LAW4163: Parents, Children and the State

Workload:
3 hours of lectures per week.

There are no tutorials.

There was not an excessive amount of prescribed reading, although there are a few key pieces of legislation which require thorough annotation and understanding. This unit is quite light and can be comfortable done at any point of your degree.

Prescribed Prerequisites/Recommended Prerequisites:
Prescribed Pre-Requisites

For students who commenced their LLB (Hons) course in 2015 or later:LAW1111; LAW1114; LAW1112; LAW1113; LAW2101; LAW2102; LAW2112; LAW2111.

For students who commenced their LLB course prior to 2015: LAW1100 OR LAW1101 and LAW1102 or LAW1104.

Prohibitions

LAW4177.

Assessments:
Final examination (3 hours writing time plus 30 minutes reading and noting time) (100%) OR final examination (2 hours writing time plus 30 minutes reading and noting time) (60%) and EITHER a research assignment (2000 words) (40%) OR participation in the Family Law Assistance Program with both 2.5 days (over five x half days) practical component AND a file/court report (1500 words) (40%).

Recorded Lectures:
No.

Past exams available:
Yes.

No HD responses or feedback are available. The lecturer will run through a few exams during the final week of lectures.

Textbook recommended?
Yes.

The textbook would help in clearing up and explaining the finer details of the law, but it is possible to get a decent grade by attending class alone and accessing cases online.

Comments:
Semester 2, 2016

I found the unit personally enjoyable. Family law is highly intriguing and an area that is heavily litigated in Australia. As such it is a unit that is of high practical value. Some of the topics covered include child abuse and family violence, children wishing to undergo gender reassignment and establishing parentage in circumstances where IVF or surrogacy are undertaken.

The unit is taught well. The readings from the textbook were quite simple and easy to follow. One of the main challenges of the unit was that there were no power points however the lecturer provides excellent summary of the cases. As long as you really pay attention in class, the absence of power points makes no difference. There is also a chance that the lecturer may not be able to finish the course, however if this is the case, the untaught content will not be examinable.

You have the option of either sitting a 100% exam, undertaking an optional research assignment or attending the Family Law Assistance Program at MOLS. I undertook the placement and subsequently wrote an assignment about one of the cases I had witnessed. Attending MOLS was a fantastic opportunity, as you get to see how the law applies in the real world, with plenty of client contact and advice from practitioners. Furthermore even after your placement you have the option of volunteering there.

The exam is quite straightforward and follows the same structure every year. Whilst there are no HD solutions, the lecturer does take the time to run through at least one paper and provides excellent feedback.