LLB440 Environmental Law
To view more information for this unit, select Unit Outline from the list below. Please note the teaching period for which the Unit Outline is relevant.
| Unit code: | LLB440 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite(s): | LLH206 or LWB335 |
| Antirequisite(s): | LWB485 |
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Timetable | Details in HiQ, if available |
| Availabilities |
|
| CSP student contribution | $2,174 |
| Pre-2021 CSP student contribution | $1,703 The pre-2021 commonwealth supported place (CSP) contribution amount only applies to students enrolled in a course prior to 2021. To learn more, visit our Understanding your fees page. |
| Domestic tuition unit fee | $3,456 |
| International unit fee | $5,592 |
Unit Outline: Semester 1 2026, Gardens Point, Internal
| Unit code: | LLB440 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Pre-requisite: | LLH206 or LWB335 |
| Anti-requisite: | LWB485 |
| Coordinator: | Rowena Maguire | r.maguire@qut.edu.au |
Overview
As Australian legal practitioners can increasingly expect to work on issues addressing climate change and environmental degradation, an understanding of this area of law is important for all practitioners. The aim of this unit is to enable you to understand the principles and mechanisms of environmental law, how they apply to contemporary environmental issues and where the law needs reform. This unit will be beneficial if you are intending to practice in environmental, planning, property or construction law, or if you intend to work in the public sector in relation to the implementation of international environmental obligations, conservation and protection of biodiversity and management of pollution of air, water and land. This unit will develop your critical thinking skills, provide you with experience in drafting submissions and will involve assessment tasks framed on current environmental legal issues.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Critically analyse and apply relevant legal principles of environmental law for the purpose of resolving problems involving law, facts and policy (Course Learning Outcomes 1.1, 2.1, 2.2)
- Critically analyse the principles of environmental law, and their interplay with other relevant legal principles and policy priorities (CLOs 1.1, 1.4, 2.3)
- Manage and complete a research project by using the appropriate research methodology, involving the selection and evaluation of relevant sources of law and policy (CLOs 3.1, 3.2, 3).
- Communicate legal reasoning logically and coherently (CLO 4.1)
Content
The content of this unit includes:
- Principles and theories of environmental law
- International Environmental Obligations
- Commonwealth Framework for Environmental Law
- Queensland's Environmental Regulatory Regime
- Planning and Assessment of Major Projects
- Nature Conservation
- Climate Mitigation Mechanisms and Litigation
- Climate Adaptation
- Great Barrier Reef Regulation
- Waste Management and the Circular Economy
- Critical perspectives informed by Indigenous scholarship.
Learning Approaches
This unit employs an active and collaborative approach to learning. It involves an online, self-led learning practice and weekly workshops where you will learn from experts and your peers. Prior to workshops, you will be supported and engaged in this unit through the delivery of recordings presented by experts and relevant real-world readings. You will participate in collaborative discussions that will explore a range of practical and theoretical perspectives.
Your participation in the unit will include:
• Independent engagement with online materials including recordings and readings to assist with your understanding of substantive content and key concepts.
• Weekly interactive workshops for you to engage in learning activities designed to enhance your application of legal principles, practice problem solving and interpretation with your peers and receive guidance and feedback from the lecturer.
• Online Q&A sessions and a discussion board to allow you to check your understanding of key concepts and receive input and feedback from your peers and from the teaching team.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
Students are provided with feedback to assist their learning throughout the semester. The feedback is provided through:
- the face-to-face workshops (internal students)
- the feedback on your assessment (all students)
- the generic feedback on the examination placed on the unit's Canvas site (all students)
- the option of consultation with a member of the teaching team during student consultation (all students).
Assessment
Overview
In this unit, students are graded on a scale of one to seven.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Research Essay
A research essay addressing a current issue in environmental law.
The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details in Canvas for specific guidelines.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Assessment: Examination
An end-of-semester examination (open book) will assess the depth of your knowledge and understanding of the topics of the unit as well as your ability to analyse and apply relevant legal rules and principles to solve defined problems. All topics covered in the unit are assessable.
