LAW 3505 - Aboriginal Peoples and the Law

North Terrace Campus - Trimester 3 - 2024

A critical analysis of the legal and historical relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples. The course will consider topics chosen from: the theory, policy and law relating to Aboriginal sovereignty, self-government, native title, cultural heritage protection, customary law and identity and constitutional recognition. It will look at Aboriginal challenges to government law and policy, including reparations for the stolen generations and claims of genocide. The course will analyse these topics predominantly through a series of major case studies, and studies of particular legislative schemes.

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Course Details

Course Code	LAW 3505
Course	Aboriginal Peoples and the Law
Coordinating Unit	Adelaide Law School
Term	Trimester 3
Level	Undergraduate Law (LLB)
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Intensive
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Prerequisites	LAW 1501
Incompatible	LAW 2026
Restrictions	Available to LLB and B.Criminology with B.Laws and BArts Advanced with B.Laws students only
Assessment	Typically to include group work and an essay or exam.

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Laura Grenfell

Other staff teaching this course are: Associate Professor Peter Burdon, Dr Anna Olijnyk and Dr Shane Chalmers.
Dr Grenfell can be contacted via email at laura.grenfell@adelaide.edu.au or by phone at 8313 5777.

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Course Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

(1) Reflect critically on Aboriginal perspectives on white law and its impact on Aboriginal culture and law;

(2) Analyse and evaluate primary and secondary materials with a critical understanding of how the law impacts on Aboriginal peoples at structural and individual levels;

(3) Recognise and assess the effect of multiple barriers facing Aboriginal peoples in accessing and engaging with white law;

(4) Communicate clearly and concisely in written form; and

(5) Communicate orally about legal principles and institutions and their impact on Aboriginal peoples.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Attribute 1: Deep discipline knowledge and intellectual breadth Graduates have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of their subject area, the ability to engage with different traditions of thought, and the ability to apply their knowledge in practice including in multi-disciplinary or multi-professional contexts.	1, 2, 3
Attribute 2: Creative and critical thinking, and problem solving Graduates are effective problems-solvers, able to apply critical, creative and evidence-based thinking to conceive innovative responses to future challenges.	1, 2, 3
Attribute 3: Teamwork and communication skills Graduates convey ideas and information effectively to a range of audiences for a variety of purposes and contribute in a positive and collaborative manner to achieving common goals.	1, 4, 5
Attribute 4: Professionalism and leadership readiness Graduates engage in professional behaviour and have the potential to be entrepreneurial and take leadership roles in their chosen occupations or careers and communities.	1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Attribute 5: Intercultural and ethical competency Graduates are responsible and effective global citizens whose personal values and practices are consistent with their roles as responsible members of society.	1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Attribute 6: Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural competency Graduates have an understanding of, and respect for, Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander values, culture and knowledge.	1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Attribute 7: Digital capabilities Graduates are well prepared for living, learning and working in a digital society.	4
Attribute 8: Self-awareness and emotional intelligence Graduates are self-aware and reflective; they are flexible and resilient and have the capacity to accept and give constructive feedback; they act with integrity and take responsibility for their actions.	1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Learning Resources

Required Resources

There is no required textbook for this course but please see recommended resources. Readings will be made available via course readings on MyUni.

Recommended Resources

A useful textbook for this course is: Davis et al, Indigenous Legal Issues: Commentary and Materials (4th ed 2009). Note that this is not a required textbook and needs updating but it could be of assistance to you.

Other recommended resources are:

Irene Watson, Aboriginal Peoples, Colonialism and International Law: Raw Law (2014)

Behrendt et al (eds), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Relations (2nd ed OUP 2019)

Christine F Black, The Land is the Source of the Law: A Dialogic Encounter with Indigenous Jurisprudence (Routledge, 2011)

Alex Reilly, Anne Curthoys and Ann Genovese, Rights and Redemption: History, Law and Indigenous People (2012, UNSW Press).

Shaun Berg (ed), Coming to Terms: Aboriginal Title in South Australia (2010);

Elliott Johnston, Martin Hinton and Daryle Rigney (eds), Indigenous Australians and the Law (2nd ed, 2008)

Sarah Maddison and Morgan Brigg (eds), Unsettling the settler state: creativity and resistance in indigenous settler-state governance (2010)

Henry Reynolds, The Law of the Land (Penguin, 1992)

Aileen Moreton-Robinson, The White Possessive: Property, Power and Indigenous Sovereignty (University of Minnesota Press 2015)

Christopher Alcantara, Negotiating the Deal: Comprehensive Land Claims Agreements in Canada (University of Toronto Press, 2013).

Sean Brennan, Larissa Behrendt, Lisa Strelein and George Williams,Treaty (Federation Press, 2005).

Sean Brennan, Megan Davis, Brendan Edgeworth and Leon Terrill (eds), Native Title from Mabo to Akiba: A Vehicle for Change and Empowerment? (Federation Press 2015)

Ben Saul, Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights: International and Regional Jurisprudence (Hart Publishing, 2016)

The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Reports Vols 1-3

Online Learning

The course is supported by the Aboriginal Peoples and the Law MyUni website. The website contains links to the following resources:

Course information; Course materials; and Grades.

MyUni will also be used to post announcements, and assignment tasks. Students are expected to check MyUni regularly to keep up to date with these materials and additional learning resources throughout the course.

Students should also regularly check their email.
Learning & Teaching Activities

Learning & Teaching Modes

The course involves a mandatory 3 day field trip in the first week of mid semester break in late September (Exact dates to be confirmed). The field trip will cost each student approximately $360 to cover transport, accommodation, and some meals.

Please contact the course coordinator if this cost is likely to pose a barrier to your enrolment - we will seek out funding to assist those students who can show financial stress.

Before the field trip we will meet to discuss the logistics of the field trip and to reflect on Indigenous methodologies/epistemologies.

Following the field trip we will have 4 intensive days in the class room (on the Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday of the second week of the mid semester break - approx six hours each). It is expected that students will attend at least three out of four intensive days.

Enrolments in this course are capped due to limited accommodation available for the field trip.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

Students in this course are expected to attend every day of the course and to actively participate as the design of the course depends upon active engagment. Students will be given pre-reading and the expectation is that it will be completed. Please refer to Access Adelaide for your timetable and enrolment details.

Learning Activities Summary

The Learning Activities will include a mandatory field trip involving on-country engagement with an Aboriginal guide/elder/s and four intensive days (6 hours each) in the classroom looking at topical issues in Australia and other settler states.

Class 1 and 2 - Field trip

Class 3 –Land Rights and the Politics of Native Title

Class 4 – Encounter

Class 5 – Aboriginal People and the Constitution

Class 6 – International Human Rights Law and Indigenous Peoples

*Please note that these learning activities are subject to change. For the latest information please consult Myuni.

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment item	% of final mark	Dates	Length	Individual or Group Activity?	Redeemable?	Learning Outcomes
Participation	10%	Throughout the course	N/A	Individual	non-redeemable	1, 2, 3, 5
Reflection	10%	Monday 9am, second week of mid-semester break	750 words (max)	Individual	non-redeemable	1, 2, 3, 4
Group Presentation	20%	On various dates of intensive teaching	3-5 minutes per speaker (groups of 2-4)	Group	non-redeemable	1, 2, 3, 5
Final research essay	60%	Monday 25th November at 2pm	3000 words (max)	Individual	non-redeemable	1,2, 3, 4

Assessment Detail

Class Participation (10%)

The class participation mark is comprised of attendance, level of preparation and contribution to small and large group discussions. Students must attend at least 3 out of 4 intensive days in the classroom in order to receive a pass for this item of assessment.

Reflection (10%, 750 words (max))

For the Reflection mark students will write a reflection of no more than 750 words (max) on (i) the study trip and (ii) 1-2 chapters (of the student’s choice) of Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia edited by Anita Heiss (2018). Students will receive some questions to guide their reflections.

Presentation (20%, 3-5 minutes per student, groups of 2-4 students)

Students will be required to give a presentation in groups of 2-4 in the class during the 4 intensive days in the classroom. Students will be given materials to assist them prepare the presentation. The presentation should be interactive where possible and classmates will have the opportunity to ask questions. Each student will be given 3-5 minutes for their presentation.

Research Paper (60%, 3,000 words (max))

For this research essay, students will undertake a substantial amount of independent research on a topic of their choice from a list of topics provided. Students will be given scope to include a comparative aspect to their research. Students will be evaluated on their ability to provide balanced and well-reasoned argument, their ability to demonstrate critical thinking skills, their ability to use materials that are relevant, credible and up to date.

Submission

Students must retain a copy of all assignments submitted.

All assignments in this course are to be submitted electronically through Turnitin. Details for electronic submission through Turnitin will be provided with the assignment instructions. All assessments will be submitted and monitored through text or code comparative software (e.g. Turnitin) where possible.

All written work in the Law school is required to comply with the approved Law School style guide, The Australian Guide to Legal Citation.

Extensions:
Requests for extensions must be made electronically according to law school policy. Extensions will be granted only for unexpected illness, hardship or on compassionate grounds in accordance with University Policy. Work commitments, travel, holidays or sporting engagements are not unexpected circumstances.

Penalties:

Late Submission: Submission penalties of 5% (of the total mark of the assignment) each day (or part thereof) will be deducted for late submission (including weekends and public holidays), (ie an essay graded 63% will have 5 % deducted if it is one day late, for a final mark of 58%, 10% if it is two days, etc).

Word Length: Assignments which exceed the allocated length (word length or page limit) will be subject to a penalty of 5% of total marks available per 100 words or part thereof (ie with a word limit of 3,000, an essay graded 63% will have 5% deducted if it is 3001 words long, for a final grade of 58%, 10% if it is 3101 words long, etc). Words are calculated including all footnotes and headings within the text but excluding cover page information. Quotations and all referencing information are included in the word count.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Finality of Assessment Grades

Students are advised that Course Coordinators will not enter into negotiations of any kind with any student regarding changes to their grades. It is irrelevant, in any given circumstance, that only a minimal number of additional marks are required to inflate a student’s grade for any individual assessment item or course as a whole. Pursuant to the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policyand the Adelaide Law School Assessment Policies and Procedures, grades may only be varied through the appropriate channels for academic review (such as an official re-mark).

Moderation

In accordance with the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, course coordinators ‘ensure that appropriate marking guidelines and cross-marking moderation processes across markers are in place’ in each course. Procedures adopted by Adelaide Law School to ensure consistency of marking in courses with multiple markers include:

assurance of the qualifications of markers, and their knowledge of the content covered in each course;
detailed marking guidelines and assessment rubrics to assist in the marking of items of assessment;
sharing of example marked assessments at various grade bands across markers;
reviewing of selected marked assessments from each marker by the course coordinator;
comparison of the marks and their distribution across markers;
automatic double-marking of all interim assessment receiving a fail grade, and of final assessments where a student’s overall result is a fail grade;
the availability of re-marking of assessments in accordance with Adelaide Law School’s Assessment Policies and Procedures.

Approval of Results by Board of Examiners

Students are reminded that all assessment results are subject to approval (and possible moderation/change) by the Law School’s Board of Examiners. Assessment results at the University are not scaled. Under the Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, students are assessed ‘by reference to their performance against pre-determined criteria and standards … and not by ranking against the performance of the student cohort in the course’. However, under that same policy, the Board of Examiners (as the relevant Assessment Review Committee for courses at Adelaide Law School) is required to ‘ensure comparability of standards and consistency’ in assessment. On occasions, the Board of Examiners will form the view that some moderation is required to ensure the comparability of standards and consistency across courses and years, and accordingly provide fairness to all law students. All assessment results are therefore subject to approval (and possible change) until confirmed by the Board of Examiners and posted on Access Adelaide at the end of each semester.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

Student feedback

The course is constantly being updated and revised to reflect the evolution of the law, to respond to student feedback, and to engage with the latest teaching practices. Student feedback is collected each time the course is run, including through SELT reports. Previous SELT reports, and staff feedback on them, are posted on the course MyUni site for students to view and consider.
Student Support
The University Writing Centre provides academic learning and language development services and resources for local, international, undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students enrolled at the University of Adelaide.

The centre offers practical advice and strategies for students to master reading, writing, note-taking, time management, oral presentation skills, referencing techniques and exam preparation for success at university through seminars, workshops and individual consultations.

Lex Salus Program
Lex Salus (law and wellbeing) is an initiative of the Adelaide Law School aimed at destigmatising mental health issues; promoting physical, mental and emotional wellness; building a strong community of staff and students; and celebrating diversity within the school. It also seeks to promote wellness within the legal profession, through the involvement of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia, the Honourable Chris Kourakis, as the official Patron of the program.

Students can participate in the Lex Salus program by attending barbecue lunches, pancake breakfasts, knitting and crochet circles, seminars, guest speakers, conferences and other activities. Our Facebook page, website and regular all-student emails promote upcoming events, and have tips and information on wellness.

Our Lex Salus YouTube channel also includes videos on topics like managing stress, and interviews with LGBTQ lawyers and their supporters which celebrate diversity and individuality. Students who commit to 10 hours of volunteering with Lex Salus in one year can have their service recognised on their academic transcript and through a thank you morning tea with the Chief Justice and law school staff.

Student Life Counselling Support
The University’s Student Life Counselling Support service provides free and confidential service to all enrolled students. We encourage you to contact the Student Life Counselling Support service on 8313 5663 to make an appointment to deal with any issues that may be affecting your study and life.
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Academic Integrity
All students must be familiar with the University’s Academic Integrity Policy. Academic Misconduct is a serious matter and is treated as such by the Law School and the University. Academic Misconduct (which goes beyond plagiarism) can be a ground for a refusal by the Supreme Court of South Australia to admit a person to practice as a legal practitioner in South Australia. Academic Integrity is an essential aspect of ethical and honest behaviour, which is central to the practice of the law and an understanding of what it is to be a lawyer.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator