Outline

Overview

This unit offers a detailed examination of the regulatory and tax rules affecting the superannuation industry in Australia. The unit will analyse the statutory regulatory framework and the background rules of trust law, how they apply to different industry segments such as SMSFs, APRA regulated funds and constitutionally-protected funds, and how they affect issues such as fund structure and management, duties of trustees, benefit types, investment strategies, the resolution of disputes and so on. The unit will also consider in detail how the income tax, FBT and SGC regimes apply to amounts flowing into and out of the superannuation system (contributions, fund income and expenses, and benefits provided in various forms) for the various participants in the industry (employers, trustees, members, their dependents and estates, external providers). The unit will be taught through the analysis of a series of case studies discussed in detail in each seminar.

Unit details and rules

Unit code	LAWS6127
Academic unit	Law
Credit points	6
Prohibitions ?	None
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	It is assumed that students undertaking this unit already have some understanding of Australian financial regulatory law, trust law and income tax law gained either from recent undergraduate study or from practical experience gained in a law or accounting practice, in industry or in the Australian Taxation Office.
Available to study abroad and exchange students	No

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Graeme Cooper, graeme.cooper@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Final exam (Take-home short release)	Final exam (60%) 3000 word Final exam	60%	Formal exam period	2 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Participation	Structured class participation (10%) Students to lead class discussion for one allocated class	10%	Ongoing	N/A
Outcomes assessed:
In-semester test (Take-home short release)	Mid-semester test (30%) 3000 word Mid-semester test	30%	Week 08 Due date: 11 Apr 2022 at 18:00	1.5 hours
Outcomes assessed:
= Type D final exam ? = Type D in-semester exam ?

Assessment summary

Structured class participation (10%)

Students will lead the class discussion for one class. This will be allocated in Week 2. Students who are unable to make their allocated class must apply for special consideration, and if successful, approved students will be allocated to another class. This tasks targets LO1 and LO2 by requiring students to demonstrate an understanding of policy and legal rules on taxation and applying them correctly to hypothetical problem scenarios discussed in class. The task also targets LO3 and LO4 by assessing student’s capacity to evaluate critically the development of policy and legal rules on taxation while taking into account different values and perspective in answering hypothetical problem questions.

Mid-semester test (30%)

The mid-semester test (30%) will be released on 11 April 2022 at 6:00pm Sydney, Australia time and is due at 8:00pm on the same day. You will have one hour and 30 minutes of writing time plus 30 minutes of reading time to prepare your responses. You will be required to answer a number of problem style questions. There is a strict word limit of 3000 words for this test. Any words in excess of 3000 will not be read or marked. Students must submit the test by the due date and time. Students who are granted special consideration in respect of this item of assessment will be allocated a replacement assessment task. The replacement task may be an alternative form of assessment, such as a viva voce (oral exam), designed to meet the same learning outcomes as the original exam. The format of the alternative assessment will be determined by the unit coordinator.

Final exam (60%)

The final exam (60%) will be held during the university formal exam period. The exam will be in the form of a number of problem-style questions. You will have two hours writing time plus 30 minutes reading time to prepare your responses to the questions. There is a strict word limit of 3,000 words for this exam. Any words in excess of 3,000 will not be read or marked. All materials and topics from the unit are examinable. Students must submit the exam by the due date and time. Students who are granted special consideration in respect of the final exam will be allocated a replacement assessment task. The replacement task may be an alternative form of assessment, such as a viva voce (oral exam), designed to meet the same learning outcomes as the original exam. The format of the alternative assessment will be determined by the unit coordinator.

Assessment requirement to pass a unit of study: A student must make a genuine attempt at all assessment tasks set out in this Unit of Study in order to obtain a Pass mark and grade (or above). Where this requirement is not met, an Absent Fail grade will be recorded as the result for this Unit of Study.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

These guidelines are designed to provide students with an understanding of the standards applied when grading assessments. Students should note that the type of assessment will affect the relevance of each factor. For example, the amount and type of research required will vary between a research essay, which will require independent research beyond the prescribed materials, and a problem question which may only require appropriate analysis of the prescribed materials. Conversely application of law to the facts is crucial in problem questions, where often less so in research essays.
These standards may be applied in conjunction with specific marking criteria.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	Work receiving a high distinction grade will generally exhibit the following characteristics: • Completely answers the question. • Contains striking originality of approach or analysis. • Demonstrates exhaustive or innovative research (where independent research required). • Exceptionally well written, structured and expressed. • Is otherwise exceptional in some way.
Distinction	75 - 84	Work receiving a distinction grade will generally exhibit the following characteristics: • Completely answers the question. • Achieves a critical and evaluative approach to the issues. • Content and structure is well organised in support of the argument. • Demonstrates extensive research and analysis to support a well-documented argument. • Generally well expressed and free from errors. • Has a clear structure and is well articulated.
Credit	65 - 74	Work receiving a credit grade will generally exhibit the following characteristics: • Covers main issues fairly well in answering the question. • Contains no significant errors • Demonstrates an attempted critical approach to the issues. • Demonstrates reasonably sound research and analysis in addressing the key issues. • Has a clear structure and reasonably clear expression.
Pass	50 - 64	Work receiving a pass grade will generally exhibit the following characteristics: • Identifies the key issues but does not follow through with a reasoned argument. • Contains some significant errors. • Displays satisfactory engagement with the key issues. • Offers descriptive summary of material relevant to the question. • Superficial use of material and may display a tendency to paraphrase. • Demonstrates little evidence of in-depth research or analysis. • Adequate expression. • Overall, demonstrates the minimum level of competence in the assessment and satisfies the requirements to proceed to higher-level studies in the degree or subject area.
Fail	0 - 49	Work may fail for any or all of the following reasons: • Does not answer the question. • Contains significant or numerous errors. • Few or no identifiable arguments. • Content that is inappropriate or irrelevant. • Lack of research or analysis. • Difficult or impossible to understand through poor grammar, expression or structure. • Overall, does not demonstrate the minimum level of competence in the assessment.

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

Please refer to special consideration application information in the assessment summary

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	The development of Australia’s private retirement income system	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 02	The legal, regulatory and tax framework regulating the superannuation system	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 03	Regulatory requirements of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act, regulations, trust law and the Corporations Act	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 04	Regulatory requirements of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act, regulations, trust law and the Corporations Act (continued)	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 05	Regulatory requirements of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act, regulations, trust law and the Corporations Act (continued)	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 06	Regulatory requirements of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act, regulations, trust law and the Corporations Act (continued)	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 07	The responsibilities of employers under the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 08	In-semester test	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 09	Tax treatment of contributors to superannuation funds	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 10	Taxation of the fund on contributions, earnings and gains	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 11	Taxation of benefits paid to members, beneficiaries, estates and others	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 12	Cross border aspects of the superannuation system	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 13	Asset protection and family law aspects of superannuation	Seminar (2 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: All students are required to attend 70% of classes (or as otherwise specified by the Unit Coordinator) to satisfy the pass requirements for each unit of study. Attendance requirements may be satisfied by in person and/or online attendance as specified by the Unit Coordinator. Failure to meet this requirement may result in a student being precluded from sitting the final assessment.

Word count penalty: A piece of assessment which exceeds the prescribed word limit will attract a penalty of 10% of the total marks available for the piece of assessment for every 100 words, or part thereof. The total word count for essay and other written assessments will exclude bibliography; footnote numbers; footnote citation; cover page and include body text; headings and sub-headings; quotations; anything other than numbers and citations in footnotes.

Referencing: The Sydney Law School expects you to use the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th edition, 2018) for your footnoting style, although you should confirm this with your lecturer, and a link to the library website where this is set out comprehensively is available at https://libguides.library.usyd.edu.au/c.php?g=508212&p=3476376

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Most Australian cases can be accessed via Austlii: http://www.austlii.edu.au/

Tax rulings and other administrative materials are available from the ATO’s legal database: http://law.ato.gov.au/atolaw/index.htm

Statutory material (including the explanatory memorandum to a bill) can be found at the Federal Register of Legislation: https://www.legislation.gov.au/

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. understand the policy underlying the legal rules on taxation covered in this unit of study
LO2. have a knowledge of the current legal rules on taxation covered in this unit of study
LO3. have the ability to interpret other legal rules on taxation applicable to the area covered by the unit of study, whether current or future
LO4. apply the legal rules on taxation covered by this unit of study to practical problems

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Assessment has been changed to conform to the new assessment framework.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

LAWS6127: Taxation and Regulation of Superannuation

Semester 1, 2022 [Normal evening] - Remote

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect