Master of Banking and Finance Law

Australia has a detailed and comprehensive consumer protection regime dealing with the supply of goods and services, including financial products, to consumers. Primary legislation is the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), found in Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010(Cth); equivalent provisions in the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (Cth) (ASIC Act) applying to financial services and products; and, for consumer credit, the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (NCCP Act). This subject explores the key features of the consumer protection regimes underlying the supply of goods, services and credit to consumers, along with the common law principles and policy imperatives that underpin these regimes. The lecturers include one of the Law School's private lawyers with specialist expertise in consumer law, and a leading practitioner in this field of law.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Purposes of consumer protection law

• The regulatory toolkit

• Common law doctrines underlying the legislative regime

• Enforcement and remedial strategies.

• Key consumer protection regimes under the Australian Consumer Law, Australian Securities and Investment Commission Act 2001 (Cth) and the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 including:

  • Misleading or deceptive conduct
  • Unconscionable conduct
  • Interest rate caps and responsible lending
  • The specific regulation of small amount loans
  • Unfair contract terms.
  • Consumer guarantees and implied terms

View detailed information in the Handbook

Negotiation is an essential skill-set for lawyers and the legal profession. Due to negotiations by lawyers, many civil and criminal law cases are settled before the parties even enter the courtroom. Lawyers negotiate on behalf of their client with other lawyers as well as third party non-lawyers. Lawyers must also negotiate internally with their own client as well as other parties to reach consensus. Negotiations also occur in various forms, from traditional settings such as conference rooms and courtrooms, to non-traditional settings such as e-mail and social media communication. Thus, the ability for lawyers to develop and utilise a negotiator's toolbox to negotiate within and among a broad array of environments are essential elements of the legal profession.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Sources and dynamics of conflict in domestic and international business contexts
• Strategic approaches to negotiation and deal-making
• Negotiation planning, objectives and measures of success
• Distributive, integrative and mixed-motive negotiation
• Negotiation theory and its application in professional practice
• Bias, influence and decision-making in negotiations
• Value creation, trade-offs and negotiated outcomes
• Negotiation tools, techniques and professional confidence
• The role of contractual terms in commercial negotiations
• Verbal, non-verbal and cross-cultural communication
• Perspective-taking, empathy and relationship management
• Ethical, cultural, economic, psychological and emotional dimensions of conflict and dispute resolution

View detailed information in the Handbook

Climate change is increasingly necessitating systemic change to the structure of the global economy and financial system. This subject will examine the interaction between climate change law and policy and these systemic changes. It considers a range of legal, policy and financial tools that governments around the world have used to try and manage responses to climate change, such as carbon pricing, green fiscal spending, climate risk disclosure and emissions regulations. It critically evaluates these legal, financial and policy approaches, and the economic theory underpinning them.

Our subject introduces students to these climate change legal and policy approaches through case studies across different themes (carbon markets, sustainable finance, energy, transportation) and geographies. Guest speakers with legal, sustainable investment and public policy backgrounds will join the course to speak to some of these case studies. By drawing together economic theory and practitioner-informed case studies, we will provide students with the knowledge, tools, and networks to critically assess and participate in the future development of regulatory regimes, policies and financial mechanisms which might help arrest global warming.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• An introduction to climate science,
• Key debates in climate change economics
• International and domestic law frameworks
• Market-based legal mechanisms: pricing carbon externalities
• Information based regulatory approaches to carbon emissions
• Emerging legal risks – greenwashing, climate litigation and investor actions
• Green industrial policy, state-owned enterprises and innovation ecosystems
• Emissions caps, performance standards and other forms of regulation

View detailed information in the Handbook

Equitable doctrines and remedies lie at the heart of commercial conduct, transactions and private law litigation. They provide unique standards of conduct that restrict and guide commercial dealings and a raft of powerful personal and proprietary remedies that dictate defendant liability when transactions fail. Over recent years their influence has been seen in important judicial decisions affecting commercial dealings. This subject considers some of the more pressing points of convergence between equitable doctrine and commercial practice, drawing throughout comparisons with the law in Australia and that in England and Wales. In doing so, our subject is tightly structured to ensure that students are exposed to cutting-edge legal theory concerning court-led equitable developments and to the ramifications of those developments at the coal-face of commercial practice and dealings.

This subject will be relevant to transaction lawyers involved in planning, initiating and drafting contracts, for corporate lawyers and regulators involved in consumer and banking law and for commercial litigators. The lecturer is an internationally recognised expert in the commercial applications of equitable doctrines and remedies.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The role of equity in commercial transactions
• Recipient liability
• Accessory liability
• Undue influence
• Vitiating factors and banks
• Quistclose trusts
• Proprietary and promissory estoppels
• Proprietary restitution (unjust enrichment)
• Proprietary restitution (wrongdoing)

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject focuses on the legal context and considerations of property, crime and financial liability insurance, including categories of loss and liability, disputed coverage and claims handling issues.

The course is relevant to operational business risk management and will cover insurance products such as material damage and resultant business interruption, public and products liability, professional indemnity, errors and omissions, crime and trade credit insurance.

This subject has an Australian focus.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• What is insurance and how does it work? How does it compare/contrast with other modes of risk transfer/funding?
• Commercial property and business interruption insurance
• Public and product liability insurance: the nature of "occurrence-based" liability insurance
• Financial liability insurances, professional indemnity and directors & officers insurance (PIDO), errors and omissions insurance (ENO), civil liability
• Trade credit, insolvency insurance and cyber-risk insurance
• Strategies and tactics for dealing with insurers: resolving underwriting and claim disputes

View detailed information in the Handbook

Insolvency laws have developed significantly over the past few decades. No one still believes, as Napoleon did when discussing the French Commercial Code in 1807, that all insolvencies can simply be eradicated. However, insolvencies remain both a sign and consequence of economic turmoil, and insolvency processes can be optimised to reduce costs, save businesses and jobs, and even—on a wider scale—protect national economies.

Insolvency law has therefore become as crucial for economists as it is for lawyers, with considerable attention given to improving insolvency tools. This has resulted in global convergence of insolvency systems—in fact, all EU member states have recently reformed their insolvency laws by adopting common law-based principles. At the same time, legislators have recognised the importance of early intervention and prevention. Our field moves quickly and involves significant psychological impacts for people facing economic difficulties.

This subject aims to give you the skills and tools necessary to understand the main concepts behind insolvency procedures. We will focus on current problems and strategies in typical insolvency procedures, covering the main mechanisms that make insolvency systems efficient. We take a special perspective on EU systems with a focus on French law, while also making brief excursions into US law.

View detailed information in the Handbook

The law of corporate insolvency plays a significant role in a modern economy. Recent economic downturns, coupled with high-profile corporate collapses, have emphasised its importance. But several parliamentary and other enquiries have highlighted its shortcomings, and the effectiveness of recent law reform initiatives remains to be seen.

This subject is of particular relevance to practitioners whose work involves insolvency and related issues—whether from the ‘back end’ (eg litigators) or ‘front end’ (eg transactional, banking or property lawyers).

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Foundations of insolvency law: history, philosophy, policies and principles
• The meaning of “insolvency”; winding up, the powers and functions of liquidators
• Distribution of assets: pari passu; the ranking of claims; priority creditors; the effect of security
• Avoidance of antecedent transactions; combatting “phoenix” activity
• Insolvency of corporate groups: directors’ duties; insolvent trading; pooling
• Voluntary administration and deeds of company arrangement (DOCAs)
• Receivership: intersection with other insolvency regimes
• Restructuring and rescue: schemes of arrangement, DOCAs, and informal mechanisms.

As well as the subject prerequisites, students are expected to have some background knowledge of the subject matter before enrolling. Prospective students should have previous study in corporations law or have undertaken substantial pre-subject reading. It is recommend that students have a general familiarity with the formal regimes (i.e. liquidation, administration and receivership) and relevant statutory provisions as a backdrop against which to consider the topics and issues we will cover.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject focuses on the law and practice of complex corporate transactions, including debt and equity financings, amalgamations, acquisitions, divestitures, schemes of arrangement, and corporate restructurings. Special emphasis will be placed on the analytical, drafting, and negotiation skills central to serving as a transactional attorney.

The jurisdictional focus will be Australia, Canada, and the United States, as well as other common-law jurisdictions.

Notwithstanding this subject’s practical orientation, discussion and materials will also address legal, economic, and even political theories that can help us understand how corporate transactions are structured and executed.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• corporate governance;
• corporate finance;
• venture capital;
• mergers and acquisitions;
• asset and share purchase agreements;
• amalgamations and schemes of arrangement;
• takeover bids;
• defensive tactics;
• further market considerations.

View detailed information in the Handbook

CSIRO’s Data61 digital research network describes blockchain technology as ‘a revolutionary new approach to database management’ that will prompt ‘significant changes in existing Australian industries’. Yet, despite significant investments of time and money by institutions around the world, we still lack robust proof of social or commercial benefit. Several years have passed since Bitcoin’s ‘Genesis Block’ was mined, but that foundational use case—digital cash without traditional intermediaries—has not challenged the legacy payments infrastructure. Where blockchain-based assets are used as monetary instruments rather than investments, those transactions are atypical in subject-matter and frequency.

All of this begs the question: if the goal of blockchain technology is to eliminate ‘trusted third parties’, why is that something to aspire to? Is the answer to that question commercial or political? And, most importantly, is it correct? The aim of this subject is to answer these questions, and to do so by situating cryptoassets in their global context—as a matter of law, economics, politics and society.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This is a foundational subject in the Melbourne Law Masters (MLM) which is compulsory for graduates of disciplines other than law and for law graduates from countries with a non-common law system. It provides students with an opportunity to acquire the foundational legal skills necessary for studying and working in a common law system, such as that in Australia.

The common law forms one of the two principal systems of Western law that, through colonisation, have spread throughout the world. Common law systems have a distinctive approach to understanding the sources of law, the role of law-making institutions, and processes for resolving disputes. These characteristics of the common law system have had a profound effect on the development not only of the societies in the countries in which it applied, but also on international law and practice.

The aim of this subject is to acquire basic foundational legal skills that will assist you with other subjects in the MLM program. The subject teaches students how to read, use and interpret reported cases and legislation. The subject explains the sources of law, what influences them, and how they influence the development of the common law. These aims are given in context of some contemporary debates on common law reasoning by assessing the role of the High Court of Australia. The subject focuses on developing skills in analysis and legal writing, the tools of the common lawyer.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• How to read and analyse a case
• The concept and use of precedent
• Evolution of a common law principle
• Common law issues: judicial activism, separation of powers
• The role of the High Court and an overview of the Constitution
• The relationship between the Constitution, case law and statute law
• Influences of other sources of law on the common law
• How to read and analyse statutes
• Approaches to statutory interpretation
• Legal writing skills and expectations in the MLM program.

Important information about this Subject

This subject is an important foundational skills-based subject for many common-law focussed subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters. We recommend Masters students needing an introduction to the common law enrol in this subject when they first start their program of study. For most graduate diploma students, Australian Legal Process and Legal Institutions (ALPLI) is the alternative intensive offering.

All students enrolled in the following common-law focussed Masters courses are strongly recommended to take LAWS70217 Fundamentals of the Common Law (if you don't already have prior professional or educational background in the common law):

• Master of Banking and Finance
• Master of Commercial Law
• Master of Construction Law
• Master of Employment and Labour Relations Law
• Master of Energy and Resources Law
• Master of Health and Medical Law
• Master of Intellectual Property Law
• Master of Private Law
• Master of Laws (if you wish to focus on one of these common-law areas above)

More information on course planning in the Melbourne Law Masters.

View detailed information in the Handbook

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank are arguably two poorly understood international organisations. Both are key components of the international monetary and financial architecture. They also play a vital role in national economies (as seen for example in the IMF's involvement in the Euro-zone crisis or in addressing the economic dislocations caused by global events and its analytical work on the prevention and resolution of financial and sovereign debt crises) and international development. This subject will focus on the IMF and World Bank while also providing students with a sophisticated understanding of the broader international financial system and its problems. The subject provides a valuable insider's perspective on the 'Bretton Woods' institutions.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Impact investing is a hot topic, championed as well as vilified globally. From charities to large fund managers, investors are looking beyond purely financial returns to tangible and sustainable impact. What does it take to be a responsible investor? What is the role of a lawyer with an impact fund, and what are the responsibilities of investors and managers? This subject explores both responsible and impact investing, highly dynamic and urgent topics in the transition to net zero and the challenge of the sustainable development goals.

The subject has a distinctly practical approach and is designed to assist students in developing the skills to assess, prioritise and negotiate impact transactions. We dig into the structuring, negotiation and documentation of impact investing across a broad spectrum, ranging from venture capital, direct and co-investments to managed equity funds. We also explore challenging and live legal topics such as corporate responsibility, fiduciary duty, disclosure obligations and impact washing.

Special attention is dedicated to how investors can generate meaningful and sustainable change in their engagement with investee companies and impact funds. Seasoned practitioners from across the market provide their insights as part of a valuable diversity in perspectives.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Exploring impact and sustainability across private equity in the broadest sense, from venture capital and direct investments to managed funds.
• The wave of (hard and soft) relevant regulation, taking our cue for instance from EU sustainable finance directives on corporate responsibility and disclosure, to public policy and increasingly principles and best practices driven by market participants.
• Engagement of responsible (as well as activist) investors with investee companies and impact funds.
• Investor stewardship to help and drive change.
• The role of major institutional investors and sovereign wealth funds alongside NGOs.
• Reviewing and critiquing impact funds in practical case studies, lessons learnt from recent failures, and the toolbox of the responsible investor.
• Challenges to the credibility and growth of the impact investment market, and the role of market supervisors.
• The risk of ‘impact’ washing litigation for both investors and managers and how to mitigate or exploit it.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject is a basic 'how-to' on international business transactions and is essential for those wishing to practise international trade law. The subject intentionally covers a vast array of related topics, with the focus being on the legal issues faced by practising lawyers in the field. Particular emphasis is placed on issues such as trade terms, international sales of goods, documentary credits, carriage of goods, customs and border regulations. This subject also considers several issues relating to international trade, such as intellectual property rights, licensing, franchising and governmental measures regulating investment. Such coverage ensures students are exposed to the most important and frequent issues facing the practising trade lawyer.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Basic trade contracts and common trade terms
• Choice of law and choice of jurisdiction in international trade contracts
• The Vienna Convention on International Sale of Goods
• Payment systems, including documentary credits and collections
• Customs law, including classification and valuation of the goods
• Import and export restraints
• Regulatory issues and red tape
• Franchising
• Intellectual property rights, including parallel importation of goods
• Foreign direct investment.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Newspaper headlines frequently concern global economic issues, from trade disputes between countries and investment claims by foreign investors against sovereign states, to countries facing balance-of-payments crises and seeking assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

This subject examines the law governing global economic issues. It is designed both as a comprehensive introduction in its own right to this important field, as well as a foundation for further exploration through specialist subjects in the curriculum.

We begin with a focus on international trade law, particularly the rules and dispute settlement procedures of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It then discusses contemporary developments in international trade law and policy, including the negotiations for regional or bilateral preferential trade agreements. We then consider international investment law, examining key substantive obligations relating to investor protection and investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms (particularly through the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)). Finally, the subject provides an introduction to the lending policies and practices of international financial institutions, particularly the IMF and the World Bank.

View detailed information in the Handbook

International Legal Internship allows students to gain credit for undertaking advanced legal research and analysis on an approved international internship of at least five weeks of full-time work in an approved international institution or organisation. This subject is focused on providing students with an opportunity to engage with legal and policy issues in contemporary society through work experience and further develop oral and written communication skills. Students are required to secure and fund their internships personally.

Students are encouraged to discuss their internship proposals with the subject coordinators. Students who successfully enrol in International Legal Internship must arrange a meeting with at least one of the subject coordinators both prior to their internship and upon completion, to develop a better understanding of research and the role of international institutions in international law and relations.

Important information about enrolling

This subject is not available for self-enrolment but is an application-based enrichment subject, which means prospective students must apply to enrol.

More information about the application process can be found on the MLM International Legal Internship webpage.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject involves the study and analysis of the structure, purpose and key provisions of market standard cross border lending documentation, including large syndicated credit agreements (governed by New York or English law). Students will focus on anticipating potential concerns and tensions in the negotiation process and will have the chance to review and study the key agreements and documents such as the credit agreement, guaranties, other ancillary documents, schedules, and document deliveries that they will encounter in practice. Students will also study the structure and standard documents used in the cross-border repo market and the securities lending market, two important international capital markets.

Over the past three decades, Professor Christian Johnson has taught and lectured on cross-border lending and capital markets in Australia, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and North and South America. Currently, he is the Commonwealth Professor of Law and Business Advising at Widener University Commonwealth School of Law. Professor Johnson has presented and lectured at sovereign wealth funds, central banks, multilateral development banks, the University of Oxford, the London School of Economics, the National University of Singapore, and other prominent institutions. Professor Johnson graduated with his law degree from Columbia University, practiced for global law firms in New York and Chicago, and worked as a certified public accountant for Price Waterhouse prior to law school.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The various structures and purposes of different cross-border lending transactions
• The key provisions and clauses found in cross-border lending documentation
• The key interbank credit markets
• The key differences between New York, English law and Australia in lending transactions
• The key clauses found in Australian/New York/English guarantees
• The key legal, credit and business issues in repo and securities lending transactions.

View detailed information in the Handbook

The Challenge of a Decade, if not our Generation. Can sustainable finance be the answer to climate change, poverty and inequality? The purpose of this subject is to immerse students in sustainable finance in international practice, from sustainable lending, green bonds, renewable energy, innovative structured products and impact investing. Across these markets, key legal concepts, structural features and documentation are covered in detail. By engaging in-depth, through term sheet negotiations, and pitches the students jointly develop the skills to assess, prioritise, challenge and negotiate these transactions.

The subject coordinator draws on his own experience in global sustainable finance, and invites experts from international law firms and organisations, to help you become ‘more than a lawyer’.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The Sustainable Development Goals, the evolving regulatory framework of sustainable finance, and implementation by banks, development institutions, funds and corporates in international practice
• Understanding the structural features of sustainable lending, including sustainability-linked loans (SLLs) as well as inclusive finance, along with the relevant principles and contentious issues in negotiation
• Thoroughly analysing and comparing the green, blue, orange, social and sustainable bond structures and terms, including social impact bonds, bond linked to sustainable performance, as well as their challenges in practice
• Negotiating and mastering the negotiation of key terms of renewable energy project finance
• The implementation of impact investing in fund management and private equity, in day to day practice
• How structured finance can further sustainable goals, for instance through refugee finance, vaccine bonds, drought risk transfer and microfinance securitisation
• The litigation challenges in sustainable finance for both investors, issuers and ‘green’ rating agencies, for instance the risk of mis-selling ‘green’ products, and how to address this and other risks in documentation as well as through strategic means.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject examines the fundamental principles under Australian law relating to the provision of credit by financiers to businesses and consumers. The subject has as its focus the legal design of key financing transactions and the chief means by which financiers manage the risk of a borrower’s default or insolvency. The topics covered range from 'vanilla' loans supported by security interests and guarantees to more complex title-based transactions, including assignments, leases and securitisations, and the use of credit derivatives. The subject also discusses the Australian Personal Property Securities Act.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The financier–borrower relationship and key governance issues in banking and finance transactions
• Building blocks of banking and finance transactions
• Law relating to guarantees and security interests
• Legal design of more complex banking and finance transactions

View detailed information in the Handbook

This subject is an introduction to the foundational principles and rules of the public international legal order. It is designed to provide students with an understanding of the key concepts of international law, its history and contemporary relevance, sources of international law and the role of some key international institutions, such as the United Nations (UN). The subject is grounded in both theory and practice in order to consider how international law works in shaping and dealing with a range of global issues, including the creation, recognition and sovereignty of states, self-determination of peoples and the use of force in international relations.

Using contemporary examples and case studies which address recent and current developments, students will critically evaluate the position and relevance of international law in international politics and society.

The teaching integrates both content and skills in advanced legal research and writing. We will purposefully introduce students to the practices and protocols of advanced study in international law, as well as to the specialised knowledge and skills required of studying at postgraduate level in the Melbourne Law Masters.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The nature, purpose and language of international law;
• Sources of international law;
• International legal personality, statehood and sovereignty;
• Jurisdiction of states and jurisdictional immunities;
• The responsibility of states for violations of international law;
• Peaceful settlement of disputes and the functions of the International Court of Justice; and
• Regulation of the use of force in international relations (jus ad bellum).

