ACCT90015 Legal Issues for Business
The Complete Exam Bible · SM2 2026ACCT90015 Overview
- The University of Melbourne
- Semester 2, 2026
- a postgraduate business-law subject
- 12.5 credit points
- a legal-literacy subject for business decision makers
ACCT90015 covers Australian legal systems, business structures, contract, consumer and agency law, corporations, employment, negligence, insolvency, privacy, cybersecurity and intellectual property. It is taught within Faculty of Business and Economics, Department of Accounting. It is a postgraduate business-law subject.
- Facts before labels A legal conclusion is only as strong as the facts matched to each required element.
- Structure changes exposure Control, liability, tax and continuity differ across sole trader, partnership, trust and company forms.
- Remedy is part of analysis Issue spotting is incomplete until the likely consequence and preventive control are stated.
- No exam hurdle The current S2 guide lists a 50% final but explicitly says it has no hurdle requirement.
How ACCT90015 is assessed
| Component | Weight | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Four problem sets | 20% | Four individual 5% timed sets throughout semester |
| Group presentation video | 10% | Ten-minute presentation in registered groups during Weeks 3-9 |
| Group research assignment | 20% | Due Week 10; live LMS controls the exact submission time |
| End-of-semester examination | 50% | Two hours plus 30 minutes reading time during the examination period; no hurdle |
Semester 2 has four individual problem sets worth 20%, a 10% group video presentation, a 20% group research assignment and a 50% end-of-semester examination. The current subject guide explicitly states that the examination has no hurdle requirement.
Current ACCT90015 dates
| Date | Item | Control |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks 3-9 | Group presentation window | 10% recorded group presentation. |
| Week 10 | Group research assignment | 20%; live LMS controls the exact deadline. |
| Official examination period | End-of-semester examination | 50%, two hours plus 30 minutes reading time, no hurdle. |
Current-offering dates captured in the course materials. Confirm changes and exact submission settings in the live LMS.
What ACCT90015 covers
The learning path moves from Australian Legal Systems and Business Issue Spotting, through the problems opened by Employment Law and Workplace Responsibility, to the synthesis required in Intellectual Property and Confidential Business Assets.
Australian Legal Systems and Business Issue Spotting
source of law · court hierarchy · legal issue spotting · identify the applicable legal area and authority before advising a business response02Business Structures, Separate Personality and Agency
business structure · separate legal personality · agency · compare liability and authority across a sole trader, partnership, trust and company03Contract Formation, Terms and Performance
contract formation · contractual term · breach · determine whether a contract formed, which terms were incorporated and what breach follows04Consumer Law, Misleading Conduct and Unfair Terms
consumer guarantee · misleading or deceptive conduct · unfair contract term · test marketing, supply and standard terms against Australian consumer protections05Corporations, Directors and Governance
director duty · corporate governance · business judgment · connect a board decision to duty, conflict, evidence and oversight06Employment Law and Workplace Responsibility
employment relationship · adverse action · vicarious liability · classify the relationship and test a workplace decision against duties and protected rights07Negligence and Professional Responsibility
duty of care · breach of duty · causation · evaluate general and professional negligence without collapsing duty, breach and causation08Insolvency and Distress Governance
insolvency · creditor priority · distress governance · recognise insolvency indicators and connect them to governance and creditor consequences09Privacy, Cybersecurity and Data-Breach Risk
personal information · reasonable security step · eligible data breach · map collection, access, security incident and notification consequences10Intellectual Property and Confidential Business Assets
copyright · trade mark · confidential information · classify a business asset and select protection, permission and enforcement controlsIt carries 12.5 credit points.
It is positioned as a legal-literacy subject for business decision makers.
The subject uses business scenarios rather than a law-degree IRAC template and asks students to connect legal criteria to facts, consequences and prevention.
Assessment in acct90015 is distributed as follows: four problem sets worth 20%, a 10% group video presentation, a 20% group research assignment and a 50% final examination
The operational assessment conditions matter here.
The final is a two-hour examination plus 30 minutes reading time built around case scenarios, problems and knowledge questions.
What makes acct90015 demanding is concrete: moving from a dense business fact pattern to the correct legal area and elements, then giving a conditional risk judgement without assuming facts or treating legal literacy as personal legal advice
The current S2 subject guide says the 50% examination has no hurdle requirement; the overall subject pass standard still applies.
For enrolment planning, Confirm current eligibility in the University Handbook; the subject guide links the authoritative eligibility page.
The learning path moves from Australian Legal Systems and Business Issue Spotting, through the problems opened by Employment Law and Workplace Responsibility, to the synthesis required in Intellectual Property and Confidential Business Assets.
Spot legal risk in a supplier decision
- 1Identify parties, communications, timing and the commercial event.
- 1Ask whether agreement and terms were formed before the invoice.
- 1Test incorporation and notice of the exclusion clause.
- 1Check consumer-law or unfair-term consequences if applicable.
- 1State evidence to preserve and a preventive contracting control.
Key terms
- source of law
- A recognised origin of legal authority, principally legislation and judicial decisions in the relevant jurisdiction. This chapter uses the concept when students identify the applicable legal area and authority before advising a business response.
- court hierarchy
- The ordered court structure that affects jurisdiction, appeal and the binding force of precedent. It helps explain the reasoning required to identify the applicable legal area and authority before advising a business response.
- legal issue spotting
- Identification of legally material events, parties, duties and possible consequences within a business scenario. Its limit matters because a plausible commercial concern is not yet a legal issue and a lower or foreign authority may not control.
- business structure
- The legal form through which an enterprise owns assets, incurs obligations and allocates control. This chapter uses the concept when students compare liability and authority across a sole trader, partnership, trust and company.
- separate legal personality
- The company's legal identity distinct from shareholders and directors, subject to defined exceptions. It helps explain the reasoning required to compare liability and authority across a sole trader, partnership, trust and company.
- agency
- A relationship in which an agent has authority to affect the legal position of a principal with third parties. Its limit matters because limited liability does not erase personal guarantees, director duties or authority questions.
- contract formation
- The process by which agreement, consideration, intention and certainty produce an enforceable bargain. This chapter uses the concept when students determine whether a contract formed, which terms were incorporated and what breach follows.
- contractual term
- A promise or provision forming part of the agreement and shaping performance or remedy. It helps explain the reasoning required to determine whether a contract formed, which terms were incorporated and what breach follows.
- breach
- Failure to perform a contractual obligation when performance is due and no lawful excuse applies. Its limit matters because later documents, sales talk and implied obligations must not be treated as express terms without analysis.
- consumer guarantee
- A statutory assurance about goods or services that can apply independently of contractual wording. This chapter uses the concept when students test marketing, supply and standard terms against Australian consumer protections.
- misleading or deceptive conduct
- Conduct capable of leading the relevant audience into error, assessed in context rather than only by literal truth. It helps explain the reasoning required to test marketing, supply and standard terms against Australian consumer protections.
- unfair contract term
- A term in a covered standard-form contract that creates significant imbalance, lacks necessity and causes detriment under the statutory test. Its limit matters because business status does not always remove statutory protection and disclaimer wording cannot automatically contract out of law.
- director duty
- A statutory and equitable obligation governing care, good faith, proper purpose, conflicts and misuse of position or information. This chapter uses the concept when students connect a board decision to duty, conflict, evidence and oversight.
ACCT90015 FAQ
Where do students usually lose marks in acct90015?
moving from a dense business fact pattern to the correct legal area and elements, then giving a conditional risk judgement without assuming facts or treating legal literacy as personal legal advice
How is acct90015 assessed?
four problem sets worth 20%, a 10% group video presentation, a 20% group research assignment and a 50% final examination
What is the acct90015 exam or final-task format?
The final is a two-hour examination plus 30 minutes reading time built around case scenarios, problems and knowledge questions.
Does acct90015 have a hurdle or component-level pass rule?
The current S2 subject guide says the 50% examination has no hurdle requirement; the overall subject pass standard still applies.
Which offering does this acct90015 guide cover?
It is aligned to Semester 2, 2026; confirm your enrolled class and timetable in the current institutional system.
What prerequisites or restrictions apply to acct90015?
Confirm current eligibility in the University Handbook; the subject guide links the authoritative eligibility page.
How to study for the exam
Retrieve the course map, practise the recurring method—identify the business event and affected parties, select the applicable Australian legal area, match facts to legal criteria, state likely consequences, and propose a control without presenting general study material as personal legal advice—on changed scenarios, and verify every operational assessment detail in the live institutional system.
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