Building and Construction Law (11287.1)

Please note these are the 2021 details for this unit
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Building and Construction Law
Available teaching periods Delivery mode Location
View teaching periods On-campus
Online real-time
 Bruce, Canberra
EFTSL Credit points Faculty
0.125 3 Faculty Of Business, Government & Law
Discipline Study level HECS Bands
Canberra Law School Level 2 - Undergraduate Intermediate Unit Band 4 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan 2021)
Band 4 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan Social Work_Exclude 0905)
Band 5 2021 (Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021)
This unit traverses:
- the dynamics of the building and construction industries and the law
- the structure of legal regulation of the building industry
- the players in a building project and their legal status
- the building contract
- securities over the site, the contract and assignment
- payment claims
- building disputes
- the building site as a workplace
- completion of the building contract.

This unit may be co-taught with a G version of the unit.

Learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to: 1. Identify and explain the nature and sources of the law generally, and specifically the law relating to building and construction, as well as its administration;
2. Identify and explain the frameworks within which building law operates at the local, state, national and international levels;
3. Identify and analyse standard industry contracts and their functions; and
4. Explain and analyse the operation of building law and the legal rights and obligations of the players in the building and construction industries.


Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - take pride in their professional and personal integrity
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
2. UC graduates are global citizens - adopt an informed and balanced approach across professional and international boundaries
2. UC graduates are global citizens - behave ethically and sustainably in their professional and personal lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - make creative use of technology in their learning and professional lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - think globally about issues in their profession
2. UC graduates are global citizens - understand issues in their profession from the perspective of other cultures
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development


Prerequisites

Students must have passed 36 credit points of study including one of the following: 11220 Business Law OR 11277 Contract Law.

Corequisites

None.

Equivalent units

7827 Building and Construction Law

Assumed knowledge

None.
Availability for enrolment in 2026 is subject to change and may not be confirmed until closer to the teaching start date.
Year Location Teaching period Teaching start date Delivery mode Unit convener
2025 Bruce, Canberra Semester 2 28 July 2025 On-campus Miss Ekaterina Danilova
2025 Bruce, Canberra Semester 2 28 July 2025 Online real-time Miss Ekaterina Danilova
2026 Bruce, Canberra Semester 2 10 August 2026 On-campus Miss Ekaterina Danilova
2026 Bruce, Canberra Semester 2 10 August 2026 Online real-time Miss Ekaterina Danilova
Not available

Required texts

Prescribed Text (it is strongly recommended that you acquire your own copy):

Jeremy Coggins, Phil Evans and Tom Davie, Understanding Construction Law (Lexis Nexis Butterworths, 2nd ed, 2020) [‘CE&D']

Recommended Reading (you are not expected to acquire any of these, however you might find their approach suits your reading style more and there will be multiple copies on short loan in the library – some are more in-depth and others are more introductory than the prescribed text):

Ian Bailey, Construction Law in Australia (Thomson Reuters, 4th ed, 2018)

Damien Cremean, Michael Whitten and Michael Sharkey, Brooking on Building Contracts (Lexis Nexis Butterworths, 6th ed, 2019)

Phillip Davenport and Helen Durham, Construction Claims (Federation Press, 3rd, ed 2013)

Paula Gerber and Brennan J Ong, Best Practice in Construction Disputes (Lexis Nexis Butterworths, 2013)

Marcus Jacobs, Security of Payment in the Australian Building and Construction Industry (Thomson Reuters, 6th ed, 2016)

Submission of assessment items

Special assessment requirements

General University policy on special assessment requirements applies.

Special assessment, such as extensions and special conditions, should be applied for in writing or email, supported by a justification and evidence.

You are advised to consult the Inclusion and Engagement team if you have an ongoing issue which may affect your studies, particularly if your claim is based on illness, personal hardship or disability: Inclusion and Engagement

Supplementary assessment

The University of Canberra policy on supplementary assessment applies: Assessment Procedures Policy. To be eligible for supplementary assessment, a student must: be enrolled in their final semester of study; have failed a single unit, with a final mark between 45-49% in the unit; and have passed all other units undertaken in that semester. The failed unit must be the final unit required to complete the academic requirements of their course.

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the Academic Integrity Module annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Participation requirements

Students are expected to prepare for the tutorials and participate actively in the tutorials. It will be expected that the prescribed reading for a topic has been done in advance of the lecture or tutorial. This is required in order for you to achieve the best possible learning, or at minimum, the standard required to succeed in this Unit. This Unit includes an Assignment requiring a tutorial presentation and participation, and attendence at tutorials is highly encouraged. 

Required IT skills

The Unit Canvas site is a very significant medium of communication for the Unit and all written assessments must be submitted in electronic form. Students require basic computer, internet and word processing skills.

If you feel that you lack these, or any other academic study skills, you should consult the Learning & Academic Success Network.

In-unit costs

Your participation will be greatly assisted by –

  • purchasing the prescribed text, instead of using a copy on three hour reserve in the library, and
  • having access to computing facilities and the internet at home, instead of using only university computer labs.

Work placement, internships or practicums

This is not a WIL unit, however experience gained through working or volunteering at an organisation with connections to the building and construction industry, legal practice in the area, or a relevant dispute resolution role will be extremely useful.

Problem-solving in tutorials is based on issues that one can expect to encounter in building and legal practice.