School: Arts and Humanities

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

    Australian Politics and Policy
  • Unit Code

    SWK2112
  • Year

    2025
  • Enrolment Period

    1
  • Version

    2
  • Credit Points

    15
  • Full Year Unit

    N
  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus
    Online
  • Unit Coordinator

    Dr Shajimon PETER

Description

This unit introduces students to the notion of government, beginning with competing theories about the state, its role and relationship to civil society. The unit provides an introduction to the political system in Australia, offering a detailed account of the structure of government (federal, state and local) and the differing legislative responsibilities, with reference to the Constitution. It explores the notion of democracy, parliament, party political process and responsible government. Students are encouraged to see the way in which different ideological positions influence the party political and parliamentary processes, with a focus on global, national and local social policy. A critical framework for the analysis of policies and policy development, including the diversity of influencing factors and stakeholders, is provided.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Explain social policy and its relevance to social work practice.
  2. Examine the structure and role of the Australian parliamentary, judicial and other law creation and decision-making processes and their impacts on social work practice.
  3. Interpret the impact of ideology, democracy, government, parliament, political parties, federalism, elections and pressure groups on social policy formation.
  4. Assess the impact of social, political and economic factors on the policy development process.

Unit Content

  1. Critical analysis of social policy and the policy development process.
  2. Key areas of social policy: health, eduction, income security, employment, families.
  3. Key concepts in social welfare policy: welfare ideology; welfare state; poverty; taxation; universalism; social, occupational and fiscal welfare.
  4. Key concepts: ideology; democracy; government; civil society; parliament; political parties; federalism; elections; pressure group and public policy.
  5. Social policy as a form of public policy and its relationship to economic policy.
  6. The development of innovative and responsive rural and regional social policy.
  7. The main features of the state and of government in Australia.
  8. The making of social policy people and processes.
  9. The relationship between social policy and social work practice.
  10. Theories of the State.

Learning Experience

ON-CAMPUS

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

JoondalupMount LawleySouth West (Bunbury)
Semester 2Not OfferedNot Offered13 x 3 hour seminar

For more information see the Semester Timetable

ONLINE

Students will engage in learning experiences via ECU’s LMS as well as additional ECU learning technologies

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
ExerciseWorkbook Activities50%
AssignmentPolicy Analysis Paper50%
ONLINE
TypeDescriptionValue
ExerciseWorkbook activities50%
AssignmentPolicy Analysis Paper50%

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.

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