Law and Indigenous Peoples (LAWS5135)

Course overview

This course involves a study of the relevant laws and policies governing the rights of and the issues faced by the Indigenous peoples of Australia, both nationally and under
international law. Additionally, this course affords the opportunity for a comparative study of the laws and policies governing Indigenous peoples in other parts of the world.

This course examines the historical and contemporary significance of law for Indigenous peoples in Australia. The course surveys the impact of Australian law on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples over time across a range of areas, including rights to land, criminal law, constitutional law, racial discrimination and child welfare. Highlighted throughout the course are the struggles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with and through Australian law and their contributions to its development.

The course also examines the relationship between Indigenous peoples and international law, the comparative legal experiences of Indigenous peoples in other parts of the world, and Indigenous peoples’ own traditions and practices of law.

Across the course, students are encouraged to reflect on the role of settler and international law in producing Indigenous peoples’ experiences of domination and injustice, as well as law’s potential role in overcoming such domination and injustice.

Course requirements

Prerequisites

You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:

(LAWS1700 + 1703 + 2706 + 2707) or (LAWS1115 + 3111 + 3112)

Companion or co-requisite courses

You'll need to complete the following courses at the same time:

LAWS3111

Incompatible

You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:

LAWS7135

Restrictions

LLB(Hons) and LLB(Hons) dual programs

Course contact

Course staff

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Aims and outcomes

The aims of this course are to deepen students’ understanding of:

• The historical and contemporary impact of Australian law on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples;
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ struggles with and through Australian law and their contributions to its development;
• Indigenous traditions and practices of law;
• The relationship between Indigenous peoples and international law;
• The comparative legal experiences of Indigenous peoples outside Australia; and
• The role of law in producing Indigenous peoples’ experiences of domination and injustice, and law’s potential role in overcoming such domination and injustice.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment details

In-Semester Examination

• In-person

Mode

Written

Category

Examination

Weight

40%

Due date

Week 8

The specific date, time and location for this exam will be confirmed on Blackboard.

Other conditions

Time limited, Secure.

See the conditions definitions

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L05

Task description

Exam details

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

Research Essay

• Online

Mode

Written

Category

Essay/ Critique

Weight

60%

Due date

28/10/2025 1:00 pm

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04, L05

Task description

Submission guidelines

Assignments must be submitted electronically in Word format via the online assessment submission link on the course Blackboard site.

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.

Extension to Assessment Due Date

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%.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Additional assessment information

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.

Additional learning resources information

The following sources will be of general use for better understanding the course and may be useful sources for the research essay.

BOOKS

• S James Anaya, Indigenous Peoples in International Law (Oxford University Press, 2nd ed, 2004)
• Thalia Anthony, Indigenous People, Crime and Punishment (Routledge, 2013)
• Bain Attwood, Rights for Aborigines (Allen & Unwin, 2003)
• Bain Attwood, Empire and the Making of Native Title: Sovereignty, Property and Indigenous People (Cambridge University Press, 2020)
• Bain Attwood and Andrew Markus, The Struggle for Aboriginal Rights: A Documentary History (Allen & Unwin, 1999)
• Richard Bartlett, Native Title in Australia (LexisNexis Butterworths, 4th ed, 2020)
• CF Black, The Land is the Source of the Law: A Dialogic Encounter with Indigenous Jurisprudence (Routledge, 2010)
• Larissa Behrendt et al, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Relations (Oxford University Press, 2nd ed, 2019)
• Harry Blagg, Crime, Aboriginality and the Decolonisation of Justice (The Federation Press, 2nd ed, 2016)
• Sean Brennan et al (ed), Native Title from Mabo to Akiba: A Vehicle for Change and Empowerment? (Federation Press, 2015)
• Claire Charters and Rodolfo Stavenhagen (eds), Making the Declaration Work: The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (IWGIA, 2009)
• John Chesterman and Brian Galligan, Citizens Without Rights: Aborigines and Australian Citizenship (Cambridge University Press, 1997)
• Megan Davis and George Williams, Everything You Need to Know About the Uluru Statement from the Heart (UNSW Press, 2021)
• Heather Douglas and Mark Finnane, Indigenous Crime and Settler Law: White Sovereignty After Empire (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012)
• Gary Foley, Andrew Schaap and Edwina Howell (eds), The Aboriginal Tent Embassy: Sovereignty, Black Power, Land Rights and the State (2014)
• Lisa Ford, Settler Sovereignty: Jurisdiction and Indigenous People in America and Australia, 1788–1836 (Harvard University Press, 2010)
• Anna Haebich, Broken Circles: Fragmenting Indigenous Families 1800–2000 (Fremantle Arts Centre Press, 2000)
• Harry Hobbs and George Williams, Treaty (Federation Press, 2nd ed, 2020)
• Miranda Johnson, The Land is Our History: Indigeneity, Law, and the Settler State (Oxford University Press, 2016)
• Rosalind Kidd, The Way We Civilise: Aboriginal Affairs – The Untold Story (University of Queensland Press, 1997)
• Marcia Langton et al (eds), Honour Among Nations? Treaties and Agreements with Indigenous Peoples (Melbourne University Press, 2004)
• Dylan Lino, Constitutional Recognition: First Peoples and the Australian Settler State (Federation Press, 2018)
• PG McHugh, Aboriginal Societies and the Common Law (Oxford University Press, 2004)
• PG McHugh, Aboriginal Title: The Modern Jurisprudence of Tribal Land Rights (Oxford University Press, 2011)
• Heather McRae et al, Indigenous Legal Issues: Commentary and Materials (Thomson Reuters, 4th ed, 2009)
• Russell McGregor, Indifferent Inclusion: Aboriginal People and the Australian Nation (Aboriginal Studies Press, 2011)
• Aileen Moreton-Robinson (ed), Sovereign Subjects: Indigenous Sovereignty Matters (Allen & Unwin, 2007)
• Aileen Moreton-Robinson, The White Possessive: Property, Power, and Indigenous Sovereignty (University of Minnesota Press, 2015)
• Heidi Norman, ‘What Do We Want?’: A Political History of Land Rights in New South Wales (Aboriginal Studies Press, 2015)
• Henry Reynolds, The Law of the Land (Penguin, 3rd ed, 2003)
• David Ritter, Contesting Native Title: From Controversy to Consensus in the Struggle Over Indigenous Land Rights (Allen & Unwin, 2009)
• David Ritter, The Native Title Market (UWA Press, 2009)
• CD Rowley, The Destruction of Aboriginal Society (Australian National University Press, 1970) https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/114963/2/b12160490.pdf
• CD Rowley, Outcasts in White Australia (Australian National University Press, 1970) https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/114909/2/b12160507.pdf
• Nonie Sharp, Stars of Tagai: The Torres Strait Islanders (Aboriginal Studies Press, 1993)
• Elizabeth Strakosch, Neoliberal Indigenous Policy: Settler Colonialism and the ‘Post-Welfare’ State (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015)
• Lisa Strelein, Compromised Jurisprudence: Native Title Cases Since Mabo (Aboriginal Studies Press, 2nd ed, 2009)
• Irene Watson, Aboriginal Peoples, Colonialism and International Law: Raw Law (Routledge, 2015)
• Irene Watson (ed), Indigenous Peoples as Subjects of International Law (Routledge, 2017)
• Nicole Watson and Heather Douglas (eds), Indigenous Legal Judgments: Bringing Indigenous Voices into Judicial Decision Making (Routledge, 2021)

JOURNALS

• American Indian Law Review
• Australian Indigenous Law Review
• Balayi
• Indigenous Law Bulletin
• Indigenous Law Journal

WEBSITES

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-social-justice
• AustLII Indigenous Law Resources http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/other/IndigLRes
• Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies https://aiatsis.gov.au
• Centre for Aboriginal and Economic Policy Research https://caepr.cass.anu.edu.au
• National Native Title Tribunal http://www.nntt.gov.au

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

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 for 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:

• Law School Announcements and Policies