Specialist Certificate in Law (Digital Law and Technological Innovation)

Algorithms are used by public and private bodies to make decisions that govern our lives in significant ways: our healthcare and social welfare entitlements; our educational achievements, jobs, and pay; whether we are subjected to increased police scrutiny, or sent to prison (and for how long). Those algorithms often draw upon patterns in data about large groups of people to predict the future actions, needs or characteristics of specific persons.

A great deal has been written about the risk of bias and discrimination, understood as the systematic propensity to single out individuals or groups for poor treatment. But what do we really mean when we use those terms? Are there other reasons to worry about predictive algorithms that are not about equality or relative treatment – reasons, for instance, to think that we should not punish people on the basis of facts about their family history or social circumstance?

This subject considers what’s at stake for individuals when we are subjected to automated decisions, and the role that the law plays or can play in helping to ensure that algorithms are not used to create or perpetuate injustices.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Relevance - What does it mean to make a “good” decision?
• Equality - Why does inequality matter, and how do algorithms fare?
• Choice - How do algorithms affect the control that we have over our lives?
• Transparency - Can we really figure out whether algorithmic decisions are just?
• Privacy - Do algorithms cross the line?

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Historically a computer was “programmed” by a human utilising a precise set of instructions. Within this paradigm the computer was able to “process” information “fed” to it and produce a particular output based on such programming and information.

The human input was clear and transparent. As artificial intelligence (AI) has evolved in concert with the internet, cloud computing, big data gathering, data storage and data processing capabilities and the ubiquitous uptake of interactive smartphones and other “smart” devices, the relationship between the computer and direct and immediate human stewardship or control of outputs has become less readily identifiable. In turn this has given rise to significant legal issues.

There are substantial legal implications of AI which require ongoing, flexible and informed responses from lawyers and legal policy makers. This subject seeks to inform practicing lawyers, legal policy makers and non-lawyers in respect of those issues and how they might be dealt with.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Introduction to AI. What is AI? Where is AI headed?
• The legal issues raised by AI
• The ethical issues raised by AI and particular applications of AI
• Overview of current AI legal reviews underway in the USA, EU and UK and Australia’s response to these reviews
• Intellectual property issues raised by AI
• Criminal liability in respect of AI
• Civil legal liability – examination of who is (or should be) responsible/liable for AI caused loss and harm.
• Mandatory insurance schemes for loss or damage caused by autonomous robots or AI
• The legal regimes governing use of AI in security, law enforcement and military contexts
• Privacy and confidentiality implications of AI

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Digital markets are affecting many aspects of our lives, transforming products, services, terms of trade, and even employment markets. The rising importance of big data, algorithmic decision-making, and online platforms create complex regulatory challenges for ensuring that the digital markets increase welfare. Competition law has an important role to play in this digital eco-system. Accordingly, this subject explores the complex challenges that digital markets pose to competition law. To do so, this subject will first analyse the unique characteristics of the digital environment and how they affect market dynamics. It will then analyse the main challenges to competition law, including coordination through algorithmic interactions, market power based on big data, abusive conduct by platforms and intermediaries, and defining markets and market power in digital eco-systems. It will also explore the intersection between competition, consumer protection and privacy, which is raising important institutional questions for the allocation and coordination of regulatory responses. This subject will explore global developments in this complex and fast-moving field. Drawing on the latest literature and major cases and inquiries, it will equip students to critically engage with and meet the challenges posed for business and its advisors and for policymakers, regulators and law enforcers in digital markets.

This subject is led by two of the world’s competition law experts, with particular expertise in the regulation of digital markets.

indicative list of principal topics:

• Analysing the special characteristics of digital markets and the unique market dynamics they create, including:
• Defining Big Data
• Analysing the dynamics of Big Data markets, including entry barriers and network effects
• Exploring advancements in algorithmic decision-making, including machine learning and deep learning
• Debating the competitive significance of algorithmic decision-making based on Big Data
• Exploring the role of digital intermediaries, including platforms, in the digital eco-system
• Analysing the unique challenges that digital markets pose to competition law enforcement, including:
• Increased coordination through algorithmic interactions
• Market power based on big data
• Abusive conduct by platforms and intermediaries
• Defining markets and market power in digital eco-systems
• Big Data and merger review
• Challenges created by the bundling of different products and services in the digital eco-system
• Analysing the intersection between competition, consumer protection and privacy

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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.

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Cybercrime law covers both the substantive law governing crimes committed using a computer and the procedures through which investigators can collect digital evidence. Cybercrime offences include computer misuse crimes and traditional crimes that are facilitated using a computer, such as fraud, theft, and possession of child abuse materials.

