Privacy and Surveillance Law
Overview
This unit aims to introduce students to the meaning and value of privacy before examining the legal frameworks that deal with privacy and data protection. The impact of new technologies has renewed a focus on privacy protection in Australia. This unit considers the scope, nature and limits of privacy protection and the ongoing debates about privacy revolving around the introduction of new technologies. It also considers the legal policy and law reform debates about privacy protection.
Requisites
Rule
75 credit points in Law units
Equivalent
LAW30018 Privacy in Law and Society (Discontinued)
08-June-2025
02-November-2025
08-February-2026
Learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
- Analyse and evaluate contemporary debates over the role and nature of privacy law
- Examine privacy law’s relationship to government and commercial entities
- Discuss the development and evolution of privacy law in its historical and social context
- Conduct effective legal research of both primary and secondary legal materials, as well as relevant interdisciplinary materials
Teaching methods
Hawthorn
Activity Type | Activity | Total Hours | Number of Weeks | Hours Per Week | Venue Type and Activity Detail |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
On-campus | Class | 18 | 12 weeks | 1.5 | On-Campus Activities in same classroom |
On-campus | Lecture | 18 | 12 weeks | 1.5 | On-Campus Activities in same classroom |
Unspecified Activities | Independent Learning | 102 | 12 weeks | 8.5 | No Description |
Online | Lecture | 12 | 12 weeks | 1 | Online (asynchronous) Lecture |
Total Hours: | 150 | Total Hours (per week): | 12.5 |
Swinburne Online
Activity Type | Activity | Total Hours | Number of Weeks | Hours Per Week | Venue Type and Activity Detail |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Online | Directed Online Learning and Independent Learning | 138 | 12 weeks | 11.5 | |
Live Online | Class | 12 | 12 weeks | 1 | |
Total Hours: | 150 | Total Hours (per week): | 12.5 |
Assessment
Type | Task | Weighting | ULO's |
---|---|---|---|
Presentation | Individual | 20 - 40% | 2,3,4 |
Research Essay | Individual | 60 - 80% | 1,2,4 |
Content
- The purpose of privacy protection
- Privacy and technology
- The history and evolution of various privacy ideas and actions
- The subject of privacy (gender, race, sex, class)
- Privacy and institutional/social media
- Data, profiling & identifiability
- Privacy and countervailing/competing interests
- Research skills
Study resources
Reading materials
A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.