This course examines the fundamental laws governing corporations in Australia. Corporations now exist at the centre of Australian society and affect many areas of economic, political and social life. Forming an understanding of foundational corporate law concerns is essential in all areas of legal practice, not just commercial law. It is as important to family specialists as it is to those wishing to work with NGOs or in government practice. This course provides a broad introduction to corporations law, covering topics such as: incorporation, corporate powers, corporate decision making, directors’ duties, corporate finance, insolvency and shareholders’ rights and remedies.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- By the end of this course, you should be able to do the following tasks:
- - Analyse the fundamental rules and concepts of corporate law, such as separate legal personality, limited liability, corporate contracting, directors’ duties, insolvency and the rights of shareholders;
- - Articulate the policy foundations and implications of corporate law rules such as the law on dividends, directors’ duties and maintenance of share capital.
- - Critically evaluate the broader theorectical, social, political and economic issues underlying corporate law;
- - Analyse complex sections of the Corporations Act
- - Evaluate detailed legal problems involving corporate law issues;
- - Synthesise corporate law rules into cohesive arguments in response to corporate law problems
Indicative Assessment
- 1.Online quiz (15%) (15) [LO 1,4]
- 2. Research essay or short film (35%) (35) [LO 1,2,3,4,6]
- 3. Take-home examination (50%) (50) [LO 1,4,5,6]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
Classes offered during semester periods are expected to have 3 contact hours per week (a minimum of 36 hours). Students are generally expected to devote at least 10 hours overall per week to this course.
Inherent Requirements
Not applicable
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
Stephen Bottomley, Kath Hall, Peta Spender and Beth Nosworthy, Contemporary Australian Corporate Law (Cambridge University Press, 2018).
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 3
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2019 | $4320 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2019 | $5700 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.