School: Business and Law

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Coronial Law and Mortuary Practice
  • Unit Code

    LAW3600
  • Year

    2024
  • Enrolment Period

    1
  • Version

    1
  • Credit Points

    15
  • Full Year Unit

    N
  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus
  • Unit Coordinator

    Dr Nachshon GOLTZ

Description

This unit is a co-operative teaching unit between the School of Law and Justice and the School of Exercise, Biomedical and Health Sciences. The law component involves an outline of the history of coronial law, the role and function of the Office of Coroner in today's society and a detailed study of the law and procedure of the Coroners Court. The science component will cover the administration of and the practical aspects of running a mortuary facility at a level appropriate to undertake coronial investigations. These will include documentation procedures, cadaver preparation, autopsy facilitation and specimen collection.

Prerequisite Rule

Students must pass 180 credit points

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Demonstrate a detailed knowledge of Coronial Law and procedure.
  2. Demonstrate cadaver preparation before and after medical (autopsy) examination.
  3. Discuss the history of Coroners Courts and relate that history to modern day practices.
  4. Discuss the implication of public safety decisions/warnings made by the Coroner.
  5. Explain the relationship between practices in the Coroners Court and practices in Criminal and Civil Courts arising out of decisions made by the Coroner.
  6. Facilitate an autopsy by undertaking organ removal, tabulation and their subsequent restoration.
  7. Receive and prepare documentation relating to autopsy reports, death certificates, cremation certificates and be able to liaise with the funeral industry.
  8. Undertake specimen collection and preservation from cadavers, before, during and after autopsy examination.

Unit Content

  1. Autopsy procedures including methods of evisceration, organ and tissue removal.
  2. Coronial Law.
  3. Current documentation procedures relating to coronial investigations, including appropriate certifications and forensic databases.
  4. Occupational health and safety regulations, including basic and specialist hygiene and cleansing methods.
  5. Principles underpinning the role of the Coroner in society.
  6. The history and practices of Coroners Courts.
  7. The practice and procedure of Coronial Law.
  8. Tissue and fluid collection procedures and the appropriate, subsequent preservation methods.

Learning Experience

Students will attend on campus classes as well as engage in learning activities through ECU's LMS

JoondalupMount LawleySouth West (Bunbury)
Semester 13 x 2 hour labNot OfferedNot Offered
Semester 110 x 2 hour lectureNot OfferedNot Offered
Semester 110 x 1 hour tutorialNot OfferedNot Offered

For more information see the Semester Timetable

Additional Learning Experience Information

This unit will be offered in on-campus mode and will involve the equivalent of a 3 hour contact commitment per week for a full semester. Some of the unit will involve a class contact commitment of 2 hours of lectures and 1 hour of tutorial per week while the rest will involve a substantial component of practical work.

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

ON CAMPUS
TypeDescriptionValue
AssignmentResearch Paper or Case Study.20%
Laboratory WorkOngoing Practical Skill Assessment.30%
Tutorial PresentationParticipation in laboratory work and tutorials.10%
ExaminationWritten.40%

Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Assessment

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. Informal vivas may be conducted as part of an assessment task, where staff require further information to confirm the learning outcomes have been met. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

Academic Integrity

Integrity is a core value at Edith Cowan University, and it is expected that ECU students complete their assessment tasks honestly and with acknowledgement of other people's work as well as any generative artificial intelligence tools that may have been used. This means that assessment tasks must be completed individually (unless it is an authorised group assessment task) and any sources used must be referenced.

Breaches of academic integrity can include:

Plagiarism

Copying the words, ideas or creative works of other people or generative artificial intelligence tools, without referencing in accordance with stated University requirements. Students need to seek approval from the Unit Coordinator within the first week of study if they intend to use some of their previous work in an assessment task (self-plagiarism).

Unauthorised collaboration (collusion)

Working with other students and submitting the same or substantially similar work or portions of work when an individual submission was required. This includes students knowingly providing others with copies of their own work to use in the same or similar assessment task(s).

Contract cheating

Organising a friend, a family member, another student or an external person or organisation (e.g. through an online website) to complete or substantially edit or refine part or all of an assessment task(s) on their behalf.

Cheating in an exam

Using or having access to unauthorised materials in an exam or test.

Serious outcomes may be imposed if a student is found to have committed one of these breaches, up to and including expulsion from the University for repeated or serious acts.

ECU's policies and more information about academic integrity can be found on the student academic integrity website.

All commencing ECU students are required to complete the Academic Integrity Module.

Assessment Extension

In some circumstances, Students may apply to their Unit Coordinator to extend the due date of their Assessment Task(s) in accordance with ECU's Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000001386.

Special Consideration

Students may apply for Special Consideration in respect of a final unit grade, where their achievement was affected by Exceptional Circumstances as set out in the Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000003318.

