The Family Law Practice elective is designed for students who anticipate undertaking family law work as a legal practitioner. During the course students will ‘meet’ two family law clients by watching video recordings of the client’s initial interview with an experienced family lawyer.  One of these clients will be seeking representation in relation to the resolution of a dispute about a property settlement arising after the breakdown of a marital or defacto relationship.  The other client will be seeking representation in relation to a dispute about the care of a child or children. Through work on these client’s files, students will develop the following skills and attributes, which are of critical importance in the work of family lawyers:

• Drafting of court documents, including orders; 
• Letter writing;
• Consideration of dispute resolution processes; and
• Consideration of mandated ‘pre-action procedures’.

Previous study of family law in an LLB and JD program is not a pre-requisite for enrolment in, or completion of, Family Law Practice, although the course will be more challenging for students if they have not studied family law in the past.

Learning Outcomes

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

1. Analyse critically, reflect on and synthesise complex substantive law and client instructions in relation to a child related dispute, in order to: a) form an opinion as to, and discuss, the most appropriate dispute resolution processes; and b) determine, and discuss, the actions required to comply with mandated pre-action procedures.
2. Interpret and transmit knowledge to specialist and non-specialist audiences in order to: a) document, in accordance with law and good practice, the result of a resolution process in relation to a matter concerning property;b) identify and explain to a client the revenue implications of the proposed settlement;c) inform the client of all the relevant available options in a way that a reasonable client could understand; andd) provide constructive feedback to student peers.
3. Demonstrate and apply the knowledge, skills and values required to achieve the relevant ‘Competency Standards for Entry Level Lawyers’ for Family Law Practice as determined by the Law Admissions Consultative Council.

Required Resources

It is crucial that you read all the materials and view/listen to all multimedia/mp3 audio or other files which are available on the Family Law Practice course Wattle site.

Staff Feedback

You will be given written and/or oral feedback pointing out things that have been done well and those that could be done better or differently. You will be given written or oral feedback following any submission of an assessment. This is typically available 1-2 weeks after submission of the assessment. You may seek further elaboration on any feedback - either from your marker or by the convenor. If you feel that your feedback and grade does not reflect your performance, please contact the convenor in writing and outline your concerns. Your submission will be re-marked by a new examiner.

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Other Information

Competency Standards

The GDLP draws together the compulsory skills, practice areas and values from the Law Admissions Consultative Committee (LACC) Competency Standards for Entry-Level Lawyers. The LACC competencies set out the standards that you must achieve during your professional legal training (PLT) to be eligible for admission to practice.

You can find the PLT Competency Standards for Entry-level lawyers at https://www.lawcouncil.asn.au/files/web-pdf/LACC%20docs/224336988_10_LACC%20-%20PLT.pdf.

Requesting an Extension

If you think other circumstances justify an extension you should discuss your circumstances with your Convenor, before the due date. Whether or not an extension will be granted remains in the discretion of the Convenor. Convenors will not usually grant extensions if the reason for your inability to complete work on time is due to a commitment that you knew you had at the start of the course. Alternatively, an extension is likely to be granted if an issue / commitment arises during the course that you could not have predicted.

In some circumstances (illness, injury, family crisis etc.) an extension will be granted as a matter of course. The Convenor may ask you to provide documentation – e.g. a medical certificate. 

Retrospective extensions will be granted only in exceptional circumstances. Convenors recognise that circumstances can arise when it is impossible or impracticable for a student to request an extension prior to the submission date.

Convenors may notify the Sub-Dean when responding to your extension request. The Sub-Dean may contact you with regard to your extensions request(s) if they identify that you may benefit from additional and/or coordinated support due to your circumstances.

External Resources

Information about the ANU Law Library, including details of E-Legal research online resources (for example, CCH Intelliconnect, Legal Online, LexisNexisAU, etc) is available to ANU students and can be found at http://anulib.anu.edu.au/subjects/law. For access to the online resources please go to: http://virtual.anu.edu.au then type in your student number and password. At various points throughout the course you will be directed to other useful external resources.

Word Limits

As the assessment in the GDLP Program is authentic to legal practice, we do not impose word limits. However, you will often be given a word ‘recommendation’ to guide you, taking into account the purpose of the document and the length it is likely to be in practice.

 

Sub-Dean, GDLP/MLP

The GDLP/MLP Sub-Dean can be contacted via email on subdean.slp@anu.edu.au

Wellbeing Support Services for Lawyers

You will find an abundance of wellbeing support information for lawyers on the ANU School of Legal Practice website.

