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Consumer Law (BLAW20003)
Undergraduate level 2Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
For information about the University’s phased return to campus and in-person activity in Winter and Semester 2, please refer to the on-campus subjects page.
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
Summer Term
Philip Clarke, Coordinator
Contact Stop 1
Please refer to the LMS for up-to-date subject information, including assessment and participation requirements, for subjects being offered in 2020.
Overview
Availability | Summer Term |
---|---|
Fees | Look up fees |
This subject examines the principal components of Australian consumer law. Parts 1 and 2 survey the relevant law and consider the purpose and policy issues associated with protecting consumers. Parts 3-9 then focus on the protections created by the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), the enforcement of those protections and the remedies available to consumers should suppliers not comply with them. It has a practical orientation, designed to assist consumers to know, understand and pursue their rights.
Topics include:
1. Scope
• Overview of consumer protection in Australia
• The Australian Consumer Law regime (ACL)
• Who are consumers?
• International comparisons
2. Purpose and economics of consumer protection
• The policy objectives of the ACL
• Indigenous consumer policy
• The costs and merits of consumer protection
3. Misleading conduct and false representations
• Misleading or deceptive conduct
• False or misleading advertising
• False or misleading representations
• Scams
4. Unconscionable or unfair conduct or terms
• Unfair practices
• Unconscionable conduct
• Unfair contract terms
• Unfair pricing or prices
5. Consumer transactions
• Guarantees for goods and services
• Supplier warranties
• Door to door transactions
• Lay-by agreements
• Gift cards
• Proof and billing
6. Product safety and liability
• Safety standards and bans
• Information standards
• Manufacturers’ liability
7. Financial services and credit
• Scope and operation of the ASIC Act
• Regulation of consumer credit
8. Electronic transactions
• Jurisdictional issues
• Social media and website liability
• Online auctions
• Electronic contracting
9. Enforcement and remedies
• Public enforcement
• Industry codes
• Consumer remedies
Intended learning outcomes
On completion of this subject, students should be able to:
- Explain the policy objectives that underpin consumer protection legislation;
- Examine different forms of business behaviour with a view to identifying consumer protection law issues;
- Undertake statutory interpretation;
- Analyse and apply case law; and
- Construct and communicate a written legal argument based on understanding the facts, identifying the issues, analysing the applicable law and applying the law to the facts.
Generic skills
Students who successfully complete this subject will develop the following generic skills:
- The capacity for close reading and analysis of a range of sources;
- The capacity to communicate, both orally and in writing;
- The capacity to participate as a member of a team;
- The capacity to plan and manage time; and
- The capacity to solve problems, including through the collection and evaluation of information.
In addition, on completion of the subject, students should have developed the following skills specific to the discipline of law:
- Capacity to solve competition and consumer law problems by collecting and evaluating information from a variety of sources;
- Communicate solutions to competition and consumer law problems both orally and in writing;
- Ability to work in groups to solve competition and consumer law problems; and
- Critically analyse materials in a classroom setting.
Last updated: 11 April 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Recommended background knowledge
It is recommended that students have completed 100 points of undergraduate study before enrolling in this subject.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 11 April 2024
Assessment
Due to the impact of COVID-19, assessment may differ from that published in the Handbook. Students are reminded to check the subject assessment requirements published in the subject outline on the LMS
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Open-book examination
| Held two weeks after the end of teaching. | 70% |
Answer to one complex hypothetical problem to be completed individually or in student pairs
| Due four weeks after the end of teaching. | 30% |
Additional details
The due date of the above assessment will be available to students via the LMS subject page.
Last updated: 11 April 2024
Dates & times
- Summer Term
Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours Total time commitment 136 hours Pre teaching start date 22 January 2020 Pre teaching requirements Subject materials will be available on the LMS. Teaching period 5 February 2020 to 12 February 2020 Last self-enrol date 24 January 2020 Census date 7 February 2020 Last date to withdraw without fail 21 February 2020 Assessment period ends 11 March 2020 Summer Term contact information
Philip Clarke, Coordinator
Contact Stop 1
Time commitment details
136 hours
Last updated: 11 April 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
- Clarke & Erbacher, Australian Consumer Law, LBC, 6th 2018.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Breadth Track Law - Business and Competition and Consumer Law - Breadth options
This subject is available as breadth in the following courses:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Bachelor of Biomedicine
- Bachelor of Commerce
- Bachelor of Design
- Bachelor of Environments
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Animation)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Film and Television)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Screenwriting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Art)
- Bachelor of Music
- Bachelor of Science
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
If required, please contact law-admissions@unimelb.edu.au for subject coordinator approval.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 11 April 2024