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Criminal Law
Undergraduate
UNE-LAW162 2025Previously UNE-LAW161
Course information for 2025 intake View information for 2024 course intake
Break into criminal law as you cover burden of proof, identification of actus reus and mens rea, relevant statute and case law. Learn to interpret legislation, identify elements of the offence, and ultimately give persuasive legal arguments.
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- Subject may require attendance
- Enrol by
- 16 Feb 2025
- Entry requirements
- Prior study needed
- Duration
- 16 weeks
- Price from
- $2,351
- Upfront cost
- $0
- Loan available
- FEE-HELP available
Criminal Law
About this subject
Upon completion of this subject, students will be able to:
- distinguish substantive criminal law from procedural law, and demonstrate knowledge of selected elements of criminal procedure;
- demonstrate knowledge of the general principles and doctrines of criminal law including relevant statute and case law;
- interpret criminal law legislation, and identify the elements of statutory offences;
- critically analyse and consolidate the relevant criminal law to provide persuasive legal arguments and solutions to fact-based criminal law problems; and
- communicate knowledge and analytic skills using appropriate conventions of academic writing.
- Topics are available to enrolled students in the unit Learning Management site.
This subject provides you with a comprehensive introduction to substantive criminal law as well as an introduction to the key elements of criminal procedure. After completing this subject, you will be able to identify the essential elements of an offence and of selected defences and apply the general principles of the criminal law. You will understand the distinction between substantive and procedural law as well as the procedural framework that applies to criminal law, with opportunities to apply your knowledge and critical thinking skills to analyse a variety of criminal law issues. This subject meets the Priestley requirements for criminal law and procedure.
Online Quiz: Relates to Learning Outcomes (LO) LO: 1-4;
Written Assessment: 2000 words (approx). Relates to Learning Outcomes (LO) LO: 1-5;
Open Book Examination: 2 hours 15 minutes. Relates to Learning Outcomes (LO) LO: 1-5.
There is a supervised exam at the end of the teaching period in which you are enrolled. The exam will either be offered online with supervision via webcam and screen sharing technology. Coordinated by UNE Exams Unit.
UNE manages supervised exams associated with your UNE subjects.
Prior to census date, UNE releases exam timetables. They’ll email important exam information directly to your UNE email address.- Written Assessment (40%)
- Online Quiz (10%)
- Open Book Invigilated Examination (50%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
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- 36
Entry requirements
Prior study
You must either have successfully completed the following subject(s) before starting this subject, or currently be enrolled in the following subject(s) in a prior study period; or enrol in the following subject(s) to study prior to this subject:
Please note that your enrolment in this subject is conditional on successful completion of these prerequisite subject(s). If you study the prerequisite subject(s) in the study period immediately prior to studying this subject, your result for the prerequisite subject(s) will not be finalised prior to the close of enrolment. In this situation, should you not complete your prerequisite subject(s) successfully you should not continue with your enrolment in this subject. If you are currently enrolled in the prerequisite subject(s) and believe you may not complete these all successfully, it is your responsibility to reschedule your study of this subject to give you time to re-attempt the prerequisite subject(s).
Equivalent subjects
You won't be able to enrol into this subject if you've already successfully completed or currently enrolled in the following subject(s) as they are considered anti-requisites due to the similarity of the content.
UNE-LAW161 (Not currently available)
Others
To enrol in this subject you will need to pass UNE-LAW100 and UNE-LSU100 subjects. Please note as UNE results are released after the close of enrolment date, your enrolment into this subject will be withdrawn if you do not receive a satisfactory result for UNE-LAW100 and UNE-LSU100.
Additional requirements
- Equipment requirements - Headphones or speakers (required to listen to lecture and other media). Headset, including microphone (highly recommended). Webcam (may be required for participation in virtual classrooms and/or media presentations).
- Software requirements - It is essential for students to have reliable internet access in order to participate in and complete your units, regardless of whether they contain an on campus attendance or intensive school component. For additional information please visit UNE Hardware Requirements: https://www.une.edu.au/current-students/support/it-services/hardware
- Other requirements -
Textbook requirements:
Textbook information is not available until approximately 8 weeks prior to the commencement of the Teaching period.
Students are expected to purchase prescribed material.
Textbook requirements may vary from one teaching period to the next.
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
What to study next?
Once you’ve completed this subject it can be credited towards one of the following courses
Undergraduate
UNE-LAW-DEGUndergraduate
UNE-LLB-DEGUndergraduate
UNE-CRM-DEGSingle subject FAQs
What’s a single subject?
Single subjects are the individual components that make up a degree. With Open Universities Australia, you’re able to study many of them as stand-alone subjects, including postgraduate single subjects, without having to commit to a degree.
Each of your subjects will be held over the course of a study term, and they’ll usually require 10 to 12 hours of study each week. Subjects are identified by a title and a code, for example, Developmental Psychology, PSY20007.
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First, find the degree that you would like to study on our website.
If that degree allows entry via undergraduate subjects, there will be information about this under the Entry Requirements section. You will find a list of 2-4 open enrolment subjects you need to successfully complete to qualify for admission into that qualification.
Once you pass those subjects, you will satisfy the academic requirements for the degree, and you can apply for entry.
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When you’ve made your choice, click ‘Enrol now’ on the relevant course page and follow the prompts to begin your enrolment. We’ll ask you to supply some supporting documentation, including proof of your identity, your tax file number, and a unique student identifier (USI) during this process.
Your university will get in touch with you via email to confirm whether or not your application has been successful.
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When is the cut-off date for enrolling?
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