Australian economy and society
  2. Demonstrate proficient legal research skills to locate legislation and case law relevant to consumer law
  3. Identify, apply and critically evaluate legislation and case law to a practical consumer law problem.


Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Written Assessment
2 - Written Assessment
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Communication
2 - Problem Solving
3 - Critical Thinking
4 - Information Literacy
6 - Information Technology Competence
7 - Cross Cultural 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