The course coordinator is Dr Kerryn Brent who will be responsible for conducting all the seminars in this course.
Any queries about the course should be directed to Kerryn, whose contact details are as follows: kerryn.brent@adelaide.edu.au 

Phone: (08) 8313 2878
Room 311, Ligertwood Building
Further information about Kerryn can be found at: https://www.adelaide.edu.au/directory/kerryn.brent 

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the basic elements of the SA  planning system's regulatory and policy components. 
2. Demonstrate knowledge of basic principles of land use planning legal systems.
3. Demonstrate knowledge of South Australian planning law, appeal and enforcement processes.
4. Analyse court determinations on planning matters and their implications for future development proposals.
5. Identify a range of legal and policy issues arising out of a development proposal. 
6. Independently undertake self-directed legal research , including through the use of online technologies.

There are no required textbooks. Planning law and policy in South Australia is, at the time of preparing this profile, the subject of significant statutory reforms. A new statute , the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act, 2016 has been passed by the state parliament and has gardually been brought into operation over a 3 to 5 year time period with it meant to be fully operational by September 2020. This is making significant changes to the system of land use planning in South Australia.  Students undertaking this course should  have an up to date copy of the S.A. Planning,Development and Infrastructure  Act, 2016 and the Planning,Development and Infrastructure (General) Regulations, 2008 or digital access to it during the class.There are extensive references to those statutory documents throughout the course.

All state government legislation can be accessed through the SA parliament website and some others. The links are set out below.

Text Book(s)
There is no recommended text for the course.  A seminar outline and recommended reading for those wishing to explore the topics further and reading materials for each seminar will be available on line through MyUni.

References
Other references you may find useful are:

Stein, Leslie A, Principles of Planning Law, Oxford University Press, 2008 

Bates, Gerry, Environmental Law in Australia 10th ed., Lexis Nexis Butterworths, 2019

DE Fisher, Australian Environmental Law (3rd ed, Thomson Reuters, 2014).

Gurran, Nicole Australian Urban Land Use Planning- Introducing Statutory Planning Practice in New South Wales, Sydney University Press, 2007

Godden, Lee, Peel, Jacqueline,& McDonald, Jan, Environmental Law, (Oxford University Press, 2019).

The Australian Journals most frequently referred to in this area include:

-Environmental & Planning Law Journal (EPLJ), Thomson Reuters

-Local Government Law Journal (LGLJ), Thomson Reuters

-The Australasian Journal of Natural Resources Law & Policy, University of New South Wales.

A publication in South Australia in the area of planning law is “Planning Law SA” which is a looseleaf service published by Presidian Legal Publications and for whom the consulting editor is an Adelaide barrister, Brian Hayes QC. This publication is basically an annotated version of the Development Act 1993 and the Development Regulations under that Act which was the legislation recently repealed by the Planning,Development and Infrastructure Act,2016.It is an excellent resource and there is a copy held on reserve in the Law Library.It is not clear whether Presidian are going to produce an annotated version of the new Act.

There is also a looseleaf publication “Planning Law in Australia” published by Thomson Reuters ( general editor: Glen McLeod-SA State editor: Paul Leadbeter) which contains an analysis of relevant land use planning laws in all states and territories including South Australia as well as some material on laws relating to built heritage and environmental authorisation processes.

Environmental cases decided in the State Supreme Courts, the Federal Court and the High Court are reported in the Local Government and Environment Reports of Australia (LGERA). All significant decisions of the SA Environment, Resources and Development Court (ERDC) and the SA Supreme Court (where they deal with environmental issues) can be found in Austlii and on the SA courts'website.

MyUni will be used for communication and as a discussion board. Specifically, it will be utilised to post announcements, post lecture materials (including slides, and lecture recordings of lectures) and announce assignment tasks. It will also contain electronic copies of the Course Profile, Lecture and Tutorial Guides, and Course Materials. Students are expected to check MyUni regularly to keep up to date with these materials and additional learning resources throughout the course.

Cases
Decisions of the SA Environment Resources and Development court are available online as follows:

-All decisions after 2003 are on the Court's web site:

http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/courts/environment/judgments/content.html; and

-Most decisions from 1997 are on Austlii:

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/sa/SAERDC/

Legislation
The preferred site for SA legislation is A Parliament's website for South Australian legislation: www.legislation.sa.gov.au 

Alternatively, Austlii contains most legislation though is sometimes slow to incorporate recent updates http://www.austlii.edu.au/

Contact time: attend 2 hours of classes each week ( held as a block of 2 hours weekly and comprising a mixture of lecture and seminar format). This amounts to 24 hours of formal class time across the semester.

Preparation time: In addition to attending formal classes it is anticipated that students will do substantial independent work to prepare for classes and to complete the course assignments.

In this course it is intended to cover the following material:

Week	Lecture Topic	Zoom Tutorial Topic
1	Introduction to Australian law & planning law	Accessing and analysing case law
2	An overview of the Planning, Development & Infrastructure Act 2016 (SA)	Key aspects of the Australian legal system
3	The concept of development and existing use rights	Navigating the Planning, Development & Infrastructure Act 2016 (SA)
4	The role of relevant authorities	What constitutes a development?
5	Development plans and planning policy	Legal research skills
6	The development assessment process and development applicaations - Part 1	Development and planning case analysis
7	The development assessment process and development applicaations - Part 2	Development application discussion questions
8	Opportunities for public input in the planning process	Problem scenario analysis
	Mid-Semester Break
9	Heritage protection and planning	The Community Engagement Charter
10	Planning for adaptation and climate change	Heritage protection and planning
11	Amenity and Planning	Climate change discussion questions
12	Appeals and Enforcement of Planning Laws	Essay writing workshop

There are no requirements specific to this course.A general interest and some understanding of the role and function of the state and federal goverments and their bureaucracies and the processes for the enactment of legislation and policy and the role and function of local government in South Australia would be helpful although not essential. Students who have a general interest in urban and built environments would also find that a useful asset in this course.

Assessment Task	Task Type	Due	Weighting	Redeemable	Length	Learning Outcome
Essay	Individual	5pm, Monday 2 November 2020	50%	No	3000 words	1-6
Decision Analysis	Individual	5pm, Monday 10 August 2020	25%	No	2000 words	3,4
Problem Scenario	Individual	5pm Tuesday 6 October 2020	25%	No	2000 words	1,2,3,5

When undertaking an assessment task, students are to be assessed according to whether they are law or non-law graduates respectively. Where the nature of the task involves the exercise of skills that law graduates can be expected to have practised or refined over a longer period or to a greater degree than their non-law counterparts, an assessor may legitimately expect a higher standard of performance from the law graduates in the course.

Students can redeem failed or unsatisfactory work by submitting additional work after consultation with and in a format approved by the lecturer. To be entitled to do this the student must have received a minimum grade of 40% for the work they are seeking to redeem.

(i) Research Essay (50% of the final result)
This aspect of the assessment will provide students with feedback regarding their level of understanding of the course material and their research, written communication and critical thinking skills. Students must submit a 3000-word essay on a topic to be selected from a list of topics provided by the lecturer at the commencement of the course.

The deadline for submission is Monday 2 November 2020, at 5pm.

Please note the requirements and penalties re late submissions and papers which exceed the word limits which are set out in 'Submission' below.

Assessment Criteria
• level of insight and innovative thought
• depth of analysis and level of critical examination of the issues raised
• clarity of expression
• logical planning and sequence
• evidence of comprehensive research and consideration of the relevant literature
• demonstrated understanding of the comparative law method
• demonstrated understanding of relevant legal materials
• correct application of relevant material
• overall presentation, including correct grammar, spelling and punctuation
• use of resources in formulating the paper including proper acknowledgment and correct referencing

Fail 0 – 49
Does not develop coherent and rational arguments; demonstrates fundamental errors of understanding of key legal principles and concepts; little evidence of research to support arguments; demonstrates limited analytical and evaluative skills
Pass 50 – 64
Demonstrates a basic understanding of the relevant legal material eg legislation and cases and development policies ; applies core texts and materials; arguments rational and coherent; adheres to referencing requirements
Credit 65 – 74
Demonstrates a high level of understanding of the relevant legal materials; has a thorough understanding of course materials; arguments are well constructed with appropriate supporting referencing; demonstrates some critical legal thinking and evaluative skills
Distinction 75 – 84
A very high standard of understanding of the relevant legal materials with some original and sophisticated perspectives included; paper demonstrates high level insight; broad ranging research undertaken; evidence of high level of critical thinking; well developed analytical and evaluative skills
High Distinction 85 - 100
Outstanding level of understanding and interpretation demonstrated; arguments are compelling and well supported by relevant authorities; student has undertaken broad ranging research and demonstrated original and sophisticated thinking especially in relation to difficult areas of legal application; highly developed written communication skills demonstrated.

(b) An analysis of a Court's written decision involving a planning dispute with a word limit of 2,000 words. This will require students to read a nominated court decision and answer a number of questions about the decision and the implications of that decision for future development in the locality. This will be worth 25% of student's final mark.
It must be submitted by Monday 11 August 2020 at 5pm.

(c) An answer to a problem scenario with a word limit of 2,000 words. In this assignment students will be presented with a hypothetical  factual scenario  relating to an actual site and area in South Australia. They will be required to identify the site in the development plan and the relevant planning policies. There will also be issues related to the interpretation of provisions in the legislation and previous court determinations and their application to that problem.  This is worth 25% of a student's final grade.
It must be submitted by Tuesday 6 October 2020 by 5pm.

1. Students must retain a copy of all assignments submitted.

2.All assignments must be submitted  electronically through the Turnitin portal and will be marked and returned with comments on line. Comments will be both a mixture of typed and verbal feedback which students will be able to retrieve through Turnitin. Details of the process for electronic submission( through MyUni ) will be provided during the early part of the semester.


3. The Law School’s standard penalties in relation to late submission and assignments exceeding the word limit apply to Planning Law. The penalties are:

(a) for late submissions: 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 graded 63% will have 5% deducted if it is one hour late, for a final grade of 58%, 10% if it is 25 hours late,etc.;

(b) for assignments over the word length: 5% for every 100 words over 3,300 words( in the case of the essay) or 1,650 words ( in the case of the other 2 assignments). Those limits include a 10% margin over the base word limit for each assignment.

Courses for which a result of conceded pass has been obtained may not be presented towards the degree requirements for the Bachelor of Laws or the Honours Degree of Bachelor of Laws programs, or any postgraduate law program, nor to satisfy prerequisite requirements within any law course.

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.

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 Honesty

Academic dishonesty is a serious act of academic misconduct. All students must be familiar with the University’s Academic Honesty Policy.

Academic dishonesty is a serious matter and is treated as such by the Law School and the University. Academic dishonesty (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 honesty 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.