The globalised nature of the internet raises numerous jurisdictional issues concerning which state should investigate and prosecute cybercrime as well as issues for evidence gathering in the digital environment.

This subject primarily focuses on Australian law and international cooperative instruments, particularly the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, which is aimed at controlling cybercrime and facilitating digital investigations across borders. This subject also considers comparative laws in the UK, EU, and USA, especially within the context of international cooperation on policing cybercrime and digital investigations.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Overview of current international legal frameworks for harmonising cybercrime offences and procedures for digital investigations, principally the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime

• The Australian legislative framework for regulating cybercrime

• Computer-integrity offences, including illegal access, illegal interception, and illegal devices

• Computer-facilitated offences, including fraud, forgery & theft; intellectual property offences; indecent materials and child abuse

• Communications offences and online safety

• Digital investigations and investigatory powers

• Challenges for digital investigators, including computer, network, and device forensics and encryption

• International cooperation in coordinating prosecutions, extradition, and evidence gathering

• New international cooperative agreements for cross-border digital investigations, including the Australia-US Agreement under the CLOUD Act, the EU e-Evidence Regulation, and the Second Protocol to the Budapest Convention.

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This subject explores the legal and policy implications of digital and AI-generated evidence in contemporary legal systems, with a particular focus on Asian jurisdictions. As technologies such as social media, digital surveillance, algorithmic decision-making, and generative AI become increasingly embedded in social and institutional life, courts and legal professionals must grapple with new evidentiary challenges. This course provides students with the tools to understand, critically assess, and apply principles relating to the collection, presentation, and admissibility of such evidence.

Our subject begins with foundational concepts, including the definition, preservation, and authentication of digital evidence, and moves toward more complex issues involving AI systems—such as explainability, reliability, and fairness. Students will examine how digital and AI-based evidence is used in both criminal and civil proceedings, and how legal systems are adapting through new rules, practices, and institutional arrangements.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• electronic discovery,
• metadata,
• deepfakes,
• algorithmic risk assessments,
• expert evidence in digital forensics, and
• comparative approaches to AI governance.

Our subject addresses broader ethical and policy concerns, such as privacy, bias, and accountability in automated decision-making. Emphasis is placed on doctrinal analysis and real-world case studies, with flexibility to adapt the depth and scope of topics based on student engagement and understanding.

This is a five-day intensive subject taught in English. While the course is comparative in scope, special attention is given to legal developments in Asian jurisdictions including mainland China, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea.

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International trade is being transformed by the globalisation of the internet and the ability to move data across borders. Small businesses and firms in developing countries are using internet platforms such as eBay and Alibaba to engage in international trade. Software, music and books that used to be traded physically are now being transmitted digitally across borders; lawyers, consultants and other professional services are using the internet to reach new markets. Data analytics and cloud computing have become essential tools for firms in domestic and international markets.

This subject will examine the impact of the internet and global data flows on international trade. Students will learn about the varied and innovative ways that the internet and data enable international economic activity. Students will look at how government regulation in areas such as privacy and national security affects digital trade and will examine the balance between achieving these goals and maximising opportunities for trade, growth and jobs. Students will learn about the extent to which international trade rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and free trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement support an open internet and global data flows; will identify gaps in law and practice; and will analyse where new global norms and rules are needed. Special topics covered may include: the opportunities of digital trade for developing countries and small and medium enterprises (SMEs); challenges posed by the 'Internet of Things' and privacy regulation; and digital trade and national security.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Overview of the globalisation of the internet including global trends in internet access and use
• The economics of the internet - students will learn how internet access and global data flows are improving productivity, enabling innovation and expanding opportunities for global engagement
• What is the impact of the internet and data flows on international trade? This will include the role of digital platforms and the increasing importance of digital services trade
• What are the barriers to digital trade, who is erecting them and why? Students will learn about the regulatory challenges to digital trade in areas of consumer protection, financial and privacy laws and the different approaches being taken in the European Union, the United States and Australia, and consider how to achieve domestic regulatory goals while maximising digital trade
• Applying international trade law to digital trade issues and identifying the legal gaps - students will analyse where existing international trade rules apply to digital trade issues. This will include analysis of WTO agreements and cases as well as new trade rules in free trade agreements. Gaps in trade law will be identified and students will consider whether new trade rules and norms are needed and where they can be negotiated.

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Information technology is critical to almost all modern organisations and processes. The development, acquisition and use of such technology raises a myriad of complex legal issues extending beyond conventional contractual issues and includes ownership rights, rights of use and risk management. This subject explores those issues with a particular emphasis on contracting and intellectual property issues associated with the development and sourcing of information technology products and services. Both lecturers are information technology lawyers who have had extensive practical experience acting for both providers and purchasers of such products and services.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Overview of information technology and the Australian information technology development industry
• Alternate dispute resolution of information technology disputes
• Roles and relationships of the various parties to information technology agreements
• Copyright protection afforded to technology products and services, including online products and services
• Open source licensing arrangements
• Patent protection afforded to information technology products and services
• Employees and contractor rights and obligations in the context of the creation and development of information technology
• Software creation, development and exploitation
• Cloud services: risks and liability
• Database and content management issues
• Privacy issues associated with the development and use of information technology goods and services
• Risk allocation and management of information technology contracts (including insurance and escrow arrangements).

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This subject critically explores the intersection of international law and Artificial Intelligence (AI). We conceptualise AI as an ‘Algorithmic Leviathan’ – a powerful force reshaping global power, economies, and societies. Rather than a regulatory void, the course examines how existing international legal frameworks (in trade, human rights, humanitarian law, etc.) grapple with AI’s multifaceted impacts – from its resource-intensive creation and data extraction to its deployment in autonomous systems and decision-making. You will critically analyse attempts to govern AI, considering the interplay between states, corporations, and the risks of ‘regulatory capture’. The subject also explores AI’s potential to serve international law’s goals, such as enhancing access to justice, while remaining vigilant about biases and ethical challenges. Through lectures, discussions, and hands-on AI tool exercises (no coding background needed), you will develop a sophisticated understanding of how international law is responding to, and being reshaped by, AI’s advance.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Introduction: AI as a Force to be Governed? (Concepts, History, Critical Framing)
• International Law’s Encounter with AI: (Sources, Subjects, Responsibility, Jurisdiction)
• AI's Material Costs: (Resource Extraction, Environment, Labour, Trade Law - for example, China - Rare Earths)
• AI's Data Demands: The Data Mine (Information Extraction, Privacy, Data Flows, Human Rights Law)
• Governing AI: Regulation, Competition, and Capture (Global Governance Models, EU AI Act, Treaty Efforts)
• AI on the Battlefield: Autonomous Weapons, Targeting, and International Humanitarian Law
• Rules as Data: AI, Treaty Interpretation, and Legal Knowledge Management
• AI and Information Warfare: State Responsibility and Human Rights Implications
• Algorithmic Justice? AI in International Adjudication, Decision-Making, and Bias Mitigation
• AI Futures: Collective Rights, Deliberative Democracy, and the Evolving Role of the International Lawyer

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Generative AI has rapidly emerged across society, with much speculation about the opportunities and threats it poses.

As a technology that fundamentally accepts natural language instruction, has an ability to reason on that language, and provides natural language output, there are parallels with the work performed by legal practitioners— who receive client instructions, apply legal expertise with the intent to achieve some outcome, and ordinarily provide a written output in the form of a contract, an advice or a submission.

Advancements in tools that abstract away a lot of the underlying complexity mean that you no longer need to be a "software developer" to develop powerful, practical programs. Increasingly the focus is on having the domain expertise and imagination, rather than the technical skill.

To best make use of the current capabilities of this technology, and to form a view on where it might lead, there is no substitute for lifting the hood and using the core components to build practical outputs. This provides a depth of understanding that cannot be obtained by theoretical study alone.

Society will require legal practitioners who are able to understand, build, and critique the machinations of programs that use artificial intelligence (in particular, Generative AI). Accordingly, this timely and hands-on subject provides a much-needed set of tools for those engaged with law and technology: it steps through how to build Generative AI based programs for legal solutions, giving students an opportunity to put that learning into practice and become leaders in AI within their chosen career area.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Overview of Large Language Models
• Programmatic Access to Large Language Models
• Information Architecture
• Developing Applications
• Measuring and Improving Performance

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The internet has given rise to new modes of communication. Services such as Netflix, Facebook and Google pose significant challenges for traditional models of communications regulation. At present, traditional media are arguably among the most heavily regulated sectors of the Australian economy, yet new media services go largely unregulated. This subject examines the conflict between traditional regulation of old and new media. Australia’s current regulatory arrangements arose in the 1990s and reflect the structure of the electronic communications industries at that time – focusing on the separate and highly prescriptive regulation of broadcasting and telecommunications. The current regulatory framework is fragmented and complex, and covers not only technical issues but also sector-specific competition, content and ownership rules. Since the 1990s, however, the communications environment in Australia has undergone a period of rapid and profound change. The emergence and ubiquitous adoption of the internet as a mass communications system has provided new opportunities for Australian publishers and audiences by dismantling traditional technological, economic and regulatory barriers to entry. From national security to sport, this revolution in communications has profound policy issues for national regulation in a global communications environment.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• What is communications law? (including different regulatory approaches)
• Regulation of communications services, including radio, television and internet services
• Australian content rules
• Control and ownership of broadcasting and communications enterprises
• Pay TV and the anti-siphoning regime
• Competition in telecommunications (including regulation of anti-competitive practices, NBNCo and the structural separation of Telstra)
• Interconnection law and policy
• Spectrum allocation (including licensing and spectrum auctions)
• Consumer protection issues
• Regulation of internet content
• Regulation of new services and technologies, including convergence of media and Australian content requirements.

