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NDIS and Disability Benefits Clinic (LAWS90189)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
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To learn more, visit COVID-19 course and subject delivery.
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
Semester 2
Email: law-wil@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 8344 6190
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au/students/jd/enrichment/mls-clinics
Overview
Availability(Quotas apply) | Semester 2 |
---|---|
Fees | Look up fees |
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is an innovative new system for providing disability supports in Australia. It will eventually provide funding to approximately 500,000 Australians with permanent and significant disability for supports they need to achieve their goals.
Students in the NDIS and Disability Benefits Clinic will assist people with disabilities, their families and carers to navigate this system and access the supports they are entitled to.
Clinic activities may include: providing one-to-one advice and legal assistance to individual clients; conducting legal education sessions for groups of clients; and assisting professional advocates and lawyers at partner organisations with individual and systemic NDIS advocacy work. Examples of matters that may be dealt with by the Clinic include: accessing the NDIS, obtaining adequate supports from the NDIS, challenging decisions made under the NDIS Act and legal issues relating to the disability support pension. Students will be engaged in all aspects of the Clinic’s operation and will work under the guidance and supervision of the Clinic Supervisor and our partner organisations to provide information and resolve issues presented by clients.
Students will undertake 12 days of clinical work based at Melbourne Law School. Clinical work will be done predominantly on the timetabled Clinic day, however some work outside these times may be required depending on the matters and clients. The Clinic will commence with an intensive orientation, usually held in the week before the start of semester. Much of the substantive course content will then be covered in the first few weeks of semester, preparing students to commence and focus on Clinic activities, with . Further lectures and guest speakers in later weeks as appropriate. Clinic days will also include opportunity for group discussion of the week’s topic/s, practical skills-building exercises, reflection on the law and legal practice as well as legal supervision of clinical work.
Intended learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of this subject students will have:
- Developed client-facing advocacy skills
- Gained knowledge of disability rights and relevant domestic legislation
- Experienced engagement with partner organisations
- Developed the ability to apply disability rights principles to individual client situations
- Developed an understanding of and capacity to engage in legal practice in this area.
Generic skills
Upon successful completion of the subject, students will have developed and demonstrated their skills in the following areas:
- Working collaboratively to develop legal documents.
- Persuasive legal writing.
- Understanding and application of disability rights and domestic legislation.
- Critical legal analysis.
- Working in the unique context of disability.
- Collaboration with community legal centres and disability organisations
- Client interaction.
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
Admission into the MC-JURISD Juris Doctor
AND
All of
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
LAWS50023 | Legal Method and Reasoning | Summer Term (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
LAWS50024 | Principles of Public Law | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
LAWS50025 | Torts | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
LAWS50026 | Obligations | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
LAWS50028 | Constitutional Law | Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
LAWS50029 | Contracts | Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
LAWS50031 | Legal Theory |
Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
November (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
AND
One of
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
LAWS90140 | Disputes and Ethics | Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
LAWS50027 | Dispute Resolution | Not available in 2024 |
12.5 |
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
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: 31 January 2024
Assessment
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Hurdle requirement: Participation | Throughout the teaching period | 20% |
Reflective writing, due on given dates regularly throughout the semester
| Throughout the teaching period | 30% |
Clinical work (portfolio of written work and demonstration of clinical skills)
| End of semester | 50% |
Additional details
The due date of the above assessment(s) will be available to students via the Assessment Schedule on the LMS Community.
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
- Semester 2
Principal coordinator Kay Wilson Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours Total time commitment 144 hours Teaching period 25 July 2022 to 23 October 2022 Last self-enrol date 19 November 2021 Census date 31 August 2022 Last date to withdraw without fail 23 September 2022 Assessment period ends 18 November 2022 Semester 2 contact information
Email: law-wil@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 8344 6190
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au/students/jd/enrichment/mls-clinics
Additional delivery details
This subject has an enrolment quota of 12 students.
This subject is an application-based enrichment subject. More information about the application process can be found on the JD LMS Community.
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Specialist materials will be made available via the LMS.
Last updated: 31 January 2024