School: Business and Law

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Commercial and Corporate Law for Accountants
  • Unit Code

    LAW2300
  • Year

    2026
  • Enrolment Period

    1
  • Version

    7
  • Credit Points

    15
  • Full Year Unit

    N
  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus
    Online
  • Unit Coordinator

    Dr Cecilia ANTHONY DAS

Description

This unit provides an integrated introduction to the legal framework relevant to business and corporate operations in Australia, with a particular focus on company law and its application in accounting contexts. Students will explore the legal principles underpinning business transactions, including contract and tort law, as well as the formation, operation, regulation, and dissolution of companies. The unit covers key compliance and reporting obligations under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and the roles of regulatory bodies such as the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). Designed specifically for accounting students, this unit equips future professionals with essential legal knowledge required for practice in accounting, auditing, and corporate advisory roles.

Prerequisite Rule

Students enrolled in V72, Y11, K30, Y66, W28, W83 cannot take this unit.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Explain the Australian legal and regulatory environment for accountants.
  2. Apply fundamental principles of commercial law to business and accounting scenarios.
  3. Analyse the corporate governance responsibilities established under Australian corporate law.
  4. Examine ethical considerations in accounting practice, including adherence to professional standards.

Unit Content

  1. Introduction to the Australian Legal System
  2. Introduction to the Law of Agency
  3. Introduction to the Law of Negligence
  4. Formation of Contract
  5. Breach of Contract
  6. Companies and Incorporation
  7. Company Dealings
  8. Directors duties and Governance
  9. Company Financing
  10. Disclosure and fundraising
  11. Membership, meetings and dividends
  12. Members Remedies
  13. Corporate Insolvency

Learning Experience

ON-CAMPUS

Students will attend on campus classes as well as engage in learning activities through ECU's LMS

JoondalupMount LawleySouth West (Bunbury)
Semester 1Not OfferedNot OfferedNot Offered
Semester 1Not OfferedNot OfferedNot Offered
Semester 2Not OfferedNot OfferedNot Offered
Semester 2Not OfferedNot OfferedNot Offered

For more information see the Semester Timetable

ONLINE

Students will engage in learning experiences via ECU’s LMS as well as additional ECU learning technologies

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

ON CAMPUS
TypeDescriptionValue
Case StudyShort Case Study 20%
AssignmentMajor Assignment 30%
ExaminationFinal Examination 50%
ONLINE
TypeDescriptionValue
Case StudyShort Case Study 20%
AssignmentMajor Assignment 30%
ExaminationFinal Examination 50%

Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Assessment

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. Informal vivas may be conducted as part of an assessment task, where staff require further information to confirm the learning outcomes have been met. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

Academic Integrity

Integrity is a core value at Edith Cowan University, and it is expected that ECU students complete their assessment tasks honestly and with acknowledgement of other people's work as well as any generative artificial intelligence tools that may have been used. This means that assessment tasks must be completed individually (unless it is an authorised group assessment task) and any sources used must be referenced.

Breaches of academic integrity can include:

Plagiarism

Copying the words, ideas or creative works of other people or generative artificial intelligence tools, without referencing in accordance with stated University requirements. Students need to seek approval from the Unit Coordinator within the first week of study if they intend to use some of their previous work in an assessment task (self-plagiarism).

Unauthorised collaboration (collusion)

Working with other students and submitting the same or substantially similar work or portions of work when an individual submission was required. This includes students knowingly providing others with copies of their own work to use in the same or similar assessment task(s).

Contract cheating

Organising a friend, a family member, another student or an external person or organisation (e.g. through an online website) to complete or substantially edit or refine part or all of an assessment task(s) on their behalf.

Cheating in an exam

Using or having access to unauthorised materials in an exam or test.

Serious outcomes may be imposed if a student is found to have committed one of these breaches, up to and including expulsion from the University for repeated or serious acts.

ECU's policies and more information about academic integrity can be found on the student academic integrity website.

All commencing ECU students are required to complete the Academic Integrity Module.

Assessment Extension

In some circumstances, Students may apply to their Unit Coordinator to extend the due date of their Assessment Task(s) in accordance with ECU's Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000001386.

Special Consideration

Students may apply for Special Consideration in respect of a final unit grade, where their achievement was affected by Exceptional Circumstances as set out in the Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000003318.

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