LAWS6991 Fundamentals of Contract Law
The Complete Exam Bible · S2 2026LAWS6991 Overview
- Semester 2 2026
- Postgraduate
- Sydney Law School
- Two intensive teaching blocks
- Supervised open-book final exam
Fundamentals of Contract Law is the Sydney Law School unit that teaches contracts as risk management tools. It works through the legal principles that govern how a contract is formed, what its terms mean, how it is discharged, which remedies follow a breach and which factors allow a party to escape a bargain.
- Assessed by An ungraded early feedback quiz, an interim problem-question assignment and a supervised open-book final exam.
- Hardest step Applying a case principle to new facts instead of retelling what happened in the case.
- How to prepare Build a scaffold for every topic, then answer fresh problem questions with IRAC under time.
- Exam format Problem questions, two hours of writing plus thirty minutes of reading time, every topic examinable.
How LAWS6991 is assessed
| Component | Weight | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Early Feedback Task | 0% | Online multiple-choice quiz of 5 questions on the first day of classes; available from 14 August 2026 at 6pm and due 17 August 2026 at 11.59pm, with automated feedback |
| Interim Assignment | 40% | Several short problem questions covering the first two teaching days; 3,000 words including references; released 17 August 2026 at 9am and due 31 August 2026 at 11.59pm |
| Final Exam | 60% | Open-book exam sat under supervision, made up of problem questions; 30 minutes of reading followed by 2 hours of writing; anything taught in the unit can be examined |
The published weights total 100%. The Early Feedback Task carries no marks and gives automated feedback on the first day's concepts. The final exam sits in the Semester 2A formal exam period, and the Exams Office advises the exact date once it is set. The unit materials available here do not state a separate pass requirement for any single component, so check the current unit outline on Canvas for any hurdle rule.
Assessment structure
The open-book final exam carries most of the weight; the interim assignment tests the first two teaching days.
Current LAWS6991 dates
| Date | Item | Control |
|---|---|---|
| 14 and 15 August 2026 | Teaching block one | Introduction, agreement, consideration, certainty, intention, formalities and terms part one. |
| 17 August 2026, 11.59pm | Early Feedback Task due | Available from 14 August at 6pm; carries no marks. |
| 17 August 2026, 9am | Interim Assignment released | Several short problem questions on the first two teaching days. |
| 31 August 2026, 11.59pm | Interim Assignment due | 3,000 words including references. |
| 4 and 5 September 2026 | Teaching block two | Terms part two, termination and frustration, remedies, statutory restraints and misleading conduct. |
| 28 September to 3 October 2026 | Formal exam period | The Exams Office advises the exact final exam date. |
Dates are as published in Dates are from the Semester 2 2026 learning guide, the introductory seminar slides and the Canvas quiz page for this offering.. Confirm exact deadlines and submission settings in the live LMS.
What LAWS6991 covers
The unit moves through a contract's life: how it is formed, what its terms are, how it ends, what remedies follow and when equity or the Australian Consumer Law allows a party to escape or recover.
Contract Law Foundations and the Objective Theory
What a contract is, the elements of a valid contract, common law, equity and statute, freedom of contract and the objective theory02Offers, Invitations to Treat and Revocation
Offer versus invitation to treat, advertisements, unilateral offers, requests for information, options, lapse and revocation03Acceptance, Communication and Inferred Agreement
Acceptance in reliance, silence, conduct, battle of the forms, postal and instantaneous rules, electronic transactions, agreement without offer04Consideration and the Practical Benefit Exception
Benefit and detriment, bargain, sufficiency, past consideration, part payment of a debt, existing duty and practical benefit05Certainty, Completeness and Illusory Promises
Uncertain terms, incomplete agreements, agreements to negotiate, illusory promises, subject to finance clauses and severance06Intention to Create Legal Relations and Formalities
Commercial and domestic agreements, letters of comfort, honour clauses, subject to contract, writing for land contracts07Express Terms, Collateral Contracts and Incorporation
Promises and representations, classifying terms, parol evidence rule, collateral contracts, signature, notice and course of dealing08Implied Terms and Exclusion Clauses
Terms implied in law, in fact and by statute, duty to cooperate, good faith, construing exclusion clauses09Performance, Termination and Frustration
Entire and divisible obligations, substantial performance, delay and notice, repudiation, election and frustration10Damages, Estoppel and Vitiating Factors
Expectation and reliance damages, reinstatement, estoppel, undue influence, duress and unconscionable dealing11Statutory Unconscionability and Unfair Terms
ACL sections 20 to 22, systems of conduct, unfair terms in consumer and small business contracts12Misrepresentation and Misleading or Deceptive Conduct
Common law misrepresentation, ACL section 18, silence, audience, future matters and ACL remediesThe unit is described as a foundation for later study in commercial, corporate, securities and finance, and international business law, where a working command of contract principles is assumed.
Teaching runs in two intensive blocks. The first block covers the introduction, agreement, consideration, certainty, intention to create legal relations, formalities and the first half of terms.
The second block covers implied terms and exclusion clauses, termination and frustration, remedies and vitiating factors, statutory restraints under the Australian Consumer Law and misleading or deceptive conduct.
Each topic is taught through leading cases, many from the High Court of Australia and the NSW Court of Appeal, together with statutes such as the Conveyancing Act 1919 (NSW), the Frustrated Contracts Act 1978 (NSW), the Electronic Transactions Act 2000 (NSW) and the Australian Consumer Law.
The assessed skill is the legal problem question.
A strong answer identifies each issue raised by the facts, states the governing rule with its authority, applies that rule fact by fact, compares the facts with the leading cases, and reaches a conclusion on each issue.
The unit's own guidance warns that contract law relies on case law for its principles and that students should become comfortable with ambiguity, so a good answer often weighs two plausible outcomes and explains which is stronger.
This guide follows the same order as the seminars. Twelve chapters move from formation to remedies and statute, each with a worked problem, practice questions and a short glossary.
A final practice section mixes topics the way an exam paper does, and an exam-morning section turns the published format into a plan for the reading time and the two hours of writing.
Worked example · free
Counter-offer, revival attempt and indirect revocation
- 1Issue: was Monday's email an offer, and did it survive until Thursday? The email states a price, a scope and a time for acceptance, so it reads as a willingness to be bound without further negotiation rather than an invitation to treat.
- 1Tuesday's reply must be classified. A request to do the job for a lower price can be a counter-offer, which ends the original offer, or a mere inquiry that leaves it open. Phrased as a question about price, it is arguable either way, and both readings should be stated.
- 1If it was a counter-offer, the $9,000 offer was destroyed and Thursday's email is at most a new offer that the restorer never accepted. The promise to hold the offer open until Friday does not help, because the cafe owner gave nothing for it.
- 1If Tuesday was only an inquiry, revocation must still be considered. Under Dickinson v Dodds, an offeree who learns from a reasonably reliable third party that the offeror has dealt elsewhere has notice that the offer is withdrawn, so the supplier's report on Wednesday likely ends the offer before Thursday.
- 1Conclusion: on either reading no contract was formed. Thursday's email cannot accept an offer that was already terminated by counter-offer or revoked by reliable notice.
Key terms
- Objective theory
- The principle that contractual intention is judged by what a reasonable person would infer from the parties' words and conduct, not by their private thoughts.
- Invitation to treat
- An indication of willingness to deal, such as a shop display, catalogue or advertisement, that invites offers rather than making one.
- Unilateral contract
- A contract in which one party promises something in return for an act, so the offer is accepted by completing that act.
- Consideration
- The price paid for a promise: a benefit to the promisor or a detriment to the promisee, given as the price of the promise.
- Collateral contract
- A separate contract whose consideration is entry into the main contract, enforceable only if it is promissory and consistent with the main contract.
- Repudiation
- Conduct by which a party shows it is unwilling or unable to perform the contract according to its terms, giving the other party an election to terminate.
- Frustration
- Automatic discharge of a contract when, without either party's default, performance becomes radically different from what was undertaken.
- Misleading or deceptive conduct
- Conduct in trade or commerce that leads, or is likely to lead, a person into error, prohibited by section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law.
LAWS6991 FAQ
How is the unit assessed?
There are three tasks. An early feedback quiz on the first day's concepts carries no marks, an interim assignment of several short problem questions is worth 40%, and a supervised open-book final exam of problem questions is worth 60%.
What is the final exam like?
It is an open-book paper, sat under supervision, made up of problem questions. Students have a thirty minute reading period followed by two hours to write, and every material and topic from the unit can be examined, including both teaching blocks.
Does open book mean I can look things up during the exam?
You can bring materials, but two hours is not enough time to learn a topic from your notes. Prepare a compact scaffold for each topic with the rule, the leading cases and the questions to ask, and practise finding each one quickly.
How should I answer a contract problem question?
Use IRAC. Identify each legal issue raised by the facts, state the rule with case or statutory authority, apply the rule to the specific facts while comparing them with the leading cases, and give a conclusion for every issue, noting the stronger alternative where the law is uncertain.
Which textbook do I need?
The required text is Carter's Guide to Australian Contract Law, fifth edition 2026, by J W Carter. Each seminar topic is matched to particular chapters, and the additional cases for discussion are provided through the library reading list on Canvas.
What topics does the unit cover?
Formation through agreement, consideration, certainty, intention and formalities; express and implied terms and exclusion clauses; performance, termination and frustration; damages, estoppel and vitiating factors; statutory unconscionable conduct and unfair contract terms; and misleading or deceptive conduct.
What should I revise first?
Secure the formation topics first because almost every problem begins by asking whether a contract exists. Then revise terms and termination together, since breach of a term usually leads into an election to terminate, and finish with remedies and the consumer law overlay.
How to study for the exam
Follow the unit's own advice and build a scaffold for every topic, then join the scaffolds into one course map. Each scaffold should list the questions a problem raises in the order you would answer them, the rule for each question, and the one or two cases that best show the rule applied.
Read the facts of the leading cases closely, because the exam rewards comparing new facts with those of a decided case rather than reciting holdings. Practise on fresh problems in IRAC form: state the issue as a question, give the rule with authority, apply it fact by fact, and conclude.
Where the law is unsettled, as with good faith in performance or the reach of the practical benefit exception, present the competing views and say which you prefer. Because the final exam is open book, index your materials by issue rather than by week so that each scaffold can be found in seconds.
When a doctrine will not stick, ask Sia to set a short fact pattern on it and check your reasoning step by step; it explains the method, and your submitted work must remain your own.
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