This course does not have any formal classes. While students are not required to attend structured classes it is expected that students will be in regular contact with the course coordinator during the semester in which they undertake the course, in order to discuss the course assignments, negotiate an appropriate topic for the research assignment which is the major component of the course assessment, and to monitor the ongoing progress of research in the course.

On successful completion of the course students will be able to:

1. Use research skills to interrogate primary and secondary legal material in a substantial supervised research project. Analyse, evaluate and synthesise complex legal information relevant to native title law and/or other laws affecting Indigenous peoples.
2. Demonstrate the cognitive skills to analyse, evaluate, and synthesise information from a wide variety of sources and experiences so as to identify and address as appropriate legal and related issues.
3. Work effectively individually to structure a complex and convincing written argument.
4. Exercise professional judgment and engage with ethical professional standards relevant to research.
5. Demonstrate a commitment to the highest standards of ethical and professional behaviour. Develop an understanding of social and cultural diversity, and sensitivity of the operation of the law and legal structures in that context, particularly as relevant to Indigenous
peoples and critically engage with laws as they affect Indigenous peoples.
6. Reflect on the importance of cultural and personal background as a subject of the law, and use reflection and feedback to drive improvement in research and writing skills.

There are no required resources for this course.

Students may find the following reference texts of use:   

• Sean Brennan, Megan Davis, Brendan Edgeworth and Leon Terrill (eds) Native Title from Mabo to Akiba: A Vehicle for Change and Empowerment? (2015)
• Paul Havemann (ed), Indigenous Peoples’ Rights (1999)
• Heather McRae et al, Indigenous Legal Issues Commentary and Materials 4th edition (2009)
• Melissa Perry and Stephen Lloyd, Australian Native Title Law (2018)
• Richard Bartlett, Native Title in Australia (2015)
• Toni Bauman and Lydia Glick (eds) The Limits of Change: Mabo and Native Title 20 Years On (2012)

There are also a number of websites which provide useful information.  You may wish to consider:

• Australian Federal Government Attorney General: Provides information on Native title, claims & negotions, reform and other related information
• National Native Title Tribunal: a Federal Government organisation which assists  people to resolve native title issues. Includes full text of their newsletters, Talking Native Title and Native Title Hot Spots
• Native Title Research Unit: AIATSIS

Course materials and assignment instructions will be made available on MyUni.

All students are expected to check MyUni regularly to keep up to date with announcements during the semester.

This course is run in an unusual format. Student will undertake a full time internship (4-6 weeks) over the summer or winter holiday period. These internships are usually organised by the Aurora Project, and will be with a Native Title Representative Body (NTRBs), Native Title Service Provider (NTSPs) or Indigenous policy or other organisation. Beginning during and following after that internship students will complete a number of assessment tasks associated with this elective course.

More information about the Aurora Project Native Title Internships can be found at http://www.auroraproject.com.au/LegalInternships.htm. 

In addition to the completion of an Aurora Project internship, students undertaking this course will be required to submit 3 pieces of written work, including a major research assignment completed under the supervision of the course coordinator.

While there are no formal classes, students should expect to dedicate an average of 12 hours a week to completing the requirements of this course.

There are no scheduled learning activities for this course. Instead, each student will be involved in regular  one-on-one discussions with the course-coordinator during the semester regarding their individual research projects.

Successful completion of an Aurora Project Native Title internship is a pre-requisite to passing this course.

Assessment Task	Weighting	Task Type	Due Dates	Redeemable	Length	Learning Outcome
Completion of Aurora Project Internship	Pass/fail	Individual	N/A	No		1-6
Work Diary	10%	Individual	2.00 pm Thursday week 2	No	700 words max	1-5
Research proposal	20%	Individual	2.00pm Thursday week 5	No	1200 words max	1-6
Research essay	70%	Individual	2.00pm Thursday week 13	No	5000 words max	1-6

Students must successfully complete a full time Aurora Project Native title Internship of between 4 and 6 weeks in duration (or a part-time internship of a longer duration, usually organised by the Aurora Project and approved by the Course Coordinator). Failure to successfully complete an internship will result in failing the course.

