This unit analyses the Personal Property Securities legislation, drawing attention to how it has changed the pre-existing law regulating the rights of secured creditors. The unit focuses on the concepts of security, attachment and perfection. It examines the nature of security interests regulated by the legislation, together with the registration, priority and enforcement regimes. In discussing the Australian position, the unit compares similar legislation in Canada and New Zealand.

The main objective of this unit is to provide a critical understanding of the fundamental principles of legal theory and philosophy of law. The unit will discuss, in particular, the concept of law, the notions of obligation, authority, and legitimacy of law; the main theories of legal interpretation; the special role of the concept of "rights" in legal theory, and the principles determining the moral limits of legal coercion.

The unit will examine a number of contemporary debates regarding the nature of legal reasoning. The unit will examine the status of the modern doctrine of precedent and the current state of the Hart/Dworkin/Fish debate in regard to the nature of precedential reasoning. The unit will examine contemporary semantic theory and philosophy of language, and the contribution those fields can make to a proper understanding of the interpretation of legal texts. The unit will also examine the relationship between legal reasoning and moral reasoning and the new legal positivism of writers such as Goldsworthy and Shapiro. In a final segment, the unit will examine legal reasoning in regard to matters of fact, and the current debate as to whether legal fact finding can be modelled using Bayes' theorem and probability theory.

The financial crisis of 2007-9 revealed serious failings in the regulation of financial institutions and markets. This prompted a fundamental reconsideration of the design of financial regulation, which governs a financial system that has become ever-more complex and interconnected, and which evolves at an ever-accelerating pace. This course presents a holistic overview of the key principles underpinning financial regulation. It draws on economic theory to explain the way in which the financial system functions, and then to analyse the goals of financial regulation. This analytic framework is then applied to a series of substantive topics in financial regulation, spanning the traditionally-separate fields of banking, markets, and consumer finance. The unit also considers the operation of the new tools of 'macro-prudential policy' and the international coordination of financial regulation in the global financial system. While the substantive topics are considered in terms of EU and US rules, the analytic tools developed are of more general application. Topics covered in this unit: The financial system; Goals and challenges of financial regulation; Consumer finance; Market regulation; Bank capital and liquidity regulation; Bank governance and resolution; Shadow banking and Macro-prudential and international coordination. Students who complete this unit successfully will have an overview of the economic principles underpinning financial regulation, to be able to understand and critically evaluate the principal substantive aspects of financial regulation in the US and EU, as well as their international coordination.

This introductory unit is designed for students who have not previously undertaken any formal study of Intellectual Property. The unit will cover the fundamentals of law and theory in the main areas of contemporary intellectual Property: copyright, patents and trademarks.

Principles of Oil and Gas Law explores the distinctive legal issues presented by oil and gas exploration and production and examines the legal and regulatory responses of oil producing states. This unit also explains the international legal principles that apply within the sector and sets the Australian experience against a broad comparative background. For the first time in 2016, this course will be offered in the home of the North Sea oil and gas industry, Stavanger, Norway. This unit will draw on the expertise of international experts in oil and gas law, as well as take advantage of our location with excursions to the Petroleum Museum, oil companies and government. On completion of the unit, participants should be able: to explain the specific legal problems posed by the physical characteristics of oil and gas; to identify different approaches to the resolution of those problems, their strengths and weaknesses; to identify and analyse the special issues presented by offshore oil and gas resources on the one hand, and onshore resources on the other; to compare the approaches of different states to the exploitation of their oil and gas resources, and the different legal vehicles used to support and control the involvement of private capital is involved in this task; to identify the problems that may arise at each stage of the exploration, production and disposition of oil and gas, and to analyse their legal solutions; to outline the legal approach to any special environmental and occupational safety problems posed by oil and gas operations; and to consider how legal regimes for oil and gas exploration and production may be evaluated in terms of political and legal risk.

