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Institutional Abuse and Legal Redress (LAWS90153)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5Online
Please refer to the return to campus page for more information on these delivery modes and students who can enrol in each mode based on their location.
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
October
Lecturer
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 8344 6190
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
Overview
Availability(Quotas apply) | October - Online |
---|---|
Fees | Look up fees |
This subject will now be delivered online in 2021.
Following a five year inquiry and the 2017 release of the report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses into Child Sexual Abuse after, the issue of child sexual abuse in institutional settings gained extensive attention from the public, political representatives and legal commentators. The inquiry contributed to new understandings of the incidence and extent of physical, sexual, psychological and emotional abuse in a range of institutional settings, including schools, hospitals, churches, sporting organisations, foster homes and other accommodation services. The debate on how the law may best respond to the abuse continues, with judicial attention to the current law, and political attention to law reform. There are many challenging issues associated with the legal redress of child abuse, including time limits for claims, liability for the criminal acts of others, the onus of proof, and the appropriate compensation regime.
This subject examines the background to and current understandings of child abuse in institutional settings, the relevant tort law in Australia (with international comparisons) and the challenges of its application to these situations, recent and proposed tort law reforms, and the new Australian ‘Redress Scheme’.
Bill Madden is a lawyer specialising in injury compensation including intentional torts and the overlays provided by statutory reform and statutory schemes. He is a regular writer and presenter on tort law topics.
Principal topics include:
- The challenges of historical abuse
- Findings from the Royal Commission and other inquiries
- Liability of the perpetrator – the legal framework
- Liability of the institution – the onus of proof, criminal acts, vicarious liability and non-delegable duty
- The significance of mandatory reporting of abuse
- Tort law reforms – limitations, the onus of proof and legal structures
- Redress schemes, framework, boundaries and fairness
- Future reforms.
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject will:
- Have a critical understanding of the challenges for the legal system provided by historical child abuse in institutional settings
- Have developed a sophisticated understanding of the substantive tort law issues regarding compensation by institutions for abuse by employees and others
- Have examined in detail the merits of compensation provision in tort law compared to statutory schemes
- Have gained critical insight into current and forthcoming issues in the abuse compensation sphere.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Recommended background knowledge
Applicants without legal qualifications should note that subjects are offered in the discipline of law at an advanced graduate level. While every effort will be made to meet the needs of students trained in other fields, concessions will not be made in the general level of instruction or assessment. Most subjects assume the knowledge usually acquired in a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent). Applicants should note that admission to some subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters will be dependent upon the individual applicant’s educational background and professional experience.
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: 3 November 2022
Assessment
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Research paper on topic approved by the subject coordinator
| 12 January 2022 | 100% |
Hurdle requirement: A minimum of 75% attendance. Note: the attendance hurdle does not apply when the subject is delivered online. | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
- October - Online
Coordinator Bill Madden Mode of delivery Online Contact hours Total time commitment 150 hours Pre teaching start date 13 September 2021 Pre teaching requirements Please refer to the Reading Guide on the LMS subject page for confirmation of which resources need to be read and what other preparation is required before the teaching period commences. Teaching period 11 October 2021 to 14 October 2021 Last self-enrol date 17 September 2021 Census date 12 October 2021 Last date to withdraw without fail 3 December 2021 Assessment period ends 12 January 2022 October contact information
Lecturer
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 8344 6190
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
Additional delivery details
This subject has a quota of 30 students.
Enrolment is on a 'first in' basis. Waitlists are maintained for subjects that are fully subscribed.
Students should note priority of waitlisted places in subjects will be given as follows:
- To currently enrolled Graduate Diploma and Masters students with a satisfactory record in their degree
- To other students enrolling on a single subject basis, eg Community Access Program (CAP) students, cross-institutional study and cross-faculty study.
Please refer to the Melbourne Law Masters website for further information about the management of subject quotas and waitlists.
Melbourne Law School may reserve places in a subject for incoming international cohorts or where a subject is core to a specialisation with limited alternate options.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Specialist materials will be made available via the LMS in the pre-teaching period.
- Links to additional information
- 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.
- 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: 3 November 2022