BLDG 2012 Construction and Property Law
Research Essay
• Weighting: 30%
• Length: 1,500 words (excluding footnotes and bibliography). Case citations and
other academic and legal references can be placed in the footnotes and will not be counted towards the word limit.
• Due Date: 11.59pm Friday 1 August 2025 (Week 9)
• Submission Location: Moodle (Turnitin) (Similarity Report available)
• Late Penalty: 5 percentage points per day
RESEARCH ESSAY TOPIC
The federal Parliament recently passed the Treasury Laws Amendment (More Competition, Better Prices) Act 2022 (Cth) which amends the Australian Consumer Law to widen the application of the prohibition of Unfair Contract Terms. How are the changes to the prohibition on Unfair Contract Terms introduced by this Act likely to impact participants in the construction and property industry? How has this legislation been applied to contract provisions in the construction and property industry or related industries in the past (provide at least 3 examples providing full case citations)? Provide some examples of what you think construction and property industry participants on both sides of a transaction (i.e. the party offering the contract and the party receiving the contract) can do to utilise this legislation or avoid the ramifications of this legislation?
GUIDELINES ON WRITING A RESEARCH ESSAY
PURPOSE
The aims of the Research Essay are to:
• improve research skills;
• improve your ability to write a Research Essay that complies with relevant conventions for referencing / citation of sources;
• enhance your understanding of construction law in Australia;
• develop your ability to locate, correctly interpret and use case law and legislation;
• develop your ability to identify and analyse judicial use of aids (intrinsic and extrinsic) to statutory interpretation of relevant legislation;
• develop your ability to convincingly argue in support of a position taken on a particular legal issue.
ACCEPTABLE USE OF LAW FIRM WEBSITES AND AI
Material and information provided on law firm websites or AI software or services like ChatGPT are not appropriate sources of academic or legal content that can be referenced in a research essay and in some cases can be incorrect. It is prohibited to use any AI software or service to search for or generate information or answers. If such use is detected, it will be regarded as serious academic misconduct and subject to the standard penalties, which may include 0 FL, suspension and exclusion.
ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS
1. Ensure that you address all three questions. Ensure that you reference three case examples as stated in the relevant question, including a full case citation for each case discussed.
2. Write your essay in a concise and analytical manner which seeks to arrive at a conclusion with respect to the particular question and the issues it raises.
3. Use grammar, spelling and punctuation correctly.
4. Your essay should be correctly footnoted in accordance with the Footnote /
Bibliography Referencing System for citation of sources and should also contain a bibliography listing the primary and secondary sources which were cited in the Research Essay as well see The Footnote / Bibliography Referencing System.
HINTS, RESOURCES AND REFERENCES
1. Include an introduction, at least one paragraph summarising the key changes made by the amending legislation (do not copy the changes verbatim from the Act), an adequate number of paragraphs addressing the main issues asked in all questions, making sure that the answers are specific to the construction and property industry and consider and demonstrate understanding of viewpoints on the issue from both sides of a transaction, and lastly include a conclusion.
2. A good place to start to understand the drivers behind the changes introduced by the Parliament is to look at the Explanatory Memorandum which are publications that explain the content of the bill before it becomes an Act of Parliament and the Second Reading Speech where the purpose of the bill is outlined and debated. See Treasury Laws Amendment (More Competition, Better Prices) Bill 2022 - Parliament of Australia (aph.gov.au)andSpeech on the Treasury Laws Amendment (More Competition, Better 2022) (austlii.edu.au).
3. It is also recommended that you review paragraphs [5.111] - [5.137] of Jeremy
Coggins, Phil Evans and Tom Davie, Understanding Construction Law (one of your recommended texts) as background context to the Unfair Contract Term provisions of the Australian Consumer Law, noting however that this text does not cover the recent changes to the legislation.
4. A good online database to use for legal research via the Library portal is the Lexis
Advance Australian journals collection. This provides you with access to cases, legislation, secondary materials and commentary, forms and precedents, guidance and news concerning legal matters.