Important information about this Subject

This subject is a pre-requisite for many other international law subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters. We recommend full-time students enrol in this subject when they first start their program of study. For part-time students, International Law (LAWS70173) is the alternative five-day intensive offering.

All students enrolled in the following internationally focussed courses are strongly recommended to take either LAWS90295 Principles of International Law or LAWS70173 International Law (if you don't already have prior professional or educational background in public international law):

• Master of Environmental Law
• Master of Human Rights Law;
• Master of Law and Development;
• Master of Public and International Law;
• Graduate Diploma in Environmental Law
• Graduate Diploma in Human Rights Law
• Graduate Diploma in Environmental Law
• Graduate Diploma in International Law.

More information on course planning in the Melbourne Law Masters.

View detailed information in the Handbook

Project finance is the financing of major projects. It often takes the form of a financing arrangement under which the monies raised for a project are repaid primarily from the project’s cash flow, with the project’s assets held as collateral. It enables the sponsor of a project to arrange financing with no recourse, or limited recourse, to the sponsor’s balance sheet. Project finance is complex in view of the number of parties involved, the security that is taken over the project’s cash flow and assets, the nature of the rights that are exercised by the lenders in respect of the project generally and the cross-border character of stakeholders. Project finance lawyers need to have an in-depth understanding of both the legal issues that arise as well as the commercial and operational aspects of the project.

The lecturer is a leading practitioner in this area and will introduce students to the key legal, contractual and structural issues concerning major projects and project finance, and analyse these issues in the context of a number of case studies in the mineral, energy and infrastructure sectors.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Characteristics of suitable projects
• Characteristics of project financing in Australia
• Project financing techniques
• Identification of risk and techniques for allocation of risk
• Structuring financing requirements for a project
• Contractual arrangements
• Project financing default and remedies
• Case studies of project financing in mineral, energy and infrastructure sectors.

View detailed information in the Handbook

This is a foundational subject in the Melbourne Law Masters (MLM) which is compulsory for graduates of disciplines other than law and for law graduates from countries with a non-common law system. It provides students with an opportunity to acquire the foundational legal skills necessary for studying and working in a common law system, such as that in Australia.

The common law forms one of the two principal systems of Western law that, through colonisation, have spread throughout the world. Common law systems have a distinctive approach to understanding the sources of law, the role of law-making institutions, and processes for resolving disputes. These characteristics of the common law system have had a profound effect on the development not only of the societies in the countries in which it applied, but also on international law and practice.

The aim of this subject is to acquire basic foundational legal skills that will assist you with other subjects in the MLM program. The subject teaches students how to read, use and interpret reported cases and legislation. The subject explains the sources of law, what influences them, and how they influence the development of the common law. These aims are given in context of some contemporary debates on common law reasoning by assessing the role of the High Court of Australia. The subject focuses on developing skills in analysis and legal writing, the tools of the common lawyer.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• How to read and analyse a case
• The concept and use of precedent
• Evolution of a common law principle
• Common law issues: judicial activism, separation of powers
• The role of the High Court and an overview of the Constitution
• The relationship between the Constitution, case law and statute law
• Influences of other sources of law on the common law
• How to read and analyse statutes
• Approaches to statutory interpretation
• Legal writing skills and expectations in the MLM program.

Important information about this Subject

This subject is an important foundational skills-based subject for many common-law focussed subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters. We recommend Masters students needing an introduction to the common law enrol in this subject when they first start their program of study. For most graduate diploma students, Australian Legal Process and Legal Institutions (ALPLI) is the alternative intensive offering.

All students enrolled in the following common-law focussed Masters courses are strongly recommended to take LAWS70217 Fundamentals of the Common Law (if you don't already have prior professional or educational background in the common law):

• Master of Banking and Finance
• Master of Commercial Law
• Master of Construction Law
• Master of Employment and Labour Relations Law
• Master of Energy and Resources Law
• Master of Health and Medical Law
• Master of Intellectual Property Law
• Master of Private Law
• Master of Laws (if you wish to focus on one of these common-law areas above)

More information on course planning in the Melbourne Law Masters.

View detailed information in the Handbook