We also encourage you to read Being Well in the Law – a guide for lawyers which is a toolkit is provided by the NSW Law Society, written by our ANU Academics.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Week 1 The course begins with reading the first section of the Essential Reading, to get a broad overview of family law practice. Then you’ll be ready to meet your client Georgina Sullivan by watching the video recording of her initial interview and start work on her file. You’ll organise the information she provided in that interview and then read the next part of the ‘Essential Reading’ - about the processes and laws relating to children’s cases, including information about options for dispute resolution and pre-action procedures.
2	Week 2 Assessment One Send two initial posts to the Assessable Posts Forum (Part A) as described in Essential Reading: One post should be about dispute resolution options. The other post should be about pre-action procedures. Read the posts sent by your student colleagues then send two responding posts (Part B) as described in Essential Reading. Assessment Two preparation Using the information from Essential Reading, read through Georgina’s Documents and update your information management document based on what you have learnt so far This week you will get an update on developments in Georgina’s case, have access to documents from her file and organise the new information you have about the case. Next you’ll do some more reading – learning this time about the law and processes relating to property settlement, and the elements of good drafting. With that learning under your belt you’ll be ready to complete Assessment 2, in which you’ll draft the documents necessary to formalise an agreement that has been reached between Georgina and her husband Frank. Assessment 2 is due on Wednesday of Week 5, but you will need to be working on it consistently through Weeks 2, 3 and 4.	Assessment 1 Part A due: Monday, 10 May 2021 11.55pm (AEST) Assessment 1 Part B due: Wednesday, 12 May 2021 11.55pm (AEST)
3	Week 3 Assessment Two preparation (cont) Using information from Essential Reading and a folder of precedent Orders, continue drafting the documents for your client.
4	Week 4 Assessment Two preparation (cont) Using information from Essential Reading and a folder of precedent Orders, continue drafting the documents for your client.
5	Week 5 Assessment 2 Submission Continue drafting your Assessment 2 documents- the Consent Orders and the ACO Form and submit both documents this week.	Assessment 2 due: Wednesday, 2 June 2021 11.55pm (AEST)
6	Week 6 Assessment 3 Submission In this final stage of the course you will assess your own drafting and provide feedback to two other students in relation to their two settlement documents drafted on Georgina Sullivan’s file. You will compare your own work, and the work of your fellow students, to model documents provided.	Assessment 3 due: Friday, 11 June 2021 11.55pm (AEST)

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Assessment Task 1	0 %	12/05/2021	28/05/2021	1,2,3
Assessment Task 2	0 %	02/06/2021	18/06/2021	2,3
Assessment Task 3	0 %	11/06/2021	18/06/2021	2

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using 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. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Integrity . In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

You have elected to enrol in an intensive practice course – give it your full commitment by keeping up to date, being informed and actively participating in the course.

You must complete & submit ALL assessment tasks in order to pass this course.

Check Wattle announcements and forum discussions as well as your ANU email at least every 24-48 hours.

All email correspondence from the ANU will be sent to your ANU email address.

At the end of the day, it is your responsibility to ensure you are actively committed and involved in this course.

The course will be conducted in the following time zones (Canberra time). 

• Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST): until 3 October 2021.

Please make appropriate adjustments if you are located in a different time zone.

Assessment Task 1

Assessment Task 1

Part A: Complete two discussion forum posts (1x) relating to dispute resolution processes and (1x) relating to mandated pre-action procedures.

Due Date: Monday, 10 May 2021 11.55pm (AEST).

Part B: Read and respond to two discussion posts sent by student colleagues

Due Date: Wednesday, 12 May 2021 11.55pm (AEST).

Linked Learning Outcomes: 1,2,3

Notes:

• The Due Date listed in the Assessment Summary is the due date relating to the first two discussion forum posts (Part A). For due dates for the remaining posts (Part B), please refer to the information above.
• Please refer to the Important Class Information in Wattle for further information and grades in this course.

Assessment Task 2

Assessment Task 2

Draft documentation to formalise an agreement

Assessment Due Date: Wednesday, 2 June 2021 11.55pm (AEST)

Linked Learning Outcomes: 2,3

Notes:

• Please refer to the Important Class Information in Wattle for further information and grades in this course.

Assessment Task 3

Assessment Task 3

Using model documents, provide a review of your own drafting work and constructive critical feedback in relation to documentation drafted by two student peers 

Assessment Due Date: Friday, 11 June 2021 11.55pm (AEST).

Linked Learning Outcomes: 2

Notes:

• Please refer to the Important Class Information in Wattle for further information and grades in this course.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically, committing to honest and responsible scholarly practice and upholding these values with respect and fairness.

The ANU commits to assisting all members of our community to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle and Academic Misconduct Rule, uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with.

The Academic Misconduct Rule is in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Very minor breaches of the academic integrity principle may result in a reduction of marks of up to 10% of the total marks available for the assessment. The ANU offers a number of online and in person services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. Visit the Academic Skills website for more information about academic integrity, your responsibilities and for assistance with your assignments, writing skills and study.

Online Submission

Please ensure that you keep a copy of all the work you submit.

• You will submit Assessment 1 by making posts on discussion forums on the course Wattle site.
• You will submit Assessment 2 in a ‘Peer-review space’ on the course Wattle site.
• You will complete Assessment 3 in the same ‘Peer-review space’ on the course Wattle site.

Hardcopy Submission

No hard copy submission will be accepted in this class.

Late Submission

If you submit an assessment late, without receiving an approved extension from the Convenor, the following penalties will apply: 

1. You will not be able to achieve a Higher Level Performance (HLP) grade for the assessment in question.
2. If your assessment is graded as Not Yet Competent (NYC) you may be offered the opportunity to resubmit the assessment, or to submit a supplementary assessment.
3. Assessments submitted more than 72 hours after the due date will be automatically graded NYC.

The Convenor has overriding discretion to accept an assessment and/or to allow a student to resubmit an assessment, or to submit a supplementary assessment.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Returning Assignments

Your written work will receive feedback and grading via the course Wattle site under the corresponding assessment drop box. Assessment results are typically available between 1-2 weeks after the due date via the same dropbox your assessments were submitted to. The Convenor will post announcements about when you can expect your assessment results.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

• Students who make a bona fide attempt at assessable work and who submit it on time (or are granted an extension), and who receive a Not Yet Competent (NYC) grade for the assessment item, will be offered additional assessment.
• Additional assessment is EITHER one opportunity to resubmit the assessment, OR one opportunity to submit a supplementary assessment. The Convenor has the discretion to decide which form of additional assessment to utilise.
• Both the opportunity to resubmit work that has been graded NYC, or to submit a supplementary assessment, are considered to be supplementary assessment in the course. 
• No further supplementary assessment will be offered once a student receives an N (fail) grade as a final result for the course.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students