LAW4119 Contemporary workplace relations law
Faculty of Law
LAW4119 Contemporary workplace relations law is a level 4, 6-credit-point, undergraduate unit from the Faculty of Law. It isn't offered in 2026. It has no prerequisites.
- Credit points
- 6
- Offered in 2026
- Not offered
- Assessment
- Exam 60%
- and 3 other tasks
- Workload
- 144 hours
- per semester
This is the 2026 handbook entry. See the 2027 entry.
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Requisites
Before LAW4119
Prohibitions
You can't enrol if you have passed any of these.
After LAW4119
No unit lists LAW4119 as a prerequisite in the 2026 handbook.
Enrolment rules
You must have completed at least 60 credit points of law study
Equivalent units
The same content under another code. Only one of them counts.
Overview
This unit will examine the following major areas:
- the development of systems for regulating dispute settlement and determining conditions of employment, including the Australian federal system for regulating workplace relations, industrial disputes and minimum conditions of employment, the systems in North America, United Kingdom and Europe;
- the impact of globalization and international labour standards through international labour organization conventions and its regulation;
- the scope and coverage of domestic legislation, including the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and its constitutional basis and the degree of legislative intervention in North America, United Kingdom and Europe;
- sources of minimum conditions, minimum wages and the safety nets;
- the purpose, scope and content of collective and enterprise agreements, good faith bargaining and the use of industrial action as a bargaining tool;
- the protection of workplace rights, such as the right to join a union in Australia, Canada, United States, United Kingdom and Europe; and
- approaches to the enforcement of minimum conditions, modern awards and enterprise agreements, in Australia through the Fair Work Ombudsman and the court system and in Canada, United States, United Kingdom and Europe through the courts and relevant specialist courts.
Offerings in 2026
The 2026 handbook lists no offerings for LAW4119.
Assessment
- Seminar presentationPresentation10%
- Class participationDemonstration10%
- ReportWritten20%
- Take-home examExamination60%
Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.
Learning outcomes
When you finish this unit, you should be able to:
- 1
Understand and appraise the importance of international conventions and domestic legislation in relation to industrial dispute settling and setting minimum terms and conditions of employment in Australia, United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Europe;
- 2
Appreciate the impact of constitutional powers in establishing workplace relations systems;
- 3
Determine how minimum standards for workers are set and enforced;
- 4
Critique the legal nature of collective or enterprise bargaining and the role of industrial action in bargaining for terms and conditions of work;
- 5
Debate and critically analyse how legislation protects workplace rights, including the right to bargain collectively and the freedom to choose whether or not to join a union; and
- 6
Research and apply the law studied to new and emerging contemporary problems in the labour law field.
Workload and teaching
- Seminars36 hours
- Teaching approachActive learning
Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. The unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.
Learning resources
Required resources
See the Moodle unit page for prescribed and recommended resources. Prescribed texts are usually available for purchase through the University Bookstore and are sometimes available for short-term loan or as eBooks through the library.
Common questions
What are the prerequisites for LAW4119?
LAW4119 has no prerequisites, but enrolment rules apply.
When is LAW4119 offered?
LAW4119 has no offerings listed in the 2026 handbook.
How much work is LAW4119?
The handbook expects about 144 hours of study across the semester. No students have rated its difficulty yet.
Does LAW4119 have an exam?
Yes. The exam is worth 60% of the final mark, alongside 3 other tasks.