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Administrative Law (LAWS50032)
Graduate coursework level 5Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
About this subject
Contact information
Semester 1
Teaching staff:
Jenny Beard (Subject Coordinator)
For current student enquiries, contact the Law School Academic Support Office
Overview
Availability | Semester 1 |
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Fees | Look up fees |
Administrative law regulates the relationship between the state and its people, in other words, the relationship between the government and the governed. In particular, it regulates the powers and procedures of the executive branch of government and establishes the mechanisms for ensuring legality, transparency, accountability and integrity in executive decision-making. This subject completes the core curriculum’s examination of the legal framework of government in Australia. In doing so, it builds on and assumes the knowledge gained in all earlier compulsory subjects especially LAWS50024 Principles of Public Law and LAWS50028 Constitutional Law.
By providing students with a grounding in the key elements of Australian administrative law, this subject will assist students to think critically about how settler Australian governments exercise their constitutional powers. The study of administrative law will also enable advanced development of statutory interpretation skills in the particularly challenging context of administrative law.
Indicative list of principal topics:
- The relationship between executive government and administrative law in the context of settler colonialism in Australia.
- Types of executive action, including the concept of discretion.
- The values and principles underpinning administrative law and administrative law institutions in Australia.
- Non-judicial means of holding the executive branch of government to account and promoting fairness and integrity in government, including:
- The nature, role and function of Freedom of Information regimes in Australia;
- The provision of reasons for administrative decisions;
- Merits review; and
- The impact of human rights protection on government powers and administrative law in Victoria.
- Judicial review of administrative decisions, including:
- Avenues of judicial review of:
- Commonwealth decisions: the Constitution; the ADJR Act; and the Judiciary Act; and
- Victorian State decisions: O56, statutory ‘appeal’ provisions and the Administrative Law Act.
- Standing to bring judicial review;
- The concept of jurisdictional error and judicial review grounds;
- Remedies and the consequences of unlawful decisions; and
- Excluding/limiting judicial review.
- Avenues of judicial review of:
Intended learning outcomes
On completion of this subject, students should have developed an applied understanding of the following:
- How law is used to hold executive governments in Australia to account.
- How to describe and critically analyse the values and fundamental principles of administrative law and the administrative law institutions and mechanisms designed to regulate the exercise of public power by executive governments in Australia.
- Some theoretical perspectives on administrative law, legality, fairness and government integrity in Australia.
- The way in which government policies are given effect through legislation and how the legislative and administrative law framework affects their implementation.
- The structure and operation of some primary Australian administrative law institutions and mechanisms, including their constitutional, statutory and common law bases, primary aspects of their practice and procedure and the remedies they provide.
- The difference between judicial review and merits review and the kinds of arguments that may be made in each context.
- Relevant administrative law cases and statutes, and how to state and critically analyse the legal principles that emerge from them.
- The importance of statutory construction and interpretation in the exercise and supervision of government powers, and the major techniques and aids used.
- How to apply the techniques of statutory construction and interpretation to mount and evaluate arguments about the interpretation of statutes conferring powers and authorising government actions.
- How to apply these legal principles to new fact situations to construct arguments about: - o The merits of government decisions that may be put in the context of merits review of those decisions; and o The legality of government decisions that may be put in the context of judicial review of those decisions.
- How to develop arguments about which legal principles should be applied when the relevant provisions or decisions are unclear or in conflict; and
- How to present these descriptions, analyses and applications of principles in the form of written arguments that are appropriately structured, developed, supported and referenced.
Generic skills
On completion of the subject, students should have developed the following generic skills:
- Attitudes towards knowledge that include valuing truth, openness to new ideas and ethics associated with knowledge creation and usage;
- The capacity for close reading and analysis of a range of sources;
- The capacity for critical and independent thought and reflection;
- The capacity to solve problems, including through the collection and evaluation of information;
- The capacity to communicate, both orally and in writing;
- The capacity to plan and manage time; and
- The capacity to participate in group discussion;
On completion of the subject, students should also have developed the following skills specific to the discipline of law:
- Case reading and analysis, including an ability to:
- Read complex administrative law cases, including unedited cases in the law reports;
- Extract important features from judgments;
- Reconcile judgments;
- Evaluate the development of legal principles; and
- Apply legal principles arising from case law to new situations.
- Statutory reading, interpretation and analysis, including an ability to:
- Use the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments to locate Commonwealth legislation;
- Use Victorian Legislation to locate Victorian legislation;
- Extract important features from statutes;
- Identify and analyse discretionary decision-making powers conferred by statute;
- Use, interpret and apply statutory provisions to new situations;
- Distinguish discretionary powers and provisions that operate automatically;
- Identify the statutory and non-statutory pre-conditions for the exercise of discretionary powers; and
- Identify the purpose of statutory provisions and the purposes for which discretionary powers may be exercised.
- Legal analysis and problem-solving, including an ability to:
- Critically analyse legal rules with reference to fundamental principles;
- Identify and analyse administrative law issues arising in complex fact situations;
- Apply administrative law principles and statutory provisions to unfamiliar fact situations;
- Develop and present an appropriately structured and supported legal argument; and
- Prepare appropriately structured, developed, supported and referenced documents (such as pleadings and submissions) used in administrative law proceedings in courts and tribunals.
- Legal research skills, including an ability to:
- Find case law;
- Find statutes and subordinate legislation;
- Use the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments and Victorian Legislation.
- Legal writing skills, including an ability to:
- Use case law as part of legal analysis;
- Use statutes as part of legal analysis;
- Identify and summarise legal principles;
- Identify and summarise fundamental principles;
- Use proper referencing and citation;
- Present an appropriately structured and supported complex legal argument; and
- Draft appropriately structured, developed, supported and referenced documents (such as pleadings and submissions) used in administrative law proceedings in courts and tribunals.
- Oral communication skills in participating in classroom problem solving and discussion;
- An ability to work in groups to solve problems and critically analyse legal materials in a classroom setting; and
- Have enhanced general cognitive skills in relation to reading and comprehending legal materials; logical analysis and reasoning; legal research and writing; application of legal principles to factual situations; identifying relevant factual information; identifying and considering options to resolve legal problems; drawing on the knowledge of other disciplines to understand and resolve legal issues.
Last updated: 8 November 2024