The aim of the unit is to provide an understanding of the role of government policy within the analytical framework of welfare economics. Questions of central interest include: What are the conditions that justify government intervention? How can policies be designed to support basic principles of social justice? What kinds of reforms promote economic efficiency? Applications will range from taxation and social security to environmental regulation and protection, and will cover the following specific topics: The structure of the Australian tax-benefit system; Uncertainty and social insurance; Unemployment, health and retirement income insurance; Externalities, environmental taxes and tradeable permits; Monopoly and environmental regulation; Utility pricing and access problems; Cost benefit analysis, intergenerational equity and growth. The unit will provide an overview of the main empirical methodologies used in evaluating policy reforms in these areas. Students may select to specialise in one or more of the policy areas.

Refugee Law provides students with a practical and theoretical understanding of the development and operation of international refugee law, and forced migration more broadly. Forced migration is not a new phenomenon. What has changed over the last century is the scale and frequency of the conflagrations causing the mass movement of peoples and the ease with which individuals have become able to move around the world in search of protection. Although Australia's experience of direct refugee flows has been limited, it has not escaped the phenomenon of mobile refugees. Non-citizens who come uninvited and thereafter seek protection as refugees are the source of inordinate public concern and debate. The controversy arises in part from a sense of loss of control of immigration, and also from the cost of the processes available to asylum seekers fighting to remain here. Having signed and ratified the key international treaties, Australia has assumed certain international legal obligations with respect to refugees. The most important is the obligation not to return or 'refoule' a refugee to a place where she or he faces persecution on one of five grounds. This unit is designed to give students a critical understanding of the international legal regime of refugee protection. It begins with an overview of the evolution of refugee law at the international level, considering the various conceptualizations of refugeehood that have characterized international agreements from the period of the League of Nations through to the present day. The unit then turns to issues such as the definition of the term 'refugee' under international (and regional) law, the express exclusion of certain persons from refugee status, the rights and obligations accorded to refugees, the broadening of international protection through principles of human rights and humanitarian law ('complementary protection'), and the impact of terrorism on asylum procedures and eligibility. It considers attempts by States to restrict access to asylum through mechanisms such as carrier sanctions, interdiction, transit processing centres, detention, and 'safe third countries' to which asylum seekers may be removed. Contemporary protection concerns, such as mass influx situations and temporary protection, flight from generalized violence and civil war, internal displacement, burden-sharing, and the question of 'economic migrants' and 'environmental refugees', are also addressed. These considerations necessarily require an understanding of the role of international organizations such UNHCR, the mechanisms in place for refugee status determination and appeals in Australia and abroad, and the jurisprudence that has developed internationally and in Australia relating to the qualification and rights of asylum seekers, refugees and other persons in need of protection.

Thousands of tax disputes arise each year in Australia. This unit aims to equip students with the skills to assist in resolving those disputes, both disputes which go before a court or tribunal and those which are resolved earlier. The unit covers information gathering processes open to the Commissioner of Taxation and taxpayers, the assessment and objection process, review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, tax "appeals" directly to the Federal Court, appeals to the Federal Court, Full Court and High Court, state tax litigation in the NSW Supreme Court and NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, other non Part IVC proceedings (such as administrative and Constitutional challenges, tax debt recovery, promoter penalties, garnishee notices, hardship release and preference proceedings) and alternative dispute resolution. The general topics of legal professional privilege, the rules of evidence, preparing expert evidence and the difference between questions of law and questions of fact or mixed questions are explored as they relate to tax litigation. A guest lecture is usually given by a Federal Court Judge, an Administrative Appeals Tribunal member or both, and there is a skills lecture on written advocacy in tax disputes.

This unit is designed to study the policy, detailed rules and practical application of Australia's international tax treaties against the background of the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital. Upon successful completion of this unit a student should have an advanced understanding of the policies underlying the Australian tax treaty position in relation to the taxation of various kinds of income, as well as a detailed knowledge of the law applicable to interpretation of Australia's treaties. The unit includes a study of: principles of tax treaties; interpretation of tax treaties; and selected articles of the OECD Model and Australian tax treaties.

This unit of study considers a number of specialised topics in the area of tax treaties, largely reflecting the work of the OECD and United Nations on tax treaties currently and in the last decade, particularly the OECD/G20 project on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). Topics covered include a selection of: OECD and UN policy development processes, permanent establishment, high value services and the digital economy, transfer pricing, harmful tax practices, treaty abuse, non-discrimination, entities and tax treaties (especially partnerships and collective investment vehicles), transparency and assistance in collection, dispute resolution, BEPS multilateral instrument. The goal of this unit is to provide in depth analysis of the policy and practical issues in recent tax treaty developments. Upon completion of this unit, students will have a detailed understanding of the current driving forces and issues in the development of tax treaties and other international tax standards.

This unit offers a detailed examination of the regulatory and tax rules affecting the superannuation industry in Australia. The unit will analyse the statutory regulatory framework and the background rules of trust law, how they apply to different industry segments such as SMSFs, APRA regulated funds and constitutionally-protected funds, and how they affect issues such as fund structure and management, duties of trustees, benefit types, investment strategies, the resolution of disputes and so on. The unit will also consider in detail how the income tax, FBT and SGC regimes apply to amounts flowing into and out of the superannuation system (contributions, fund income and expenses, and benefits provided in various forms) for the various participants in the industry (employers, trustees, members, their dependents and estates, external providers). The unit will be taught through the analysis of a series of case studies discussed in detail in each seminar.

This unit, along with LAWS6841 Taxation of Business and Investment Income B, is designed to provide an advanced study of the tax treatment of various important business transactions. It provides a detailed examination of the income tax and capital gains treatment of selected complex commercial transactions and their impact on the tax base. The goal of the unit is to develop an understanding of the policies, detailed rules and current practical problems involved in this area of taxation, through the analysis of a number of specific problems discussed in each seminar. Because of continual change to the taxation system, recent legislative amendments and judicial decisions will be examined in detail where applicable. The unit will cover the following topics: core income and expense rules and operational concepts underlying the income tax system; treatment of realised business income and the differentiation of capital gains; treatment of business expenses and the differentiation of expenses recoverable under depreciation, CGT or not at all; issues in the treatment of trading stock; issues in the tax treatment of the costs (and revenues) associated with business equipment and intangibles. This unit can be taken alone or in conjunction with LAWS6841 Taxation of Business and Investment Income B.

This unit, along with LAWS6840 Tax of Business and Investment Income A, is designed to provide an advanced study of the income and capital gains tax treatment of various complex commercial transactions. The goal of this unit is to develop an understanding of the policies, detailed rules and current practical problems involved in this area of taxation, through the analysis of a number of specific problems that will be discussed in the seminars. Because of continual change to the taxation system, recent legislative amendments and judicial decisions will be examined in detail where applicable.
This unit will cover the following topics: issues in business financing, including asset leasing; tax issues related to the use and development of land and buildings; the treatment of 'black hole' expenses; tax accounting for income, expenses and profits; and specific and general anti-avoidance rules. This unit can be taken alone or in conjunction with LAWS6840 Tax of Business and Investment Income A.

The unit will analyse the current law on the tax treatment of the principal forms of raising corporate finance from sources both in Australia and offshore, in Australian and foreign currencies, and of hedging the various exposures that a taxpayer may have from of its fund-raising and investments. The unit will consider the taxpayer's position both within and outside the TOFA regime. Common forms of innovative financial instruments will be examined, including debt, equity and hybrid instruments, forward and futures contracts, derivative instruments, and various asset-based forms of corporate financing. Selected non-resident withholding tax issues will be examined.

The object of this unit is to examine the policy and practical issues that arise in the tax consolidation regime in Australia. The unit covers: policy and history of grouping and consolidation; entry into consolidation; effects of consolidation; exit from consolidation; losses and bad debts in consolidation; and international rules in consolidation including MEC groups.

