Outline

Overview

Immigration and Labour Law is a specialist unit designed to provide candidates with an opportunity to explore in depth a particular facet of immigration law that concerning the admission and treatment of noncitizens on grounds of employment or special skills. The unit is designed to be interdisciplinary in its focus offering insights for both candidates with particular interests in migration law and those with expertise or interests in employment law It examines the economic basis of the skilled component of Australias immigration program exploring the different theories and practical strategies adopted over the years in the selection of skilled migrants. It also looks in some detail at the various components of the skilled migration business skills and temporary skills transfer sub-programs. The unit involves the study of the laws and policies relevant to both the employment of foreign workers in Australia and the employment of Australian workers overseas. The unit covers substantive aspects of migration and labour law in Australia as well as law and policies relevant to the settlement and ongoing employment of foreign workers Included for special study in this regard are the matters of the recognition of overseas qualifications and the taxation superannuation and investment laws applicable to foreign workers. The unit of study is designed to foster the following skills: Skills of statutory interpretation and problem-solving through the study and use in practical situations of the Migration Act 1958 and its associated Regulations Skills of legal analysis and evaluation gained through the examination and synthesis of relevant legislation of court decisions and of rulings by the Migration Review Tribunal and Oral and writing skills through class participation simulation exercises and the preparation of a major research paper.

Unit details and rules

Unit code	LAWS6195
Academic unit	Law
Credit points	6
Prohibitions ?	None
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	LAWS6252 or a law degree and LAWS6071 (MLLR students only)
Available to study abroad and exchange students	No

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Mary Crock, mary.crock@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Mary Crock, mary.crock@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Proposed essay topic (non-graded) Essay abstract on topics provided or formulate own topic	0%	Week 01 Due date: 20 Oct 2023 at 23:59 Closing date: 25 Oct 2023	300 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	(Option) Capstone Essay plan (10%) Written	0%	Week 01 Due date: 20 Oct 2023 at 23:59 Closing date: 25 Oct 2023	500 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Written reports on readings (25%) Written reports on chosen cases or articles	25%	Week 02 Due date: 25 Oct 2023 at 23:59 Closing date: 01 Nov 2023	Maximum 2000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Research paper (75%) Essay	75%	Week 04 Due date: 11 Nov 2023 at 23:59 Closing date: 18 Nov 2023	6000 words / 12 weeks and 5 days
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	(Option) Capstone Essay (90%) Written	0%	Week 04 Due date: 11 Nov 2023 at 23:59 Closing date: 18 Nov 2023	8000 words / 12 weeks and 5 days
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Written reports on readings (25%): Class participation will be supported by the submission of written work in the form of notes on a case or article chosen for discussion. These reports do not require footnotes (unlike the research essay) and should not exceed a combined total of 2000 words. Students may choose to submit one or more pieces up to a maximum of 4 items and must submit all pieces on Canvas for assessment by 25 October at 11:59pm (Sydney, Australia time). The idea is that the reports are aligned to the cases or articles chosen for discussion.

I endeavour to make the assessment as fairly, consistently, and transparently as possible. If you have any concerns about this process or how the criteria have been applied, please let me know as soon as possible.

Research Paper 6000 words (75%): Students will be provided with some suggested essay topics by 11:59pm (Sydney, Australia time) on 14 August 2023 and the research paper is due at 11:59pm (Sydney, Australia time) on 11 November 2023. Students are encouraged to formulate their own research and writing project.

Proposed essay topic (non-graded): If a student choose to formulate their own research project a 300 word abstract of the proposed essay topic must be submitted on the canvas site for approval by 11:59pm (Sydney, Australia time) on 20 October 2023.

The purpose of the research essay is to allow students to pursue a chosen area or topic within the unit in more depth. The project aims to encourage the development of basic research and analytical skills; as well as fostering clear thinking and expression of ideas. The essay will also give the students the opportunity to explore aspects of migration law within a broader theoretical and jurisprudential framework and to demonstrate their grasp of issues involving the interface between immigration and labour law and also different areas of public law, politics and economics.

(Optional) Capstone essay (100%)

LLM students who are undertaking this unit towards the end of their degree, and need a capstone experience to complete their degree, must apply to the unit coordinator to undertake the assessment option of a Capstone Essay.

Capstone Essay plan (10%): Students wishing to take up this option are required to meet the unit coordinator in person to discuss/workshop their topics and then submit a 500-word topic proposal by email to the unit coordinator on mary.crock@sydney.edu.au by 9:00am (Sydney, Australia time) on 20 October 2023. A copy of the approval email must be kept and included with the submission.

