Administrative Law Practice is an eight week course, offered online only. The course is available twice a year, usually between March - May and September - November.
The course introduces administrative law practice from both federal government agency and private client perspectives. The course prepares you to advise and assist clients on administrative law matters and to obtain review of federal administrative decisions. The focus is on:
- understanding the decision-making process pursuant to legislation and generally
- review of decisions within government agencies and by external tribunals
- preparation of review documents such as statements of reasons and of Tribunal documents such as facts and contentions
- the role of the Commonwealth Ombudsman, Privacy, Freedom of Information, Judicial v Merits Review and the use of archives
- drafting skills
- understanding accountability and ethical considerations in administrative law practice.
This course is based on Commonwealth Administration Law.
You will experience different perspectives of Administrative Law practice as you represent a government agency for part of the scenario and a private citizen in another part of the matter. Legal practitioners must have an understanding of, and experience in, advising on administrative law matters for different clients and ‘opposing' sides.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
At the conclusion of the course, you should:
- when acting for a government agency, understand the importance of:
- proper process
- compliance with legislative requirements
- the authority of the decision-maker to make the decision (under legislation, delegation etc)
- the relationship between the agency and Minister in administrative decision-making
- the proper conduct of internal review
- providing proper and well-reasoned statements of reasons to applicants
- being able to advise the agency on managing responses to private citizen / applicant actions in relation to:
- an FOI request to the agency;
- a complaint to the Ombudsman's Office;
- a request for reasons for decisions;
- defending an application to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, including drafting the required documents
and generally advise the client as required by law, good practice and the circumstances of the matter.
- when representing a private client, you will understand how to obtain information on, and administrative review of, agency decision-making to:
- make a valid FOI request
- seek internal review using the proper process for the particular problem
- understand the relevant legislative and regulatory framework
- seek reasons for decisions, including a formal Statement of Reasons
- lodge a complaint with the Ombudsman's office
- critically analyse and assess all information provided by all parties
- identify all alternative means of redress (which may be non-legal as well as legal)
- make an application to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT)
- conduct the matter before the AAT
and generally advise the client as required by law, good practice and the circumstances of the matter.
The Administrative Law course focuses on developing your legal practice skills in:
- problem solving and analysis
- managing multiple pieces of legislation, policy documents and files
- communication - writing and drafting
- working co-operatively
- sharing ideas and knowledge
- reflective practice
to achieve the best outcomes (legal and/or non-legal) for your client, whether a public sector agency or private sector organisation or individual citizen.
Other Information
When Offered and Delivery Mode: This online 8 week course is offered four times a year in the first, second, third and fourth teaching periods.
Classification in Graduate Studies Select: Specialist. In addition an elective in the GDLP program, can be used as part of the articulation into the LLM and LLM (in practice) programs.
Indicative Assessment
Students have three (3) assessment exercises, worth 45%, 15% and 40% respectively.
Assessment 3 exercise is usually partnered work. Paired students have their own online team room to exchanges ideas and work.
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
Hours required will depend on previous experience and/or knowledge.
You self pace your study to meet online course timelines and assessment deadlines within an 8 week intensive course.
Prescribed Texts
Content book and related materials are provided prior to the course commencing. Most materials are also provided online.
Preliminary Reading
If it is some time since your undergraduate studies in Administrative Law, refresh your knowledge of general principles, using one of the several general administrative law texts.
Reading lists are available through the course homepage in WATTLE.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 3
- Unit value:
- 3 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
Units | EFTSL |
---|---|
3.00 | 0.06250 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
Year | Fee |
---|---|
2015 | $1092 |
- International fee paying students
Year | Fee |
---|---|
2015 | $1431 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Summer Session
Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1572 | 19 Jan 2015 | 23 Jan 2015 | 30 Jan 2015 | 13 Mar 2015 | Online | N/A |
Autumn Session
Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1281 | 30 Mar 2015 | 03 Apr 2015 | 10 Apr 2015 | 22 May 2015 | Online | N/A |
Winter Session
Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1540 | 06 Jul 2015 | 10 Jul 2015 | 17 Jul 2015 | 28 Aug 2015 | Online | N/A |
Spring Session
Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1283 | 14 Sep 2015 | 18 Sep 2015 | 25 Sep 2015 | 06 Nov 2015 | Online | N/A |