Work diary (10%)

A work diary which identifies and analyses how the internship has helped develop student’s legal skills, the legal texts and instruments that were relevant to the student’s practice during the internship, the inefficiency of the legal process with which the student observed or interacted with, and any particular cultural or communication elements which impact on the work of the particular organisation with which the student worked. More detailed instructions on the assessment task will be provided on MyUni.This assignment may not exceed 700 words in length. 

Due Date: 2.00 pm Thursday week 2


Research proposal (20%)

A proposal for the research essay. The proposal should be no more than 1200 words, and should include a discussion of the research topic, a preliminary list of research resources, including a description (annotated bibliography) of at least 3 relevant articles, cases or books. The proposal should also include a reflection on the likely research methodology to be employed in the research task.

The essay proposal submitted will be marked for a total of 20% of the student’s grade. Essay proposals will also be separately considered by the course coordinator for approval as the topic which will form the basis of the major research essay component of the assessment. It is each student’s responsibility to develop an acceptable research topic. This may require reworking of the submitted essay proposal. Students are encouraged to consider potential research topics and to discuss these topics with the course coordinator (in person, by telephone discussion or via email communication) early in the course, so as to avoid problems later. Students must be aware that not all proposed topics will be approved.

This assignment may not exceed 1200 words in length. More detailed instructions on the assessment task will be provided on MyUni.

Due Date: 2.00 pm Thursday week 5


Research essay (70%)

A research essay on a topic agreed with the course coordinator. The topic must receive approval by email no later than the end of week 7. The research essay will be no more than 5000 words long (excluding title page information and bibliography). Words are calculated including all footnotes or other references and all headings within the text. Quotations and all referencing information are included in the word count.

Because research topics will usually have been discussed with individual students before approval, in practice this will not be an anonymous assessment.

More detailed instructions on the assessment task will be provided on MyUni.

Due Date: 2.00 pm Thursday week 13

1. Students must retain a copy of all assignments submitted.
2. Late submission penalty – Submission penalties of 5% of the total mark possible will be deducted for every 24 hours or part thereof that it is late, including each day on a weekend. For example, an essay that is submitted after the due date and time but within the first 24 hour period, and that has been graded at 63%, will have 5% deducted, for a final grade of 58%. An essay that is more than 24 hours late will lose 10%, etc. Extensions on medical or compassionate grounds will be in accordance with University Policy.
3. Word length penalty - assignments which exceed the allocated length will be subject to a penalty of 5% of total marks available per 100 words or part thereof (ie an essay graded 63% will have 5% deducted if it is 5001 words long, for a final grade of 58%, 10% if it is 5101 words long, etc). Words are calculatedincluding all footnotes and headings within the text but excluding cover page information. Quotations and all referencing information are included in the word count.
4. Assignments will be required to be submitted electronically. Instructions for submission will be provided with the assignment.
5. All written work in the Law school is required to comply with the approved Law School style guide, The Australian Guide to Legal Citation 4th edition..
6. The quality of English expression is considered to be an integral part of the assessment process. Marks may be deducted from assessment because of poor expression, incorrect grammar, typographical errors etc.
7. Assessment marks awarded prior to the final results will be displayed on the course website. Students are encouraged to check their marks and notify the course coordinator of any discrepancies.
8. Assignments will be returned to students within 3 weeks of the due date with written feedback. Students must retain a copy of all assignments submitted.
9. All assessments will be submitted and monitored through text or code comparative software (e.g. Turnitin) where possible.
   
    
   
   

Finality of Assessment Grades

Students are advised that Course Coordinators will not enter into negotiations of any kind with any student regarding changes to their grades. It is irrelevant, in any given circumstance, that only a minimal number of additional marks are required to inflate a student’s grade for any individual assessment item or course as a whole. Pursuant to the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policyand the Adelaide Law School Assessment Policies and Procedures, grades may only be varied through the appropriate channels for academic review (such as an official re-mark).

