Overview

The aim of this unit is to provide students with an understanding of sentencing law principles and practices across Australia. It provides students with a deeper knowledge of criminal law, especially the rules and principles relating to criminal appeals and the criminal principles in each Australian jurisdiction. The unit focuses on the evolving nature of sentencing law, with an emphasis on appropriate and necessary innovations in this area.

Requisites

Prerequisites
LAW10015 Criminal Law and Procedure

Rule

LAW10015 Criminal Law and Procedure

AND

62.5 credit points in Law units

Teaching periods
Location
Start and end dates
Last self-enrolment date
Census date
Last withdraw without fail date
Results released date
Teaching Period 3
Location
Online
Start and end dates
04-November-2024
09-February-2025
Last self-enrolment date
17-November-2024
Census date
29-November-2024
Last withdraw without fail date
27-December-2024
Results released date
04-March-2025
Summer
Location
Hawthorn
Start and end dates
06-January-2025
16-February-2025
Last self-enrolment date
06-January-2025
Census date
17-January-2025
Last withdraw without fail date
31-January-2025
Results released date
04-March-2025
Teaching Period 2
Location
Online
Start and end dates
07-July-2025
05-October-2025
Last self-enrolment date
20-July-2025
Census date
01-August-2025
Last withdraw without fail date
22-August-2025
Results released date

Learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

  • Conduct effective legal research of both primary and secondary materials
  • Explain contemporary debates about the appropriate manner in which to deal with criminal offenders
  • Explain the political, social and economic influences that shape criminal and sentencing law
  • Analyse the efficacy of the law to attain the key sentencing objectives in the form of deterrence, rehabilitation and community protection
  • Develop recommendations about innovative and technological changes that should be made to sentencing law

Teaching methods

Hawthorn

Type Hours per week Number of weeks Total (number of hours)
On-campus
Class		3.00 12 weeks 36
Online
Lecture		1.00 12 weeks 12
Unspecified Activities
Various		8.50 12 weeks 102
TOTAL150

Swinburne Online

Type Hours per week Number of weeks Total (number of hours)
Online
Directed Online Learning and Independent Learning		11.50 12 weeks 138
Live Online
Class		1.00 12 weeks 12
TOTAL150

Assessment

Type Task Weighting ULO's
AssessmentIndividual 50 - 60% 2,3,4,5 
Assignment 1Individual 10 - 20% 2,3 
Research EssayIndividual 30 - 50% 1,2,3,4,5 

Content

  • The aims and role of the criminal law
  • Key legislative criminal law provisions in each Australian jurisdiction
  • The objectives of sentencing law and practice
  • The principal of proportionality
  • Aggravating sentencing factors Privacy and institutional/social media
  • Mitigating sentencing considerations
  • Imprisonment
  • Intermediate sanctions
  • Mandatory sentencing
  • Indigenous offenders
  • Innovations to sentencing law
  • Sentencing and technology

Study resources

Reading materials

A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.