Business Law Exam Revision Notes

Format: Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)
Date: 9am, 11 June 2025 (Wednesday, Exam Period Week 1)
Weighting: 50% of final mark
Type: Open book
Refer to University timetable and student email for venue and timetable changes.
BYOD Exam Requirements:
- Laptop or iPad (with keyboard)
- Respondus Lockdown Browser (install and test beforehand)
- Fully charged device and charger (charging points available)
- Android tablets will not work.
- Backup laptops will be available if technical issues arise.
Permitted Materials: Printed materials only (lecture slides, notes, textbook). No digital notes allowed.
Exam Structure:
- Supervised open-book exam.
- 2 hours plus 10 minutes reading time.
- Four questions generally answered using the IRAC Framework.
Content Coverage: Focus on lecture content.
- Contract law and the Australian Consumer Law.
- Intellectual property - trademarks.
- The tort of negligence.
- Competition law.
- Privacy law (short response question format).
- Corporations law.
- Weeks 1-3 topics (except where Business Structures overlaps with Corporations Law) will not be directly examined.
Citation Guidelines:
- Legislation: Abbreviations in table acceptable; create own abbreviations by writing the name in full first with the abbreviation in brackets (e.g. Circuit Layouts Act 1989 (‘CLA’)).

Legislation	Abbreviation
Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW)	CLA
Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)	CA
Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)	CCA
Australian Consumer Law (Cth)	ACL
Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)	PA
Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth)	TMA

*   **Cases:** Shortened names of parties (e.g. Donoghue v Stevenson, Masters v Cameron, Boral v ACCC).

Support Resources:
- General consultation: 3 June, 11am – 1pm (Tuesday, Stuvac).
- Bookable consultations: 4 and 6 June (booking link on Canvas).
- Ed discussion board monitored until Tuesday 10 June at 5pm.
- Week 12 self-study question submission by Friday 11:59pm for feedback (must be hand-written).
- Mock exam and selected legislation excerpts available on Canvas.
Exam Tips:
- Use reading time to understand the questions (read each question twice).
- Identify what you are asked to do.
- Plan your answer structure on spare paper beforehand, noting key points.
- Consider the examiner's expectations.
- Allocate time: 2 minutes 24 seconds per mark (e.g., 10-mark question = 24 minutes, 15-mark question = 36 minutes).
- When reading a question, ask:
  - Who are the relevant parties?
  - What is the relationship between them (contractual, tort, employment, etc.)?
  - How many parts are there to the question?
  - What are the issues and relevant laws?
Unit of Study Survey: Provide constructive feedback to improve the unit for future students.

Elements of a Valid Contract (Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball):
- Agreement: Offer and acceptance.
- Consideration: Something given in exchange for a contractual promise.
- Intention: Intention to create a legal relationship.
- Capacity: Ability to understand and enter into a contract (e.g., not lacking due to mental disorder, intoxication, or being a minor).
- Formalities: Required only in certain cases (e.g., deeds).

Definition: A statement of terms on which the offeror is willing to be bound.
Rules for a Valid Offer:
- Communication: Must be communicated to the offeree.
- Definite terms: Clear terms so the offeree understands the proposal.
- Intention: Offeror must intend to enter a legally binding agreement.
- Identifiable Offeree: Can be a specific person, group, or the public, but not vague.
- Legal capacity.
- Compliance with formality.

Definition: Offeree's promise or act indicating willingness to be bound by the offer's terms.
Rules of Acceptance:
- Must be final: Not a counter-offer or request for more information.
- Must be unqualified: Accept the offer exactly without modification (Hyde v Wrench).
- Communication:
  - Must be communicated to the offeror (Felthouse v Bindley).
  - Must be communicated before withdrawal/revocation.
  - Usually no acceptance by silence (except in unilateral offers where performance implies acceptance).
  - Obtaining the benefit of a contract can constitute acceptance (Empirnall Holdings v Machon Paull).
- Can only be accepted by the offeree.
- Knowledge of the offer: Must know about the offer and accept based on it.