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:
- Explain, distinguish and evaluate an advanced understanding of the legal and practical issues that are peculiar to government contracting and other government commercial activities;
- Identify, critically analyse and apply legal principles of ordinary contract law to contracting in a government context;
- 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
- 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.
Indicative Assessment
- Short answer quiz to assess awareness of legal issues peculiar to government contracting (10) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- A research essay to demonstrate research and analysis of legal issues relevant to government contracting (6000 words) (90) [LO 1,2,3,4]
In response to COVID-19: Please note that Semester 2 Class Summary information (available under the classes tab) is as up to date as possible. Changes to Class Summaries not captured by this publication will be available to enrolled students via Wattle.
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
Classes offered in non-standard sessions will be taught on an intensive base with compulsory contact hours (approximately 26 hours of face to face teaching). The course will also require advanced preparation through assigned readings. In total, it is anticipated that the hours required for completion of this course (class preparation, teaching and completion of assessment) will not exceed 120 hours. Classes offered during semester periods are expected to have 3 contact hours per week.
Click here for the LLM Masters Program timetable.
Inherent Requirements
Not applicable
Requisite and Incompatibility
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
Students must rely on the approved Class Summary which will be posted to the Programs and Courses site approximately 2 weeks prior to the commencement of the course.
An e-brick will be available on the Wattle course site.
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 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2020 | $4320 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2020 | $5760 |
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.
Autumn Session
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5578 | 23 Mar 2020 | 23 Mar 2020 | 03 Apr 2020 | 11 May 2020 | In Person | View |