LAW3600|1|1

School: Business and Law

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Coronial Law and Mortuary Practice
  • Unit Code

    LAW3600
  • Year

    2024
  • Enrolment Period

    2
  • Version

    1
  • Credit Points

    15
  • Full Year Unit

    N
  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus
  • Unit Coordinator

    Dr Nachshon GOLTZ

Description

This unit is a co-operative teaching unit between the School of Law and Justice and the School of Exercise, Biomedical and Health Sciences. The law component involves an outline of the history of coronial law, the role and function of the Office of Coroner in today's society and a detailed study of the law and procedure of the Coroners Court. The science component will cover the administration of and the practical aspects of running a mortuary facility at a level appropriate to undertake coronial investigations. These will include documentation procedures, cadaver preparation, autopsy facilitation and specimen collection.

Prerequisite Rule

Students must pass 180 credit points

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Demonstrate a detailed knowledge of Coronial Law and procedure.
  2. Demonstrate cadaver preparation before and after medical (autopsy) examination.
  3. Discuss the history of Coroners Courts and relate that history to modern day practices.
  4. Discuss the implication of public safety decisions/warnings made by the Coroner.
  5. Explain the relationship between practices in the Coroners Court and practices in Criminal and Civil Courts arising out of decisions made by the Coroner.
  6. Facilitate an autopsy by undertaking organ removal, tabulation and their subsequent restoration.
  7. Receive and prepare documentation relating to autopsy reports, death certificates, cremation certificates and be able to liaise with the funeral industry.
  8. Undertake specimen collection and preservation from cadavers, before, during and after autopsy examination.

Unit Content

  1. Autopsy procedures including methods of evisceration, organ and tissue removal.
  2. Coronial Law.
  3. Current documentation procedures relating to coronial investigations, including appropriate certifications and forensic databases.
  4. Occupational health and safety regulations, including basic and specialist hygiene and cleansing methods.
  5. Principles underpinning the role of the Coroner in society.
  6. The history and practices of Coroners Courts.
  7. The practice and procedure of Coronial Law.
  8. Tissue and fluid collection procedures and the appropriate, subsequent preservation methods.

Learning Experience

Students will attend on campus classes as well as engage in learning activities through ECU's LMS

JoondalupMount LawleySouth West (Bunbury)
Semester 13 x 2 hour labNot OfferedNot Offered
Semester 110 x 2 hour lectureNot OfferedNot Offered
Semester 110 x 1 hour tutorialNot OfferedNot Offered

For more information see the Semester Timetable

Additional Learning Experience Information

This unit will be offered in on-campus mode and will involve the equivalent of a 3 hour contact commitment per week for a full semester. Some of the unit will involve a class contact commitment of 2 hours of lectures and 1 hour of tutorial per week while the rest will involve a substantial component of practical work.

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

ON CAMPUS
TypeDescriptionValue
AssignmentResearch Paper or Case Study.20%
Laboratory WorkOngoing Practical Skill Assessment.30%
Tutorial PresentationParticipation in laboratory work and tutorials.10%
ExaminationWritten.40%

Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Assessment

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. Informal vivas may be conducted as part of an assessment task, where staff require further information to confirm the learning outcomes have been met. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

Academic Integrity

Integrity is a core value at Edith Cowan University, and it is expected that ECU students complete their assessment tasks honestly and with acknowledgement of other people's work as well as any generative artificial intelligence tools that may have been used. This means that assessment tasks must be completed individually (unless it is an authorised group assessment task) and any sources used must be referenced.

Breaches of academic integrity can include:

Plagiarism

Copying the words, ideas or creative works of other people or generative artificial intelligence tools, without referencing in accordance with stated University requirements. Students need to seek approval from the Unit Coordinator within the first week of study if they intend to use some of their previous work in an assessment task (self-plagiarism).

Unauthorised collaboration (collusion)

Working with other students and submitting the same or substantially similar work or portions of work when an individual submission was required. This includes students knowingly providing others with copies of their own work to use in the same or similar assessment task(s).

Contract cheating

Organising a friend, a family member, another student or an external person or organisation (e.g. through an online website) to complete or substantially edit or refine part or all of an assessment task(s) on their behalf.

Cheating in an exam

Using or having access to unauthorised materials in an exam or test.

Serious outcomes may be imposed if a student is found to have committed one of these breaches, up to and including expulsion from the University for repeated or serious acts.

ECU's policies and more information about academic integrity can be found on the student academic integrity website.

All commencing ECU students are required to complete the Academic Integrity Module.

Assessment Extension

In some circumstances, Students may apply to their Unit Coordinator to extend the due date of their Assessment Task(s) in accordance with ECU's Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000001386.

Special Consideration

Students may apply for Special Consideration in respect of a final unit grade, where their achievement was affected by Exceptional Circumstances as set out in the Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000003318.

LAW3600|1|2