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Unit of Study LAWS3008 - Administrative Law (2025)

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Unit Snapshot

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Unit description

Explains how the law makes public decision-makers accountable for how they exercise their (often wide) discretions, powers, and duties. Several control mechanisms - particularly courts, merits appeals tribunals, Ombudsman, Freedom of Information (FoI) and privacy legislation at Commonwealth level - aim at curbing bureaucratic mistakes and excesses, and at ensuring sound, rational, and consistent decision-making by governments.

Unit content

Module 1: Introduction: historical background and 1970s reforms: the Australian Constitution's separation of federal judicial power

Module 2: Grounds of judicial review for general rules and individualised decisions

Module 3: Grounds of judicial review for individualised decisions

Module 4: Steps before challenging a decision: statements of reasons, Freedom of Information, standing, the Ombudsman

Module 4: Reviewing the merits of individualised decisions (appeals to tribunals) and of general rules (disallowance, publication)

Module 6: Judicial review remedies.

Availabilities

Location Domestic International
Gold Coast
Term3
Term3
Online
Term3
Term3

Learning outcomes

Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

identify and explain the central principles and the various elements which inform Australia’s federal system of administrative law

evaluate the differences between review of the lawfulness of a decision, and review of the merits of a decision

demonstrate an understanding of the legal and administrative mechanisms by which the actions and decisions of government officials and agencies may be challenged

identify and explain the legal and administrative mechanisms by which government officials and agencies may be rendered accountable for their actions

Prescribed learning resources

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Prescribed Learning Resources may change in future Teaching Periods.