Capstone Essay (90%): The Capstone Essay will replace all assessments in this unit. The Capstone Essay must be 8000 words and is due 11:59pm (Sydney, Australia time) on 11 November 2023.

Your essay topic should respond to the material covered in the present unit. However, at the same time, in order to serve as a capstone for your LLM, it should build upon the learning that has taken place during your LLM studies more generally.

Word limit 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 all footnotes and any bibliography (if required).

Use of editors or proof-readers: The use of assistance in preparing and editing assessment tasks in this unit of study is strictly prohibited. Assistance includes human and automated writing tools (not including spell checking). The use of Studiosity does not breach this rule but must be acknowledged.

Special consideration: Successful grants of Special Consideration may involve alternative tasks, as appropriate.

Assessment requirements 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); otherwise an Absent Fail grade will be recorded as the student’s result for this Unit of Study.

Assessment criteria

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

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	• 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	• 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	• 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	• 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	• 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:

The late submission of a piece of assessment, which has not been granted an extension, will attract a penalty of 10% of the total marks available for the piece of assessment per 24 hours or part thereof, after the due time on the due date. For example, a submission after 11:59pm but before the same time the following day will attract a 10% penalty. If you are encountering difficulties submitting a piece of work on time you should always reach out to the unit coordinator before the due time. The date and time of submission as recorded by Canvas is taken as the official and final record of a student’s submission.

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
Ongoing	DAY 1: Session 1: A History of Skilled Migration to Australia; Session 2: The Labour Law Framework: A Brief introduction; Session 3: Shaping policy relating to to Skilled Migration and Session 4: The Permanent skilled migration program	Seminar (6.5 hr)
	DAY 2: Session 5: Employer Sponsored Migration and An introduction to temporary labour migration; Session 6: Temporary Skilled Migration; Session 7: The protection of migrants and international law and Session 8: Internationally mobile students	Seminar (6.5 hr)
	DAY 3: Session 9: Protection of Migrant workers – Wage theft; Session 10: Reforms in wage recovery and criminalising wage theft; Session 11: Abuses in Australia and Session 12: Employer Sanctions	Seminar (6.5 hr)
	DAY 4: Session 13: Migrant Workers and the Gig Economy; Session 14: Offshore Contracts and Supply Chains; Session 15: Captive Workers and Human Trafficking and Session 16: Conclusion	Seminar (6.5 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 attendance as specified by the Unit Coordinator. Failure to meet this requirement may result in a student being precluded from sitting the final assessment. 

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

Mary Crock and Laurie Berg, Immigration, Refugees and Forced Migration: Law, Policy and Practice in Australia, (Sydney, the Federation Press, 2011), (hereafter "Crock & Berg"); and

Catherine Costello and Mark Freedland (Eds), Migrants at Work: Immigration and Vulnerability in Labour Law, (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2014), (Hereafter "Costello & Freedland").

All readings for this unit are available in Canvas.

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. demonstrate an advanced and integrated understanding of the fundamental and underlying principles, concepts and practices of law and policy governing employment-based migration that apply in Australia and the many broader contexts in which law operates and develops.
LO2. review, analyse and respond critically and creatively to legal questions faced by migrants wishing to gain temporary or permanent status through work, applying and integrating knowledges, reasoning and research.
LO3. review, analyse and respond critically and creatively to legal questions faced by employers wishing to sponsor non-citizens as employees on either a temporary or permanent basis;
LO4. acquire advanced intellectual and practical skills to identify, find, evaluate and synthesise relevant factual, legal, scholarly and policy information relating to the intersections between immigration law and labour law so as to develop an understanding of current laws and policies in their historical, ethical and economic context;
LO5. evaluate the operation of relevant laws and policies so as to determine their coherence, efficiency and fairness, developing an advanced understanding of respectful and ethical conduct, and an ability to recognise and reflect upon responsibilities to the legal profession, the legal system, the community, and the pursuit of justice.
LO6. understand the development of law, policy and practice to address the abuse of migrant workers in matters including wages and working conditions
LO7. develop a critical understanding of law, policy and practice relating to human trafficking in Australia.
LO8. develop an advanced ability to work independently and collaboratively as appropriate, and evaluate, reflect on and use feedback to develop personal and professional capability, including sound judgement.

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.

This unit was last offered in 2015. It has been altered dramatically to reflect recent developments and issues of interest such as trafficking and modern slavery.

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

LAWS6195: Immigration and Labour Law

Intensive November, 2023 [Block mode] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

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