The use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is prohibited during this assessment.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
Resource Materials
Prescribed text(s)
Rowena Maguire, Justine Bell-James, Amanda Kennedy, Philippa England, Fran Humphries, Nicole Rogers Environmental, Planning and Climate Law in Queensland (LexisNexis) current edition
Risk Assessment Statement
There are no unusual risks in this unit.
Unit Outline: Semester 1 2026, Online
| Unit code: | LLB440 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Pre-requisite: | LLH206 or LWB335 |
| Anti-requisite: | LWB485 |
Overview
As Australian legal practitioners can increasingly expect to work on issues addressing climate change and environmental degradation, an understanding of this area of law is important for all practitioners. The aim of this unit is to enable you to understand the principles and mechanisms of environmental law, how they apply to contemporary environmental issues and where the law needs reform. This unit will be beneficial if you are intending to practice in environmental, planning, property or construction law, or if you intend to work in the public sector in relation to the implementation of international environmental obligations, conservation and protection of biodiversity and management of pollution of air, water and land. This unit will develop your critical thinking skills, provide you with experience in drafting submissions and will involve assessment tasks framed on current environmental legal issues.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Critically analyse and apply relevant legal principles of environmental law for the purpose of resolving problems involving law, facts and policy (Course Learning Outcomes 1.1, 2.1, 2.2)
- Critically analyse the principles of environmental law, and their interplay with other relevant legal principles and policy priorities (CLOs 1.1, 1.4, 2.3)
- Manage and complete a research project by using the appropriate research methodology, involving the selection and evaluation of relevant sources of law and policy (CLOs 3.1, 3.2, 3).
- Communicate legal reasoning logically and coherently (CLO 4.1)
Content
The content of this unit includes:
- Principles and theories of environmental law
- International Environmental Obligations
- Commonwealth Framework for Environmental Law
- Queensland's Environmental Regulatory Regime
- Planning and Assessment of Major Projects
- Nature Conservation
- Climate Mitigation Mechanisms and Litigation
- Climate Adaptation
- Great Barrier Reef Regulation
- Waste Management and the Circular Economy
- Critical perspectives informed by Indigenous scholarship.
Learning Approaches
This unit employs an active and collaborative approach to learning. It involves an online, self-led learning practice and weekly workshops where you will learn from experts and your peers. Prior to workshops, you will be supported and engaged in this unit through the delivery of recordings presented by experts and relevant real-world readings. You will participate in collaborative discussions that will explore a range of practical and theoretical perspectives.
Your participation in the unit will include:
• Independent engagement with online materials including recordings and readings to assist with your understanding of substantive content and key concepts.
• Weekly interactive workshops for you to engage in learning activities designed to enhance your application of legal principles, practice problem solving and interpretation with your peers and receive guidance and feedback from the lecturer.
• Online Q&A sessions and a discussion board to allow you to check your understanding of key concepts and receive input and feedback from your peers and from the teaching team.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
Students are provided with feedback to assist their learning throughout the semester. The feedback is provided through:
- the face-to-face workshops (internal students)
- the feedback on your assessment (all students)
- the generic feedback on the examination placed on the unit's Canvas site (all students)
- the option of consultation with a member of the teaching team during student consultation (all students).
Assessment
Overview
In this unit, students are graded on a scale of one to seven.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Research Essay
A research essay addressing a current issue in environmental law.
The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details in Canvas for specific guidelines.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Assessment: Examination
An end-of-semester examination (open book) will assess the depth of your knowledge and understanding of the topics of the unit as well as your ability to analyse and apply relevant legal rules and principles to solve defined problems. All topics covered in the unit are assessable.
The use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is prohibited during this assessment.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
Resource Materials
Prescribed text(s)
Rowena Maguire, Justine Bell-James, Amanda Kennedy, Philippa England, Fran Humphries, Nicole Rogers Environmental, Planning and Climate Law in Queensland (LexisNexis) current edition
Risk Assessment Statement
There are no unusual risks in this unit.