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The world's first feature-length film was thought to have been produced in Australia in 1906. The Story of the Kelly Gang told the story of Australia's most infamous bushrangers and received distribution in Britain and New Zealand as well as in Australia. From 1906 onwards, Australian films and television programs such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Castle, Shine and The Sullivans have helped to define the particular cultural identity of Australians. This subject explores the issues associated with the production, financing and distribution of such films and television programs, with particular reference to feature films and sport and drama television programming (including online programs of a similar episodic structure and duration expected by television audiences, but which are distributed by online streaming). The distribution of films and television programs has been radically re-shaped since the early 1990s with the development of the Internet and the advent of online streaming. Online streaming has raised both opportunities and challenges for producers of films and television programs and has increased the complexities of the commercial and legal issues which must be addressed in the context of the production, financing and distribution of audio-visual material.

The lecturers in the subject have worked as in-house counsel at an Australian television network, and in private practice acting for independent producers,adding to the practical relevance of the subject.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• Introduction to the changing landscape of the film and television industries in Australia and internationally
• Copyright clearance issues
• Moral rights
• Breach of confidence and privacy
• Sport on television
• Film financing, production and distribution
• Australian content regulation and the production of drama programming
• Production and broadcast of advertising on television
• Use of musical works and sound recordings in film and television programming
• Distribution and merchandising of film and television programming
• Employment and contractual arrangements for film and television personalities
• Copyright and other rights in television formats.

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Privacy has been valued for centuries but now there is a resurgent interest in its protection as a result of new technologies, changing social norms and a rise of markets focused on the commodity value of information. Overlapping with the resurgent interest in privacy is a related concern about the management of data flows, especially on the part of government agencies and business organisations. The legal frameworks that deal with privacy and data protection have a long history but are coming under pressure to adapt to a more complex modern environment.

In this subject, you will pay particular attention to the scope and nature of privacy protection as well as appropriate limits and exceptions, the ongoing pressures for law reform, and the practical operation of privacy and data protection laws in Australia and comparable jurisdictions.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• What is privacy?
• Conceptual and legal definitional issues
• International and comparative privacy and data protection regimes
• Protection of privacy in general law in Australia and comparable jurisdictions
• The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth): regulation of personal information held by the private and public sectors
• State/territory (especially Victorian) legislative regimes for the regulation of personal information
• Current topics in privacy law such as privacy and the media, privacy and health information, online privacy, telecommunications and surveillance privacy
• Current reform inquiries and proposals and likely reforms.

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Online platforms are under increasing amounts of scrutiny, with states increasingly seeking to regulate the digital sphere. Online harms are a key target of these legislative interventions and pose unique challenges in the regulation of online content. Campaigns of disinformation and manipulation have plagued democratic elections, instances of ‘fake news’ have caused harm to public health, charities and governments alike have struggled to deal with the increase in online violence and abuse, and technologies pose new methods for bullying and harassment.

However, regulating harmful content online is not a straightforward task. The global nature of the internet, the relative dominance of platforms, the volumes of content posted, and the complex and disparate nature of the different types of harm has made it difficult to develop effective regulatory frameworks. Regulatory approaches must be balanced against fundamental rights such as the right to freedom of expression and other policy interests, such as promoting competition and protecting data privacy.

This subject will enable you to develop a critical understanding of the framework of laws regulating online harms, considering legal, policy, social, and ethical interventions. The subject will look at several overseas jurisdictions to assess wider patterns in online harms regulation and consider future developments, both in Australia and around the globe.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The development of online harms regulatory frameworks in jurisdictions including Australia, the UK, EU, USA, and Singapore.

• The responsibilities of private actors in the regulation of online harm.

• Key techniques which are mobilised to address harmful and illegal content, including content moderation and the use of algorithmic recommender systems.

• Challenges to the regulation of online harms presented by technologies such as encryption and age verification.

• How the law distinguishes between illegal and harmful content.

• How breaches of online harms regulation are enforced and what sanctions may result.

View detailed information in the Handbook