Law of Financial Services (11573.2)

Please note these are the 2026 details for this unit
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Law of Financial Services
Available teaching periods Delivery mode Location
View teaching periods On-campus
 Bruce, ÃØÃÜÖ±²¥
EFTSL Credit points Faculty
0.125 3 Faculty Of Business, Government & Law
Discipline Study level HECS Bands
ÃØÃÜÖ±²¥ Law School Level 2 - Undergraduate Intermediate Unit Band 4 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan 2021)
Band 4 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan Social Work_Exclude 0905)
Band 5 2021 (Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021)
This unit provides a comprehensive coverage of the requirements of Chapter 7 of the Corporations Act (2001) - the Law of Financial Services and Markets. The unit introduces students to key definitions such as those for financial services, financial products, retail and wholesale clients. The unit covers in detail the requirements for the licensing of all financial service providers (advisers and dealers); the legal responsibilities of licensees in dealing with their clients; and the consequences of breaching licence requirements and conditions, such as failing to act in the best interests of a client. The unit provides a full treatment of the law with respect to the provision of the most important financial products, such as corporate securities, interests in managed investment schemes and superannuation funds. Students will be able to apply the legal requirements of the Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Terrorism legislation and privacy legislation when providing advice to clients.

Learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Understand the statutory and case law principles of the Australian Law of Financial Services;
2. Analyse and evaluate the application of the law in reported regulatory proceedings and in case studies drawn from Royal Commission hearlngs; and
3. Apply knowledge and skills with initiative and judgement to solve problems and make decisions relating to professional practice.


Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
2. UC graduates are global citizens - adopt an informed and balanced approach across professional and international boundaries
2. UC graduates are global citizens - behave ethically and sustainably in their professional and personal lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - communicate effectively in diverse cultural and social settings
2. UC graduates are global citizens - think globally about issues in their profession
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development


Prerequisites

11220 Business Law OR 11251 Foundations of Law and Justice

Corequisites

None.

Incompatible units

None.

Equivalent units

None.

Assumed knowledge

None.
Year Location Teaching period Teaching start date Delivery mode Unit convener
2026 Bruce, ÃØÃÜÖ±²¥ Semester 1 16 February 2026 On-campus Prof Maree Sainsbury
The information provided should be used as a guide only. Timetables may not be finalised until week 2 of the teaching period and are subject to change. Search for the unit timetable.

Required texts

Lists of required texts/readings

Prescribed Texts

  • Melissa Naylor, Law of Investments and Financial Markets (Thomson Reuters, 3rd ed, 2019).

Recommended Texts

  • Ashley Black and Pamela Hanrahan, Securities and Financial Services Law (LexisNexis Butterworths, 11th ed, 2025)

The recommended text (Authors: Ashley Black and Pamela Hanrahan) provides students with more detailed reference material than is generally required for the purposes of this unit, but it does provide a detailed commentary on the findings of the Banking Royal Commission and is a very authoritative resource. Students will also need constant access throughout the semester to a current copy of the relevant legislation (i.e. the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)) which is freely available online. Additional materials will be provided to students by the Unit Convenor via Canvas.  

Submission of assessment items

Extensions & Late submissions

Artificial intelligence

Students are not permitted to use generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in assessments for this unit, except for Studiosity Writing Feedback Plus.

GenAI may only be used in authorised ways when completing assessments at UC. This means that GenAI can only be used for an assessment when:

  1. the Unit Convener has authorised GenAI use for that assessment
  2. the student uses GenAI in the way that the assessment instructions allow
  3. the student fully acknowledges their use of GenAI, with proper citations, references and a GenAI Acknowledgement Statement in line with the assessment instructions.

Where the assessment instructions do not specifically state that GenAI may be used and how, then its use is not permitted for that assessment. Students must still provide the required GenAI Acknowledgement Statement to indicate whether GenAI has or has not been used in the preparation of the assessment. If unsure, students should seek advice from the Unit Convener.

The  Library Guide provides further information, including how to .

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the , , and University of ÃØÃÜÖ±²¥ (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Participation requirements

Attendance is expected for programmed activities. The onus is upon individual students to contact the unit convenor if they experience difficulties in participating.

Required IT skills

Required IT skills

Students must be sufficiently capable in the use of computers to undertake legal research on the internet, and to provide written assignments. All students should have e-mail communication with the unit convenor, tutor and the Faculty. You are also expected to have or gain the ability to use Canvas.

Work placement, internships or practicums

None. 

Additional information

Additional information

  • Where required, further details concerning information in this unit outline will be supplied via the Canvas site for this unit.
  • Notices given in class or via Canvas will be deemed to be given to the whole class.
  • Your learning in this unit is supported by Canvas. Your use of Canvas can be monitored and reported to the unit convenor.

Next step

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