Moderation

In accordance with the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, course coordinators ‘ensure that appropriate marking guidelines and cross-marking moderation processes across markers are in place’ in each course. Procedures adopted by Adelaide Law School to ensure consistency of marking in courses with multiple markers include:

• assurance of the qualifications of markers, and their knowledge of the content covered in each course;
• detailed marking guidelines and assessment rubrics to assist in the marking of items of assessment;
• sharing of example marked assessments at various grade bands across markers;
• reviewing of selected marked assessments from each marker by the course coordinator;
• comparison of the marks and their distribution across markers;
• automatic double-marking of all interim assessment receiving a fail grade, and of final assessments where a student’s overall result is a fail grade;
• the availability of re-marking of assessments in accordance with Adelaide Law School’s Assessment Policies and Procedures.

Approval of Results by Board of Examiners

Students are reminded that all assessment results are subject to approval (and possible moderation/change) by the Law School’s Board of Examiners. Assessment results at the University are not scaled. Under the Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, students are assessed ‘by reference to their performance against pre-determined criteria and standards … and not by ranking against the performance of the student cohort in the course’. However, under that same policy, the Board of Examiners (as the relevant Assessment Review Committee for courses at Adelaide Law School) is required to ‘ensure comparability of standards and consistency’ in assessment. On occasions, the Board of Examiners will form the view that some moderation is required to ensure the comparability of standards and consistency across courses and years, and accordingly provide fairness to all law students. All assessment results are therefore subject to approval (and possible change) until confirmed by the Board of Examiners and posted on Access Adelaide at the end of each semester.

As a result of feedback received in previous years, the length of the major research assignment has been increased to 5000 words. The timing for negotiation of the major research project topic has also been amended, to facilitate sufficient time to complete the required research and avoid the examinatiosn period.

In order to avoid duplication of student work, and to assist in promoting the Aurora Project, minor changes have also been made to the first assessment (the work diary).

The University Writing Centre provides academic learning and language development services and resources for local, international, undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students enrolled at the University of Adelaide.

The centre offers practical advice and strategies for students to master reading, writing, note-taking, time management, oral presentation skills, referencing techniques and exam preparation for success at university through seminars, workshops and individual consultations.

Lex Salus Program

Lex Salus (law and wellbeing) is an initiative of the Adelaide Law School aimed at destigmatising mental health issues; promoting physical, mental and emotional wellness; building a strong community of staff and students; and celebrating diversity within the school. It also seeks to promote wellness within the legal profession, through the involvement of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia, the Honourable Chris Kourakis, as the official Patron of the program.

Students can participate in the Lex Salus program by attending barbecue lunches, pancake breakfasts, knitting and crochet circles, seminars, guest speakers, conferences and other activities. Our Facebook page, website and regular all-student emails promote upcoming events, and have tips and information on wellness.

Our Lex Salus YouTube channel also includes videos on topics like managing stress, and interviews with LGBTQ lawyers and their supporters which celebrate diversity and individuality. Students who commit to 10 hours of volunteering with Lex Salus in one year can have their service recognised on their academic transcript and through a thank you morning tea with the Chief Justice and law school staff.

Student Life Counselling Support

The University’s Student Life Counselling Support service provides free and confidential service to all enrolled students. We encourage you to contact the Student Life Counselling Support service on 8313 5663 to make an appointment to deal with any issues that may be affecting your study and life.

Academic Integrity

All students must be familiar with the University’s Academic Integrity Policy. Academic Misconduct is a serious matter and is treated as such by the Law School and the University. Academic Misconduct (which goes beyond plagiarism) can be a ground for a refusal by the Supreme Court of South Australia to admit a person to practice as a legal practitioner in South Australia. Academic Integrity is an essential aspect of ethical and honest behaviour, which is central to the practice of the law and an understanding of what it is to be a lawyer.