David Brown (course coordinator)
2.20 Ligertwood Building
d.brown@adelaide.edu.au
+61 (08) 8313 4442

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

1. Determine, explain and apply the principles of Australian property law to resolve complex problems and theoretical questions.
2. Analyse, evaluate and synthesise information from a wide variety of sources and experiences to answer complex
legal questions in a principled manner.
3. Apply property law to complex problems and critically examine its operation from a range of cultural, theoretical and social perspectives.
4. Prepare convincing written arguments for a legal audience.
5. Embody professionalism and ethical behaviour in providing legal advice in an academic environment.
6. Identify and analyse cultural, theoretical and social factors impacting on property law.

Property Law covers fundamental areas of legal knowledge as required for admission into practice. These areas of knowledge are known as the 'Priestley 11' and are set out in Appendix A of the Rules of the Legal Practitioners Education and Admission Council 2004 (SA). According to the ‘Priestly 11’ Property Law must cover the following substantive areas:

1. Meaning and purposes of the concept of property.
2. Possession, seisin and title.
3. Nature and type (ie fragmentation) of proprietary interests.
4. Creation and enforceability of proprietary interests.
5. Legal and equitable remedies.
6. Statutory schemes of registration.
7. Acquisition and disposal of proprietary interests.
8. Proprietary interests in land owned by another.
9. Mortgages.

The common law of leases , and legislation on commercial leases, are covered in the compulsory course, Commercial Transactions, so in Property Law, the focus is on Residential leases.

Students will be supplied, through MyUni, with weekly study guides that outline the material and issues to be covered in both lectures and seminars.

The Essential textbook for this course is Australian Property Law, Principles to Practice (Nancarrow et al, Cambridge University Press, 2022)

During the course, you will also need to consult the following legislative material:

Law of Property Act 1936 (SA)

Real Property Act 1886 (SA)

Here are some other texts that students might wish to use for reference, in addition to the prescribed text:
1. Australian Property Law - Moore et al (7th ed, Thomson Reuters)
2. BJ Edgeworth et al, Sackville & Neave Australian Property Law (11th ed, Lexisnexis Butterworths Australia, 2021)
3. B. Grigg & H Esmaeili (eds), The Boundaries of Australian Property Law (Cambridge University Press, Australia, 2016)
4. Samantha Hepburn, Australian Property Law , Cases, Materials and Analysis (5th ed, Butterworths, 2021)

With the exception of any books mentioned, all course materials will be available on MyUni or on university law databases (cases required).

MyUni will be used to post announcements, post additional lecture materials (including slides, and where available, audio recordings of lectures) and announce assignment tasks. It will also contain electronic copies of the Course Profile, Lecture and Seminar Guides, and Course Materials. The online quizzes will be done through MyUni too.

Students are expected to check MyUni regularly to keep up to date with these materials and additional learning resources throughout the course.

Lectures start in week 1 and run through to and including week 12. In week one, the lecture will be devoted to introducing the concept of property and its use in law as well as organisational information in the seminar.
Seminars will commence in week 2 and run through to and including week 12.

Lectures are delivered in person and recorded. For seminars, please see Access Adelaide and come to the seminar in which you enrolled.

The University expects full-time students (ie those taking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies. This means we expect students enrolled in Property Law to spend 12 hours per week studying this course. Students in this course are expected to attend seminars. In addition, students should allocate time to private study in the course across the 12 week semester and the period before the exam – this includes reading the material, watching the videos, attending/watching lectures, preparing for seminars and undertaking the assessment tasks.

Provisional topic guide (subject to change)

Week	Lecture	Seminar
1	Introduction to Property Rights	No Seminar
2	Possession, Tenure and Estates	Introduction to Property Rights
3	Native Title	Possession, Seisin, Tenure and Estates
4	The Origin and Nature of Equitable Interests	Native Title
5	Leases (focus on residential leases)	The Origin and Nature of Equitable Interests
6	Easements, Profits a Prendre and Covenants	Leases (focus on residential leases)
7	Co-ownership and Strata Title	Easements, Profits a Prendre and Covenants
8	Mortgages	Co-ownership and Strata Title
9	Indefeasibility	Mortgages
10	Exceptions to Indefeasibility	Indefeasibility
11	Priorities Between Unregistered Interests and Remedies	Exceptions to Indefeasibility
12	Course overview and exam revision	Priorities Between Unregistered Interests and Remedies
13	No lecture	No seminar- revision consult hours

Assessment Task	Task Type	Due	Length	Redeemable	Weighting	Learning Outcome
Quizzes (10)	Individual	Throughout semester, starting in Week 3	N/A	No	10% (10 x 1%)	1, 2, 3
Interim assignment	Individual	2pm, Friday of Week 8	2,000 words	No	40%	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Exam	Individual	Exam Period	2 hours	No	50%	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

The assignment is compulsory, because it covers essential material that is not assessed in the final exam. Failure to complete this item of assessment will result in course failure.

The interim assignment must be submitted electronically by the due date. The electronic copy must be submitted to a software program, Turnitin that checks your submission for plagiarism. Instructions on how to electronically submit your assignment to Turnitin will be provided with the assignment instructions. All assessments will be submitted and monitored through text or code comparative software (e.g. Turnitin) where possible.

Further instructions for the interim assignment:
1. The assignment is to be presented in typed form using Times New Roman 11-point font and using single spacing. The margins of the paper (right, left, top and bottom) must be no less than 2.5cm. The paper is not to include appendices or a bibliography.
2. Citation must comply with The Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th ed).
3. The assignment must be written in prose style (using complete sentences), adhere to grammatical rules, and use correct spelling.
4. Penalties: Late submission 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.
5. Length: Assignments which exceed the allocated word length will be subject to a penalty of 5% of total marks possible per 100 words or part thereof (ie with a word limit of 2,000, an essay graded 63% will have 5% deducted if it is 2001 words long, for a final grade of 58%, 10% if it is 2101 words long, etc). Words are calculated including all footnotes and headings within the text but excluding cover page information. Quotations and all referencing information are included in the word count.
6. Marked answers will be returned to students within 3 weeks with written feedback.

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.

Student feedback The course is constantly being updated and revised to reflect the evolution of the law, to respond to student feedback, and to engage with the latest teaching practices. Student feedback is collected each time the course is run, including through SELT reports. Previous SELT reports, and staff feedback on them, are posted on the course MyUni site for students to view and consider.

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.