Course coordinator
Professor Graeme Orr
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 1, 2025 (24/02/2025 - 21/06/2025)
- Study level
- Undergraduate
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Law School
This course is focused on the federal law regulating employment. The course seeks to develop student awareness of this practical and important area, covering both individual and collective aspects, and common law, constitutional and statutory issues. It also places the black-letter law in its political context, including the balance between employee protection and economic efficiency.
Work is fundamental to human and economic flourishing. So the law of work is a very important area of regulation.ﾠﾠ
As the shifts in names for this area - between 'labour', 'industrial relations', 'employment' and 'workplace relations' law - suggest, the law is often politically contested and in flux.ﾠﾠ
In 2005, the High Court endorsed the use of the corporations power to create a quasi-national system. By 2010, States had referred powerﾠto regulate conditions of residual private (ie non-State government) employment to the Commonwealth. Given this, we will focus almost entirely on this national system, using the Fair Work Actﾠ2009ﾠ(Cth) as the centrepiece.
From 2022-2024 there were significant reforms in this area of law. Via High Court decisions on the contract of employment and especially via legislative amendments. A new textbook has had to be adopted. Given the intricacies of these reforms, students need access to the textbook and to avoid relying on old notes or books.
Compared to previous offerings, there is an extra tutorial (now six in all).
Course requirements
Assumed background
Essentials of contract and tort law, and the basics of the Australian legal system including constitutional law.
Prerequisites
You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:
(LAWS1701 + 1702) or (LAWS2111 + 2112)
Incompatible
You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:
LAWS7122
Restrictions
LLB(Hons)(#64), LLB(Hons)(#48), LLB (Graduate Entry), LLB(Hons) duals and LLB dual programs.
Course contact
Course staff
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Additional timetable information
Please look over, and keep at hand, the table of 'Learning Activities' in this Profile. It gives an overview of the topics for the weekly lectures and fortnightly tutorials.
Aims and outcomes
Teaching Mission Statement
The mission of theﾠSchool of Law is to educate students in and about the law. We seek to assist you to think critically about the law and to investigate its structures, principles, policies, and values. This is achieved by engaging with you as fellow investigators in a range of critical and intellectual conversations about the law and its place in society. Our role is thus to guide you in your own intellectual journey in the law and to equip you with the necessary skills that will enable you to continue that journey long after you have left the School.
Course Aims
See Learning Objectives below.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Content - Sketch the evolution of the Australian labour law system, and the constitutional, workplace relations and industrial political factors underlying it.
LO2.
Content - Understand the national statutory regime (The Fair Work Act) and its key obligations and freedoms, in the context of the common law contractual framework.
LO3.
Content - Describe the mechanisms and parameters for fixing employment conditions and obligations under the national system.
LO4.
Content - Appreciate the role of key regulatory institutions, such as the Fair Work Commission and trade unions.
LO5.
Skills/Application - Apply specific knowledge acquired in the course to answer both hypothetical questions (particularly on dismissal law) and engage in longer, more critical debates about labour law.
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation |
Written Assignment (Hypothetical)
|
40% |
29/04/2025 2:00 pm |
| Examination |
End-of-semester Examination
|
60% |
End of Semester Exam Period 7/06/2025 - 21/06/2025 |
Assessment details
Written Assignment (Hypothetical)
- Online
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 40%
- Due date
29/04/2025 2:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L02, L05
Task description
This assignment will be a problem-based one, covering weeks 2-6 of the course, with a focus on termination of the contract of employment and remedies.
The use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools is not permitted in the writing of the assignment. Any such use of Generative AI may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct Policy. Further information about the assignment will be given in the guidelines for the assignment and in lectures.
Submission guidelines
Upload in Word document format, via the link on the course website.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Where an extension for an assessment item due within the teaching period in which the course is offered is available, any extension is limited to one week (7 days). In exceptional circumstances, extensions may be granted for more than one week, but in no case will an extension exceed four weeks (28 days) in total. Where a student is incapacitated for a period exceeding four weeks of the teaching period, they should apply for removal of course.
A student may apply for an extension to assessment due date if they are unable to meet an assessment deadline due to extenuating circumstances. Please refer to the Applying for an extension page on my.UQ for further details on acceptable reasons for an extension and for instructions on how to apply. Additional information on extensions can be found within the Assessment Procedure .
Spoken or written notification of difficulties with assessment deadlines to a course coordinator or the School does not constitute an authorised extension.
Applications to be submitted before the due date: Applications for extension (whether they be medical or exceptional circumstances) shall be made by the due date and time for the assessment. Requests for extensions received after the assessment item submission due date and time, must include evidence of the reason for the late request, and will require the decision maker listed in the Student Grievance Resolution Procedure to accept the request for consideration.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Penalties for Late Submission
The following penalties apply to late submission of an assessment item, assuming that an extension has not been approved, and that late submission is academically possible (e.g., it does not delay feedback to a cohort, or interfere with course delivery).
First 7 periods of 24 hours (or part thereof) - 10% per 24 hours of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item. For example, a report worth a maximum of 40 marks, submitted 28 hours late will attract a penalty of 8 marks, calculated as 2 periods of 24 hours x 10% x 40 marks.
More than 7 periods of 24 hours - 100%.
End-of-semester Examination
- In-person
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Examination
- Weight
- 60%
- Due date
End of Semester Exam Period
7/06/2025 - 21/06/2025
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04, L05
Task description
This will be a centrally timetabled end-of-semester exam, sat in-person.
You will have 2 hours, plus 10 minutes planning time.
Like any exam, you need to prepare well, beforehand. That is, you need to have synthesised the lectures, tutorials and readings, prior to the exam period.
There will be 3 questions, worth a total of 60 marks. There may be a mixture of essay, problem and perhaps shorter-answer questions.
In the final lecture, more information will be given as to coverage and format. Approximately 10 weeks will be coverable content. (The exam will not re-examine weeks 5-6 on Termination and Security, as dismissal law is covered in the Assignment. And week 13 will contain no examinable content).
The exam is closed book EXCEPT for the legislation. This means you can bring a printed copy of the Fair Work Act, or parts of it, into the exam: but you must NOT include any annotations NOR any material or words that are not part of the Act.
This assessment task is to be completed in-person. The use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT) tools will not be permitted. Any attempted use of Generative AI or MT may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct Policy.
Exam details
| Planning time | 10 minutes |
|---|---|
| Duration | 120 minutes |
| Calculator options | No calculators permitted |
| Open/closed book | Closed Book examination - specified written materials permitted |
| Materials | A printed copy of the Fair Work Act or parts of it, but NOT including any annotations or inserted material not part of the Act. |
| Exam platform | Paper based |
| Invigilation | Invigilated in person |
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You may be able to defer this exam.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Cut off Percent | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) | 0 - 19 |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 2 (Fail) | 20 - 47 |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) | 48 - 49 |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes |
| 4 (Pass) | 50 - 64 |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 5 (Credit) | 65 - 74 |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 6 (Distinction) | 75 - 84 |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 7 (High Distinction) | 85 - 100 |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. |
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.
Own copy required
You'll need to have your own copy of the following reading resources. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Legislation | Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) - current version |
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Multiple weeks From Week 1 To Week 13 |
Lecture |
Lectures The programme of lectures for the course is set out in the weekly study guides that will be available from the course website. Lecture Topics are:
Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Multiple weeks From Week 2 To Week 13 |
Tutorial |
Tutorials The tutorial study guides will be available from the course website. Please aim to attend the tutorial in the fortnight (ie odd or even week) you signed up for. Tutorial topics:
Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.
School guidelines
Your school has additional guidelines you'll need to follow for this course: