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All Saints Anglican School

Business Department

Legal StudiesName _____________________________ Teacher A Stewart

Instrument DetailsYear Level 12

Semester Two Year 2018

Assessment Item Nine

Topic Independent Inquiry

Technique Extended Response – Extended Research Response

Dimensions Assessed D1 – Knowing and understanding the law

D2 – Investigating legal issues

D3 – Responding to the law

ConditionsPre-Submission 8th August

To complete pre-submission, all work must be printed and given to Ms Stewart. Failure to do so will result in an academic detention.

Submission Due 21st August

Word Limit 1000 – 1500 words

Turn-It-In Compulsory

Support Consultation only – to be arranged on date of pre-submission.

Use of own time and class time will be permitted.

Knowing and understanding the law

Investigating legal issues

Responding to the law

(see dimensions over page) (see dimensions over page) (see dimensions over page)

Standard A Standard B Standard C Standard D Standard E

Kno

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d un

ders

tand

ing

the

law The student work has the following characteristics:

appropriate definition and comprehensive description of facts showing discriminating use of legal terminology

thorough and effective explanation of a comprehensive range of legal concepts and processes

coherent and effective communication of meaning using well-chosen language conventions suited to purpose and audience.

appropriate definition and detailed description of facts using relevant legal terminology

detailed explanation of a range of legal concepts and processes

clear communication of meaning using appropriate language conventions suited to purpose and audience.

definition and description of facts using legal terminology

explanation of legal concepts and processes

communication of meaning using language conventions suited to purpose and audience.

partial definition or simple description of some facts using legal terminology

simple explanation of some legal concepts and processes

communication using language conventions suited to aspects of the purpose and audience.

statement of facts using some legal terminology

statement of aspects of legal concepts and processes

communication using inconsistent language conventions.

Inve

stig

atin

g le

gal i

ssue

s The student work has the following characteristics: discerning selection and

organisation of legal information from relevant and valid sources

thorough and discriminating analysis of legal situations to identify and examine relevant legal issues and stakeholder’s perspectives

discerning application of legal concepts and processes to legal issues to determine logical legal outcomes.

purposeful selection and organisation of legal information from relevant sources

detailed and informed analysis of legal situations to identify and examine relevant legal issues and stakeholder’s perspectives

systematic application of legal concepts and processes to legal issues to determine logical legal outcomes.

selection and organisation of legal information from sources

analysis of legal situations to identify and examine legal issues and stakeholder’s perspectives

application of legal concepts and processes to legal issues to determine appropriate legal outcomes

selection and organisation of aspects of legal information from some sources

simple analysis of legal situations to identify and examine some legal issues and/or stakeholder perspectives

partial application of some legal concepts and/or processes to legal issues to determine legal outcomes.

selection of obvious information

identification of some legal issues and/or stakeholder perspectives

identification of some legal concepts and/or processes relating to aspects of legal issues.

R e The student work has the following characteristics:

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spon

ding

to th

e la

w

discerning evaluation of the law and stakeholder responses

discerning decisions and insightful recommendations made about the suitability of legal outcomes and their implications

convincing and reasoned justification of decisions and recommendations using evidence and legal reasoning.

effective evaluation of the law and stakeholder responses

relevant decisions and logical recommendations made about the suitability of legal outcomes and their implications

valid and logical justification of decisions and recommendations using evidence and legal reasoning.

evaluation of the law and stakeholder responses

decisions and recommendations made about the suitability of legal outcomes and their implications

justification of decisions and recommendations using evidence and legal reasoning.

simple evaluation of the aspects of the law and/or stakeholder responses

simple decisions and/or recommendations made about suitability of legal outcomes and/or their implications

simple justification of decisions and/or recommendations.

description of aspects of the law and/or stakeholder responses

statement of decisions and/or opinions

justification inconsistent with decisions and/or recommendations.

Comments…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………………………..………………………..…………………

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Aim of the Task

All assignments must be submitted on or before the beginning of the class period on the due date. If you are away on the day, you must email a copy of your assignment by 8.30am on the due date and then submit your assignment to Ms Stewart (accompanied by a medical certificate on your first day back at school). Your parent/guardian is also required to telephone the college on the day of absence. Requests for extensions must be submitted to Ms Stewart for consideration a minimum of 1 week before the due date.

I acknowledge my son/daughter has an assignment due on 21st August 2018

Signature of Parent/Guardian ________________________________________________

RESEARCH UNIT

The research unit has been designed to assist you with the integration and personalisation of various aspects of your previous learnings in Legal Studies. The intention is for you to undertake ONE of the following types of investigations by:

You are required to submit a written inquiry that addresses a controversial legal issue facing contemporary Australian society. The aim of your inquiry is to prove or disprove a hypothesis statement that you have developed in respect to the controversial legal issue you have selected.

It is expected that the legal issue will be one where there is a difference of opinion, or even tensions, between different stakeholders. Your task is to endeavour to reconcile these different opinions and to come to a conclusion based on evidence. This should include suggestions for law reform.

There are four phases of development in this inquiry task:

1. An explanation of the legal concepts and processes that relate to your chosen hypothesis.

2. An analysis of contemporary legal situations to identify and examine legal issues and stakeholders’ perspectives.

3. An evaluation of the effectiveness and relevance of the existing laws and legal processes.

4. The development of justified recommendations for law reform.

Your research should include a variety of learning methodologies, for example case law, statutes, investigations within the community, interviews and surveys, statistics and data analysis, collection and interpretation of articles, literature review, audio-visual & TV materials and the Internet.

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GUIDELINES FOR THE TASK

KNOWING AND UNDERSTANDING THE LAWDefine the problem or issue, which you are investigating. State the relevant laws which currently apply to this issue. Identify, summarise and explain the existing state of law (if relevant, in comparison to previous laws or the laws of other jurisdictions), including its sources, function and purpose.

Communication is also assessed under this Dimension. Communication should be sequential and fluent. Ensure language conventions are correctly used and legal terms are stated clearly, concisely and accurately. Ensure that you submit your findings in correct report genre and stick to the word limit.

INVESTIGATING LEGAL ISSUESIdentify the main legal principles that relate to the topic that you have chosen and analyse whether the current application of the legal principles to the matters in dispute provide legally justifiable responses and solutions. Make sure you have a thorough and discriminating analysis of legal situations to identify and examine relevant legal issues and stakeholder’s perspectives Analyse the results of your survey/interview and comment on the views reflected in your findings.

RESPONDING TO THE LAWComment on how effectively the current laws deals with competing social interests in our community. Evaluate the law and stakeholder responses. Make and justify recommendations for improvements in the law that will serve the competing social interests in the fairest way in the future. What reforms do you envisage as essential? What are the legal and social consequences of these reforms? Are these reforms acceptable to our present society and our current legal system? Justify these reforms (consider justice, fairness, ethics and limitation of our legal system).

REQUIREMENTS OF THE TASK(a) You are required to choose a current, relevant issue of your choice. You can use the suggested list or a topic

in consultation with your teacher.

(b) From the topic chosen you will develop a well reasoned hypothesis which must then be negotiated with your teacher. You will then develop this hypothesis into a thesis. Your report must either prove or disprove your thesis using an argumentative style approach .

(c) As part of your research, you are to conduct a public opinion poll or interview on the issue selected. You must include an appropriately designed questionnaire OR interview (on google forms or another appropriate medium) that has been designed to reflect and emphasize the points made in your assignment. Some of the results of your survey should be presented in the form of a graph and should be included as an appendix to your report. You must refer to these findings in your report. The appendix should also contain a clear copy of the survey. Alternatively, instead of a survey, you can conduct an interview with a relevant person or community organisation in relation to your issue. You must include notes taken from your interview in your appendix, as well as the questions asked of the interviewee. You may do both the survey and the interview.

(d) It is strongly recommended that you include current case studies/legislation in your appendix that you refer to in your assignment. Use CORRECT legal citation methodology.

(e) Your investigation into the issue should then produce a well reasoned and documented RESEARCH REPORT covering all criteria.

(f) You must include, separate to the Research Report, a 150 – 200 word written discussion on completing the assignment. Include difficulties you experienced as well as the learnings outcomes you achieved. This can be written in first person. You will submit this AFTER the Bibliography and BEFORE the Turnitin receipt.

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You are to complete a 1000 – 1500 word RESEARCH REPORT on your chosen topic.

Selecting a Topic

1. Choose a topic that you are truly interested in as you will be doing it for 5 weeks.2. Look for topics that have a lot of debate and where you can find existing legislation and cases.3. Try and avoid topics that involve International Law or Bipartisan Treaties as the law may be difficult to

ascertain.4. Ensure you are not taking on a topic that is too complex which you cannot resolve in 1500

words.5. Choose one part of a larger issue (Eg Q11, Q12 and Q13 are one part of the Family Law unit)

You are to negotiate a hypothesis statement with your teacher. You will then develop this into a thesis. You may focus on one of the following areas of law: (NOTE: Only one student in the class may select a hypothesis or focus/thematic statement. The first student to return their outline will have the topic reserved for them.)

1. The role of law in shaping the experiences of Indigenous Australians - propose changes to legal systems to make them more (democratic and) socially just. You could also look at the rights of ownership of land granted to indigenous Australians in accordance with their traditional law and customs.

2. The $30 million payout and apology awarded to Palm Island residents in May 2018, over the infamous 2004 riots should be just the beginning of changes to address the way indigenous Queenslanders are dealt with by police, including such practices as police officers writing statements for indigenous witnesses.

3. Should police investigate complaints within the police force or should this be the responsibility of the Crime and Misconduct Commission or in fact another regulatory body? For example, this was been a big public debate with the CMC investigations into Cameron Doomadgee's death in custody.

4. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are 14 times more likely to be in prison than non-Indigenous people and make up 27% of the adult prison population, despite being only 3% of the overall population. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women now make up 34% of the female prison population which is a 148% increase since 1991. Commonwealth, state and territory governments must overhaul the justice system to reduce the massive over-representation of Indigenous people in gaol. The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) inquiry, led by federal court judge Matthew Myers, was commissioned by the Federal Government to investigate whether courts, police and prisons were contributing to the over-incarceration of First Nations people. The inquiry found the answer was yes, because the justice system was often entrenching inequalities by not providing enough sentencing options and diversion programs for Indigenous offenders. Our current system is failing indigenous Australians. Investigate the “Pathways to Justice—An Inquiry into the Incarceration Rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples” and make recommendations as to how we can improve our current system in relation to Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

5. Australia has the world’s highest rate of juvenile detention with the mother of all gaolers, the United States of America, ranked second behind Australia. The juvenile detention rate gets worse, the more west we travel across the Australian continent, with the Northern Territory and Western Australia highest. Nearly 100 per cent of children in juvenile detention live below the poverty line. Juvenile detention centres

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and adult prisons are firmaments of institutional racism and classism and we see ridiculous situations and tragedies such as that of 15 year old Aboriginal orphan Johnno Warramarrba who whilst at Don Dale juvenile detention centre, took his life only days after being locked up for $90 worth of ‘crimes’. One in four of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander males have been to prison. The suicides are increasing, the number of people gaoled increasing. The system is failing our Indigenous youth. Investigate and evaluate this serious social inequality. (Topic 6 is broader)

6. Restorative justice conferencing is a police diversionary strategy used extensively in Australian jurisdictions to channel young offenders away from formal court processing. Many critics believe that we have not gone far enough to address the growing rate of juvenile crime whereas others believe we are far too harsh. Investigate and evaluate this contentious topic.

7. On the 8th June 2018, a historic MOU was signed. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed at Barunga Festival in the Aboriginal community of Barunga, about 400km south-west of Darwin, and will outline a future treaty between Aboriginal traditional owners and the Government. This has been thirty years in the making. At the 1988 Barunga Sport and Culture festival, then-prime minister Bob Hawke was presented with the Barunga Statement, which was a declaration of self-determination and a call for a treaty. In response, Mr Hawke promised a nationwide treaty with Indigenous Australians, but that never eventuated. The policy was later abandoned in favour of a policy of reconciliation, and to this day, the Barunga Statement sits in Parliament House in Canberra. The calls for state-based treaties are part of a national conversation; there's a push for a treaty between the Federal Government and Indigenous Australians, embodied in the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which called for a Makaratta (treaty) and an assembly of First Nations people advising Parliament. The Uluru Statement was the end point of six months of consultations commissioned by the Federal Government to determine whether constitutional change was supported by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Hundreds of influential Indigenous Australians attended a three-day summit at Uluru in 2017 and a majority endorsed a referendum to establish a permanent Indigenous advisory body. However, the Federal Government has rejected that idea, saying that it would consider the calls for a treaty and a truth and justice commission, but would not proceed on a referendum to establish an Indigenous advisory body in the constitution. Investigate and evaluate.

8. Indigenous women are 45 times more likely than non-Indigenous women to be the subject of family violence, and more likely to be seriously injured. The legal system is failing indigenous women in this position and changes to legislation targeting domestic violence have not really addressed the serious issue in indigenous communities.

9. Income management was first introduced in 2007 as part of the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) to allegations of child abuse in specific Indigenous communities. Income management’ is an arrangement under which 50 to 100% of a person’s social security and family payments is ‘quarantined’ to be spent only on ‘priority goods and services’, such as food, housing, clothing, education and health care. Welfare quarantining was the cornerstone of the Howard government's 2007 intervention, designed to tackle child abuse in remote indigenous communities. The income management legislation was implemented by the Australian Government as a ‘special measure’ for the purposes of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) (RDA). In 2010, the income management regime was amended following legal challenges to the NTER legislation on the basis of racial discrimination. Many argue that it has failed whilst equally many argue that it has helped to decrease social problems such as alcohol abuse and family violence. Investigate and evaluate the effectiveness of this. (You could also go wider than this as the Northern Territory amended the legislation so that it targets all at-risk people, not just Indigenous Australians. The new scheme applies to the long-term unemployed, young people on benefits such as Youth Allowance and the Parenting Payment for more than three months, those at risk of financial crisis or domestic abuse and individuals referred by child protection authorities.)

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10. Australia has been experimenting with constraining the ways in which welfare recipients can spend their income support payments, limiting their ability to access cash and purchase some products. The policy objectives include to reduce spending on alcohol, gambling, and tobacco in favour of meeting ‘basic’ family needs, especially for children, to limit the scope for financial harassment, encourage pro-social behaviours, and build financial capabilities. The policy has primarily impacted on Indigenous Australians as a result of its geographic targeting, although a recent report has recommended a more stringent version of the program be introduced universally to all welfare recipients other than the aged. The Cashless Debit Card has been designed to help disadvantaged communities decrease the level of consumption of drugs, alcohol and gambling which impacts on the health and wellbeing of communities, families and children. The trial began in Ceduna, South Australia on 15 March 2016, and Kununurra and Wyndham, Western Australia on 26 April 2016. As a result, the Income Management program in these regions was suspended but continued to operate in other locations across the country. In 2018, it was extended to areas in Queensland such as Hervey Bay and the Wide Bay region. Under the scheme 80 per cent of a person's welfare income is quarantined on a debit-style card, which cannot be used on alcohol, gambling or to withdraw cash. It applies to people under the age of 35 who receive dole and parenting payments. At the end of the day it's not their money, it's taxpayers' money which is being provided for the basics — accommodation, food, transportation, education and it is not unjust to quarantine their Centrelink benefits. Develop a hypothesis around this issue.

11. Children would be able to be identified as “intersex” or “non-binary” on their birth certificates under a controversial proposal being considered by the State Government. A new discussion paper into how to recognise sex and gender diversity which has been commissioned by Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath, is looking into whether gender-neutral terms could be incorporated into the birth, adoption and death registers. The paper says there are “limitations’’ under the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act which has not been reviewed since its introduction in 2004, to how sex- and gender-diverse people living in Queensland can be recognised. Investigate this proposal and make recommendations as to the feasibility of doing this.

12. The Family Court of Australia will be scrapped and rolled into a new, larger court, as part of the biggest change to the family law system since its creation in 1976. In an effort to resolve more efficiently acrimonious custody and property disputes that can drag on for years, the Family Court will be merged with the lower-level Federal Circuit Court, while its appeal division will be stripped and handed to the Federal Court, potentially sparking an immediate constitutional challenge from judges. The reforms could also cause a backlash from lawyers, who want specialist judges handling family law cases, which often involve complex issues such as child sexual abuse and domestic violence. The new court — to be named the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia and established from 1st January 2019 — would resolve disputes more quickly, cheaply and consistently than the existing, split family law system. Investigate and evaluate.

13. Supreme Court Justice Martin Burns was woken in the early hours of August 24, 2016 to be in court in Brisbane at 4.30am. It’s unusual for the court to sit so early but in this case, it was necessary as shortly before, Josh Davies had taken his own life and his fiancée, Ayla Cresswell wanted to have the option of having his child. Justice Burns ordered Davies’ testes and any sperm be removed and held by an IVF provider. On 20th June 2018, the Supreme Court made the orders in a landmark decision,subject to a number of conditions, including that Ms Cresswell was the only person who had a relevant interest in the sperm and the practitioners who removed the sperm did so for her benefit. The court further decided the sperm was capable of being deemed "property" and that Ms Cresswell was entitled to permanent possession of it. Never before in Queensland has the sperm of a dead person been allowed to be extracted and then used for the purposes of procreation, and legislation is needed to keep up with both the technology and "developing morality" around this area. Justice Brown noted in her reasons that there were “conflicting views in society” about this controversial area of law. In her 51-page decision handed down, Justice Brown noted the Law Reform Commission may need to consider examining whether changes are needed to the law. There are no laws in Queensland which apply to the use of sperm after

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death — this is the first case of its kind in the state. Examine this controversial issue and come to a conclusion making sure that you address all stakeholders.

14. The Federal Government plans to make sweeping amendments to another key anti-espionage bill as it presses Parliament to pass its full suite of laws cracking down on foreign interference. On 7th June 2018, a bipartisan parliamentary committee hammered out a compromise on a bill (National Security Legislation Amendment (Espionage and Foreign Interference) Bill 2017) introducing tough new penalties for foreign interference and sabotage, paving the way for it to pass Parliament this month. The purpose of the legislation, unveiled late last year, is to "comprehensively reform key offences dealing with threats to national security, particularly those posed by foreign principals". Charities, universities and some business groups have all criticised the bill stating that the espionage bill still threatens whistleblowers, bloggers, lawyers and people who innocently receive national security information. At its core, what this legislation does is to criminalise foreign interference that is one step below espionage. ASIO has always been able to investigate such interference, but it hasn't actually been a criminal offence. The Coalition also wants to enforce another contentious piece of legislation which would force those lobbying on behalf of foreign governments to put themselves on a public register. The Government has insisted both bills are needed to combat the "rapidly escalating" threat of foreign interference. Under this bill, charities, including Amnesty, who hold the Australian Government to account on its human rights record could face criminal charges. Investigate and evaluate how we balance the need to crack down on foreign interference and the rights of other stakeholders in this controversial issue.

15. Australians see foreign interference in Australian politics’ as a critical threat to Australia’s vital interests. with 63% (2018 Lowy Institute Poll) of Australians expressing concern about China’s influence in Australia’s political processes. Donations by foreign countries such as China to Australian politicians should be banned

16. A Senate Inquiry was recently carried out in light of the suicide of Dolly Everett and it found current Australian laws ‘adequate’ to penalise serious cyber-bullying offenders. The Senate Inquiry found existing Commonwealth, state and territory criminal offences adequately capture serious cyber-bullying behaviours. While the Inquiry noted penalties for offences committed by minors should not be increased, the report recommended increasing the maximum penalty for using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence from three years to five years’ imprisonment. Investigate and evaluate whether this is enough to deter cyber bullying and whether the law needs to address this serious social issue across all age groups, as it is not just young people who are bullied.

17. Federal reforms to defamation laws is needed to grapple with the internet era, including introducing the development of safe harbour and take-down provisions to protect carriers of digital content from liability for material produced by third parties. Our defamation laws need major reform to bring them into line with the increased use of social media and online publication. Moving to deal with the rapid growth in online publishing, it is proposed that a “single publication’’ rule be adopted so that the period within which defamation proceedings can be launched would be linked to the date of first publication rather than starting afresh after each subsequent publication. Other proposals include introducing a serious-harm threshold that would discourage trivial matters proceeding to court. It also time for an examination of whether to lift the prohibition on for-profit corporations with more than 10 employees taking defamation action.

18. A Royal Commission into the banking sector has been launched and already we have seen serious and questionable banking practices come to light. Presently, these matters are normally dealt with under civil law. However, is this effective? Charging high-ranking bank executives with criminal offences will potentially make the deterrent more effective still, because high-ranking executives set the cultural tone for their organisations. Research has shown that significant prison time – or the threat of it – for individuals is a more effective deterrent than civil penalties; especially if the penalties are not high enough, as was argued in the recent OECD report on corporate penalties for cartels in Australia. The

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report showed that the penalties applied in Australia were low in comparison with competition law regimes in the European Union and the United States. Investigate and evaluate whether executives who knowingly engage in immoral banking practices should face criminal prosecution.

19. The Turnbull Government plans to bring in new laws to force the nation's telecommunications companies and multinational tech giants to help law enforcement agencies access the encrypted data of suspected criminals and terrorists. Under the proposed new laws, companies would face significant fines if they did not comply with requests for access to the data. Telecommunications companies such as Telstra and Optus are not the only target, with multinational tech giants including Facebook, Apple and Google to also come under the new laws. Investigate and evaluate the ramifications of this proposal.

20. The National Firearms Agreement — forged in the wake of the 1996 Port Arthur Massacre — placed tight restrictions on the ownership of fully and semi-automatic weapons and imposed tighter rules around justifications for owning and using firearms and how they are stored and limited gun licences to five years.However, the Tasmanian government is considering changes to gun laws that would give farmers greater access to Category C firearms such as semiautomatic rifles, self-loading rifles and pump-action shotguns, and increase the duration of some licences to 10 years. Investigate and evaluate the ramifications of allowing one state to change the National Firearms Agreement and whether this will encourage other states and territories to follow suit.

21. The nation's bankers are calling on the states and territories to urgently improve measures to prevent financial abuse of vulnerable, elderly Australians. Federal, state and territory attorneys-general met on the 8th June 2018 to discuss a range of measures, including bolstering the nation's protections against elder abuse. One of the key proposals is for a national register of enduring powers of attorney, so staff in organisations such as banks can check their validity. Enduring powers of attorney are legal authorisations that give permission to an elderly person's relative, friend, or carer to act on their behalf, including withdrawing or transferring money. Investigate and evaluate how the law can be improved to improve the situation to prevent financial abuse of elderly Australians.

22. Most Australians are unaware that cheap and plentiful fruit and vegetables are in part the result of a state-sanctioned arrangement that forces young backpackers into often exploitative conditions to undertake rural work in the harsh Australian climate. Routine underpayment, crowding backpackers into rundown houses and pubs with an inadequate number of bathrooms and sexual harassment are common. The Australian Workers’ Union, which covers fruit pickers and farm labourers, says the incentives inherent in the scheme make backpackers extremely vulnerable. Designed to provide seasonal workers for farmers, the 88-day rule requires that backpackers spend their time in regional areas in specific jobs such as fruit picking and packing, trimming vines, working in tree farming, or working in mining or construction. While most backpackers say that they love visiting Australia and that working on a farm added to their experience, the reality is that young backpackers in rural Australia are experiencing rapes, sexual harassment, substandard living conditions, breaches of workplace safety laws and financial exploitation. In rural towns, poor treatment of backpackers and exploitation are an open secret, and reform is needed to stop vulnerable backpackers being exploited.

23. The law regarding sub-dividing properties is complex and varies from council to council. Should we move to a more uniform approach to sub-division of property such as uniform laws for all of Queensland regardless of the council where the property is located?

24. Foreign investment in the Australian residential property market is a short-term gain that has long-term negative consequences for housing affordability in Australia. There is growing public disquiet about the level of this foreign investment, particularly in major capital cities such as Sydney and many Australians feel that the government's regulation of foreign housing investment is ineffective. Tighter regulation and legislation is needed to limit this type of investment.

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25. Dual citizenship makes it ineligible to sit in Australia's parliament under Section 44(i) of the constitution. Under Section 44 of Australia’s constitution, anyone deemed to have an allegiance to a “foreign power” is disqualified from holding office in federal parliament. This has created a lot of upheaval and controversy which culminated in a landmark High Court trial of seven politicians from across the political spectrum – the so-called 'Citizenship Seven'. However it didn’t end there and this escalating saga strikes an especially bizarre note today, in a country where one in four Australians was born overseas. Do we need to amend the Constitution to allow people with dual citizenship to hold federal office?

26. It is ridiculous that in the year 2018, Australia is still part of the Commonwealth. We need to move towards a Republic. Investigate and evaluate what this means for Australia and the changes that we would need to make in our legal system.

27. War crimes investigation needs to be clear and transparent, not in secret, otherwise it erodes our confidence in the justice system. Should this be something that is carried out by the Australian Defence Force or should it be more transparent and happen in a normal court of law? In light of recent allegations of war crimes carried out by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan and possible breaches of the Laws of Armed Conflict, do need a more transparent system of investigation?

28. After numerous inquests and the criminal prosecution of Lindy Chamberlain for the death of Azaria Chamberlain, the 2012 inquest found that a dingo did in fact ‘snatch’ Azaria Chamberlain while camping at Uluru in 1980. Analyse and evaluate the legal implications of the decision. You may also consider the impact the media had on Chamberlain’s conviction. You may also consider looking at and evaluating the issue of compensation available to wrongly prosecuted individuals.

29. There are too many variances in traffic laws from council to council. The reality is that Australians are a mobile people who travel widely, and we need to have uniform road rules. Investigate and evaluate and consider whether this should be done on a State/Territory basis or whether we should go national.

30. Hunger persists in outback Queensland because jobs are scarce and farming during the drought is rarely profitable. Whilst extending the Farm Household Allowance which provides financial support from three to four years is a step in the right direction, more is needed and the Farm Household Support Act 2014 should be amended to further protect outback families during periods of drought.

31. Current Australians laws are not doing enough in protecting Australian citizens from potential terror attacks. More could be done to increase the sense of security within our country, whilst finding a balance between law reforms and civil liberties.

32. The High Court as a Social Reformer

33. An important issue for our society is the use of organs and tissue from the body of a dead person. Australia is suffering a declining rate of organ donation, and increased waiting lists for donated organs and tissue. This is due partly to the way legislation is currently framed in the various Australian states, including Queensland, as well as the involvement of the next of kin in decision-making. Some patients die while on a waiting list to receive donated tissue, so the declining rate of organ donation is a matter of grave concern, particularly for the seriously ill. Outline the current legislation regulating organ donation and consider some options for change to positively address this growing problem.

34. In the past few years, the issue of those fleeing other countries and hoping to resettle in Australia has been a major concern of the Australian government and its people. People smugglers around the world are highly attuned to Australia’s political system, and are said to even listen to Budget estimates to gather intelligence on how to game the system. The latest intercept in mid-June 2018 is the 33rd boat that has been intercepted since the start of Operation Sovereign Borders in 2013. It has been more than 1500 days since asylum seekers reached Australian territory by boat. The most visible examples of this controversial issue, have been the large number of people on boats heading for Australia prior to Abbot’s

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Operation Sovereign Borders, the MV Tampa dispute, asylum boats that have caught fire killing a number of asylum seekers, the High Court ruling the invalidity of the Malaysia solution and the compulsory detention of refugees in off-shore processing facilities. Under the Turnbull Government, asylum seekers who try to get to Australia by boat will be processed offshore and not come to Australia . Public opinion on the issue has been sharply divided. This is not surprising, as the subject raises important and complex social, ethical, economic, sovereignty, and legal issues. Examine the legal issues involved in this controversial topic and evaluate whether (and if so, how), the laws need to be changed to minimise this problem.

35. Mandatory detention of refugee children should never be a solution.

36. Australia should introduce a Bill of Rights.

37. The jury system is failing and we should move to Judge-only trials.

38. Should people be equal before the law?

39. International terrorism’ is a ‘critical threat’ to the vital interests of Australia in the next ten years – investigate and evaluate the law and terrorism.

40. The total number of migrants coming to Australia each year is too high and Australia is too open to people from all over the world, which can mean that we risk losing our identity as a nation. The laws governing immigration need a drastic overhaul.

41. Global warming is a serious and pressing problem about which we should begin taking steps now even if this involves significant costs. The government should focus on renewables, and introduce more legislation aimed at improving our carbon foot print and cutting back on “dirty” energy.

42. There is a broad and complex legislative regime regulating the environment in Australia, with some common law principles also applying to the area to protect public environmental interests. Examine and evaluate Environment Protection and Environmental Legislation – could look at Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth). You could also choose to investigate and evaluate a particular area of environmental law such as wetland ecology and conservation or coastal and marine pollution.

43. Public and Professional Accountability

44. Technology and the Law

45. Civil Liberties - A fundamental issue faced by every society is the extent to which the rights of citizens should be protected by law. Human beings are social creatures who tend to live in communities, so we cannot insist on a right to do anything we want. We must accept some limits on our rights, because if we did not, we would be legally able to infringe the rights of others. We create governments to represent our interests, and arguably by doing so we accept a further limit on our rights. That is, we agree not to do anything contrary to laws passed by the government. The question is, to what extent are our rights protected, or should they be protected, from “limits”? Do we have fundamental freedoms that cannot be taken away?

46. The right to free expression is a controversial issue in Australia at present. Australians tend to take the right to freedom of expression for granted, and believe it is a fundamental right. Many do not know that the right is not guaranteed to Australians by our Constitution, as it is to United States citizens by their Constitution.

47. In Queensland the partial defence of provocation in section 304(1) of the Criminal Code 1899 (Qld) was amended in 2011, in order to "reduce the scope of the defence being available to those who kill out of sexual possessiveness or jealousy”. However, many argue that it should be completely removed as a defence. Investigate and evaluate.

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48. Constitutional Reform – do we need it?49. Anti-discrimination Law – is it adequate?

50. Media and the Law

51. Sports and the Law

52. Industrial Relations Law

53. International Treaties and Conventions

54. Social justice – Women and the Law

55. Technology, censorship and regulation

56. Mandatory sentencing for criminal offences

57. Negligence law reforms

58. Unfair dismissal protection for employees

OR

59. Another study of your choice, which may be from any section of the syllabus but in greater depth.

Developing your inquiry

Working on one task for 5 weeks can be very daunting. To help you develop your inquiry, you should break the task into small phases. You should aim to complete one phase each week, allowing time at the end to edit, proofread and review.

As you complete each phase, you should discuss your work with your teacher. They will give you advice on how to improve and refine your ideas.

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AUTHENTICATION OF STUDENT’S WORK

A process for the authentication of student work, where time has been allowed for preparation and execution of the task, will be implemented. This will include: Teachers seeing plans and drafts of student work Student production and maintenance of documentation (via lecture pad) about the development of

responses Student acknowledgement of resources used. Submission of checklist below at the end of each week.

All notes must be kept in electronic research log and handed in with your assignment. Printed notes downloaded from the Internet will NOT suffice. Each Checkpoint, I will collect your Research Log to check that YOU are doing the required work. The timeline for authentication of work must be handed in at each checkpoint and at draft stage. I will record this in my diary and use this when marking your final assignment. You can only submit ONE draft.

Date Task Teacher’s Signature18th July Checkpoint One - Initial research

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Phase 1: Thursday 18th July1. Develop a focus or hypothesis statement that you will examine in the report.2. Find 5 useful sources of information that you will use in the report.3. Submit the outline page to your teacher to confirm your topic selection.

