WHAT WILL I LEARN
VCE - Legal Studies
P A G E 5 2 | P A K E N H A M S E C O N D A R Y C O L L E G E S E N I O R S C H O O L 2 0 2 6 H A N D B O O K
UNIT 1: GUILT AND LIABILITY
Outcome 1: Legal Foundations
Outcome 2: The Presumption of
innocence
Outcome 3: Civil liabilities
Students learn about the 2 key
branches of our justice system:
Criminal law and civil law. Amongst
this, the study will explore certain
ideas such as:
How an effective law must reflect
society’s values.
The age of criminal
responsibility.
Types of crime: against people
vs. property.
Two types of criminal offences
and possible defences for these
crimes.
Two types of civil torts and their
elements to determine liability.
UNIT 2: SANCTIONS, REMEDIES & RIGHTS
Outcome 1: Sanctions
Outcome 2: Remedies
Outcome 3: Rights
Both Criminal and Civil law exist to
protect members of a society by
empowering them, and the state to
deliver penalties and seek retribution.
Students will be exposed to:
Institutions which impose
penalties and sanctions.
The role of a jury during criminal
trials.
The types of sanctions: fines,
CCOs and imprisonment.
The protection of human rights in
Australia.
The Australian Constitution and
the Human Rights Charter.
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?
By undertaking Legal Studies, in Units 1 and
2, students are exposed to the processes of
law-making as a response to the
transformation of societal values in the
Australian community to make it more
culturally inclusive. They develop an
awareness of the impact that the Criminal
Justice System has upon citizens’ lives, and
therefore their own futures. The study will
create a lens for them to explore how law
enforcement impacts behaviour in the
community through criminal law, all the way to
their own personal exposure to contractual
obligations in the occupational world.
Students will be encouraged to analyse the
function of law-enforcing institutions and
understand the balance with individual rights
and powers, allowing them to learn of their
own personal legal obligations and
responsibilities.
In Units 3 and 4, Legal Studies teaches
students to apply knowledge of legal concepts
and principles to a range of actual and
hypothetical scenarios, students develop their
ability to use legal reasoning to argue a case
for or against a party in a civil or criminal
matter.
They consider recent and recommended
reforms to the criminal and civil justice
systems, and engage in an analysis of the
extent to which our legal institutions are
effective and our justice system achieves the
principles of justice.