• Offered by Law School
  • ANU College ANU College of Law
  • Classification Advanced
    Specialist
  • Course subject Laws
  • Areas of interest Law
  • Academic career PGRD
  • Course convener
    • Nicholas Seddon
  • Mode of delivery In Person
  • Offered in Autumn Session 2016
    See Future Offerings

This course is designed to meet the needs of practising lawyers and of senior public and private sector managers who have had experience in the field of government contracting.

The course will examine the use of contract for various public purposes and will analyse the legal issues that are peculiar to government contracting.

The course covers

  • policy issues relevant to the use of contract by government
  • the applicability of the ordinary law of contract
  • the power to make government contracts
  • the procedures and other issues relevant to contract formation
  • Crown immunity
  • the application of the competition consumer legislation to government commercial activity, tenders (including the impact of the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement)
  • use of public law remedies.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

By the conclusion of this course, it is intended that students who have successfully completed all the course requirements will be able to:
  1. Explain, distinguish and evaluate an advanced understanding of the legal and practical issues that are peculiar to government contracting and other government commercial activities;
  2. Identify, critically analyse and apply legal principles of ordinary contract law to contracting in a government context;
  3. Identify, critically examine and analyse complex government purchasing and commercial arrangements to identify and apply principles and provide solutions to manage complex matters, including risk; and
  4. Independently plan and execute a research project to demonstrate complex legal research principles and methodologies in critical analysis and application of legal principles and practice, relevant to government contacting.

Other Information

This is an intensive course with a 4 day compulsory intensive (see LLM timetable for dates).

Approximately 6 weeks from the completion of the intensive your final assessment will be due. Contact with fellow students and the convenor, both prior to the intensive and after, is conducted via the Wattle course site.

Indicative Assessment

Assessment is likely to consist of:
  1. Short answer quiz to assess awareness of legal issues peculiar to government contracting: (10%) – all learning outcomes.
  2. A research essay to demonstrate research and analysis of legal issues relevant to government contracting (6000 words) (90%)
Students must rely on the Course Study Guide which will be posted to the Wattle course site approximately 4 weeks prior to the commencement of the course.

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

26 hours of face to face teaching (4 day intensive). The course will also require advanced preparation through assigned readings. In total, it is anticipated that the hours required for completion this course (class preparation, teaching and completion of assessment) will not exceed 120 hours. 

Click here for the LLM Masters Program timetable

Requisite and Incompatibility

To enrol in this course you must be studying a: Master of Laws (7300XLLM, MLLM), Master of Laws specialising in International Law (7300XSINTL), Master of Laws specialising in Law, Governance and Development (7300SLGD), Master of Laws specialising in Environmental Law (7300SENVL), Master of Laws specialising in Government and Commercial Law (7300SGCL), Master of Laws specialising in International Security Law (7300SISL), Master of Laws in Migration (NLLML), Master of Laws in International Law (NLLIL), Master of Laws in Environmental Law (NLLEN), Master of Laws in Law, Governance & Development (NLLGD), Master of Laws in International Security Law (NLLSL), Master of Laws in Government and Regulation (NLLGR), Master of Laws (Legal Practice) (7312XLLMLP), Master of Diplomacy/Master of Laws (7883SINTL, 7883XLLM), Master of Legal Practice (MLEGP). OR Must be studying a: Master of Diplomacy/Master of International Law (7893MDIPL, 7893XMINTL), Master of International Law (7310XMINTL), Master of Environmental Law (7309XMENVL), Master of Law, Governance & Development (7317XMLGD), Master of International Security Law (7318XMISL), Master of Government and Commercial Law (7313XMGCL), Master of Legal Studies (7305XMLEGS), and completed LAWS8015 Fundamentals of Government and Commercial Law or LAWS8587 Legal Framework of Regulation. OR Must be studying a Juris Doctor (7330XJD, 7330HJD or MJD) and have completed or be completing five LAWS1000 level courses or five LAWS6100 level courses. OR Must be studying a Graduate Certificate of Law (CLAW) and have completed or are completing LAWS8586 Law and Legal Institutions and LAWS8587 Legal Framework of Regulation. OR Must be studying a Master of Military Law (MMILL) OR Must be studying a Juris Doctor (MJDOL) and have completed the course LAWS8712 Australian Public Law & International Law B

Prescribed Texts

The prescribed text for this course is Seddon, N, Government Contracts: Federal, State and Local (5th ed 2013, The Federation Press). This book is available through Nick Seddon at a 20 per cent discount. Please contact Nick Seddon by email well before the intensive to purchase a copy.

Preliminary Reading

Chapter 1 of Government Contracts: Federal, State and Local

Students must rely on the approved Course Study Guide which will be posted to the Wattle course site approximately 4 weeks prior to the commencement of the course.

An e-brick will be available on the Wattle course site.

Assumed Knowledge

Students without an Australian law degree must have completed LAWS8587 Legal Framework of Regulation

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:
6 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
6.00 0.12500
Domestic fee paying students
Year Fee
2016 $3252
International fee paying students
Year Fee
2016 $4638
Note: Please note that fee information is for current year only.

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.

The list of offerings for future years is indicative only.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.

Autumn Session

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
5345 09 Apr 2016 09 Apr 2016 22 Apr 2016 29 May 2016 In Person N/A

Responsible Officer: Registrar, Student Administration / Page Contact: Website Administrator / Frequently Asked Questions