Phase 2: 500 words Tuesday 24th July 1. Define the focus area for your report. (D1)2. Explain the law and identify the relevant legal issues (D1)3. Use case law or a relevant statute to show you understand how the law applies. (D1)

Phase 3: 500 words Monday 30th July1. Select existing relevant Common Law and/or Statute Law. (D2)2. Analyse the existing Law to identify potential issues that require resolution. (D2)3. Apply the Law to a contemporary situation to demonstrate legal principles and

procedures. (D2)4. Identify the competing interests of stakeholders in this legal situation (D2)5. Analyse how these competing interests create a need for change in the Law. (D2)

Phase 4: 500 words Thursday 2nd August

1. Critically evaluate whether existing Laws provide justice for the affected stakeholders. (D3)

2. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the Law to highlight shortcomings that need to be addressed. (D3)

3. Make recommendations to address the shortcomings in existing Laws. (D3)4. Justify your recommendations from the point of view of providing just, fair and

appropriate legal outcomes. (D3)5. Submit pre-submission

Pre-Submission: Tuesday 7th AugustSubmission: Final report due Tuesday 21st August

Completed final report submitted with turn-it-in receipt and a copy of the final draft.

questions developed and resources identified

24th July Checkpoint Two

7th August Draft due (hard copy)

21st August Final Research Report submitted

PROCEDURE CHECKLIST

1. Select a topic for investigation.

2. Decide precisely what it is that you want to investigate about this topic.

3. Conduct background reading on the topic. Consult a minimum of seven secondary sources (textbooks, e-textbooks, encyclopaedias, etc) to focus your thoughts. Take some background notes by jotting down the main ideas, features or development in your area of research. Note any relevant issues that are raised in the course of your reading. Be sure to record the source of information.

4. Formulate a tentative (likely or possible) hypothesis that will help you to identify the key issues for research. A hypothesis is a proposed theory or line of argument which can be investigated, proved and supported with evidence.

5. Frame research questions to guide you into more detailed investigation. By framing these questions, you are ‘deconstructing’ the topic, that is, identifying the main issues and areas for investigation. This will guide you in your research.

6. Conduct further reading by consulting a minimum of four primary sources (eg legislation, cases).

7. Revisit your hypothesis and once you are satisfied that you are researching exactly what you want, then formulate a definite thesis.

8. Revise the research questions and adjust where necessary.

9. Conduct the research and take notes. This must go in your Legal Studies Work Booklet available on One Note. Note, THIS IS COMPUSLORY.

10. Select the best evidence and sources to support your thesis. Select both primary (eg quotes from prominent legal experts) and secondary (textbook comments, statistical data, etc).

11. Plan your assignment by preparing a structured outline.

12. Write the first draft (as opposed to a rough draft) of your assignment. This should be the best that you can write at this point in time, not the roughest that you can compile in the shortest time possible! Hand this in by 7th August.

13. After receiving your draft back, ensure to take on board any comments made and fine tune your work accordingly. Make any adjustments necessary. This may mean further investigation or location of resources.

14. Write your final copy of your assignment. Proofread your work carefully.

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15. Include a correctly set out Bibliography. Make sure that all work is referenced throughout your assignment.

16. Upload your assignment to Turnitin and print out a digital receipt and attach to your hard copy of your assignment. It is strongly recommended that you professionally bind your final assignment.

Requirements of the Task

Your final submission is expected to be a cohesive, extended argument, incorporating in-depth analysis and evaluation. Your report must contain in-text referencing using APA style and a reference list. All work must be correctly referenced with a reference list of at least TWELVE sources, at least four of which must be primary.

Genre of the Task:

This task is to be completed as a RESEARCH REPORT.

Research MethodologyUse the below methodology to inform the research process and draw justified conclusions about the key question/s being investigated.

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SUBMISSION – ALL OF THIS WORK MUST BE COLLATED – think about how you can present this.

1. Criteria sheet2. Assignment3. Digital receipt from Turnitin4. Marked Draft5. Legal Studies Work Booklet 6. Research Log (if you did a separate one to the Legal Studies Work Booklet)

Checklist

Please complete the following checklist BEFORE submitting your assignment to ensure that you have completed all aspects of the project.

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I have: TickINQUIRY TASKarranged a consultation to discuss my work?made sure that I have read the criteria sheet, and have, to my best ability, ensured my report reflects what is asked in the criteria?adhered to the word limit?ensured that I have provided examples throughout?ensured that I have collected evidence and attached this to my assignment in an appendix?included all documentation that substantiates proof of the information process, including evidence such as a interview notes, bibliography/reference list, keyword lists, brainstorming, note taking and concept maps?referenced all research throughout, using the APA system?collated my assignment in an appropriate order:

- assessment cover page;- assignment;- appendices;- bibliography/reference list; - 150 word personal reflection- turn-it-in receipt; and- marked draft.- Research Booklet

submitted my assignment through Turn-It-In?printed a copy of my receipt from Turn-It-In and submitted this with my assignment?