The unit will focus on the tax issues arising on the takeover or re-organisation of a corporation. Unique and complex tax issues arise for the corporation, its existing shareholders and, in the case of a takeover, its acquirer. These issues will influence the method of effecting the transaction, the method of financing it and indirectly the price paid. For takeovers, the unit will examine the impact of a takeover on the various tax attributes of the target company, the computation of its income in the year of change, the recovery of its losses and the limits on losses available to shareholders because of the anti-duplication rules. We also consider how the tax system might influence the method of financing the takeover. The unit will also examine the impact for shareholders and the corporation of undertaking the merger of two or more corporations. The unit will also examine the impact for shareholders, intermediaries and the corporation of the de-merger of a corporation from a group of corporations. For reconstructions, the unit will examine the impact for shareholders and the corporation of selected transactions: conversion into corporate form, change of corporate form and the re-capitalisation of a corporation.

This unit examines Australia¿s rules for taxing the income earned from offshore operations. The unit examines the taxation of conducting business and holding investments offshore through foreign branches, companies, trusts, partnerships, and hybrid entities. It also examines the repatriation of profits from these entities, the treatment of the cost of financing these operations and the consequences of offshore reorganisations and relocations. The unit examines in detail Australia¿s CFC rules, transferor trust regime, the FITO regime, thin capitalisation rules and foreign hybrid rules.

The objective of this unit is to examine the policy and practical issues that arise in Australia for the taxation of income derived through partnerships and trusts which are generally transparent for tax purposes. The focus of the course is twofold. First, it looks at the use of these vehicles by small business and in the case of trusts by high wealth individuals. Secondly it looks at the use of these (and other effectively tax-transparent) vehicles for collective investment. Given the recent focus by the government on rewriting the existing rules and developing new vehicles for collective investment, and the failure over many years to rewrite the rules for small business tax-transparent entities, the main emphasis of the unit will be on the recent and on-going developments in relation to collective investment. The goals of the unit are to develop a detailed understanding of the policies, technical rules and practical problems involved in the taxation of partnerships and trusts. Upon successful completion of this unit, students should have an advanced understanding of the technical rules underlying the taxation of partnerships and trusts in a variety of forms and in a variety of commercial situations. The unit covers: problems of taxing entities (partnerships and trusts contrasted with companies); classification of entities for tax purposes; taxation of partners and trust beneficiaries in a small business/high wealth context; taxation of collective investment vehicles mainly in the form of trusts and partnerships, including AMITs and MITs, public trading trusts, LPs, venture capital, foreign hybrids, listed investment companies and investment manager regime.

The common law is an essential part of the Australian legal system, as well as many others around the world. This unit of study examines the nature of the common law from the point of view of jurisprudence. We will begin with a survey of the classic Common Law Theories developed in England during the seventeenth century; from there, a variety of problems surrounding the common law which these theories made salient, and which still puzzle us today, will be examined. Topics include: the nature and authority of precedent, the distinctiveness of legal reasoning, the nature and questions surrounding the validity of customary law, the relation between the common law and the ideal of the rule of law, among others.

This unit seeks to facilitate critical reflection on prominent responses of theorists to a single question: what is law? Among the notions to which their answers refer (and on which the unit focuses) are the following: power, norms, rules, principles, convention, morality, adjudication and interpretation.

The judge has long been an important legal actor in common law countries, but over the past several decades, there has been a rise in judicial power globally, with the proliferation of constitutional courts and the strengthening of judiciaries in countries around the world. This seminar will consider views in jurisprudence which examines the judge, the activity of judging, and the proper role of the judiciary within a legal system and a just society more generally. Among the goals of the seminar are to determine the nature of judicial obligation, how judges ought to decide cases, the arguments for and against judicial review, the role of the judiciary in establishing and maintaining the rule of law, and the relation between the business of courts, politics, and morality.

The unit examines transfer pricing law and practice in Australia and globally. Transfer pricing continues to be rated by tax directors as the number one international tax issue they face. The release of the revised OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations in 2010 and the ongoing projects, the rewrite of the Australian transfer pricing legislation, and the substantial transfer pricing rulings program of the Australian Taxation Office, have together significantly increased the international and Australian materials available on the law and practice in transfer pricing. Students will gain an understanding of the policy, and detailed application of transfer pricing rules within Australia and an understanding of the international framework.