VCE (years 11 & 12)

VCE Legal Studies

Making the Law DVD satisfies the requirements of VCE Legal Studies in Unit 4: The People and the Law. It explores how laws are made by our elected representatives in the Parliament of Victoria.

This DVD explores the legislative process. It follows a junior reporter as he tracks a bill from its inception through Cabinet and both houses of Parliament to signing by the Governor to become law, or an Act of Parliament.

Each person we meet on the journey explains how their input contributes directly to the legislative process: the Premier, Leader of the Opposition, a Minister (the Attorney General in this instance) and the Presiding Officers and Clerks of the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council. A retired Supreme Court judge describes the role of the Victorian Law Reform Commission and comments on the drafting process, and a senior lecturer in politics at Monash University offers extra insight to contextualise the process along the way.

This DVD is supplemented by the pamphlet pdf How a Law is Made in Victoria (pdf, 452.34 KB). The law making process is also depicted in an interactive resource on How a Law is Made.

This material refers to the making of a law. You can see the hansard debate and the law itself online:

 

Lesson plans

A series of lesson plans aligned to the VCE Legal Studies curriculum (2018-2022), relevant to Unit 4, AOS 1, Outcome 1, and Unit 4, AOS 2, Outcome 2.

Unit 4, Area of Study 1, Outcome 1: Roles of the Crown and Houses of Parliament

pdfUnit 4 AOS 1 - Teacher Guide.pdf668.31 KB

pdfUnit 4 AOS 1 - Roles of the Crown and Houses of the Victorian Parliament in Law-Making: Student Learning Activity.pdf705.33 KB

Unit 4, Area of Study 2, Outcome 2: The People, the Parliament and the Courts

pdfUnit 4 AOS 2 - Teacher Guide.pdf477.28 KB

pdfUnit 4 AOS 2 Module 1 - Introduction to Parliamentary Commitees: Student Learning Activities.pdf664.56 KB

pdfUnit 4 AOS 2 Module 2 - Committee inquiry on lowering the driving age: Student Learning Activities.pdf753.42 KB

pdfUnit 4 AOS 2 Module 3 - Committee into end of life choices: Student Learning Activities.pdf776.48 KB

pdfUnit 4 AOS 2 Module 4 - Evaluating the effectiveness of a committee to influence law reform: Student Learning Activities.pdf1.17 MB

 pdfUnit 4 AOS 2 Module 5 - Inquiry into Medically Supervised Injecting Centres: Student Learning    Activities.pdf1.09 MB

 

VCE Legal Studies and History

From Westminster to Spring St DVD has been produced for an adult audience and is suitable for upper secondary and tertiary students. It provides useful background for students of  VCE Australian Politics Units 3 and 4, VCE Legal Studies: Unit 1 and VCE Australian History: Unit 3.

This DVD outlines the evolution of Victoria’s system of government. It covers the historical factors in the development of Victoria’s Westminster influenced system as it operates today. It looks at the role of the Governor and the idea of ‘responsible’ or accountable government as it applies to the interaction of the legislative and executive branches.

We meet some voters who discuss how individuals can interact with Government and ensure their voices are being heard. There are interviews with former Governor David de Kretser, historian Dr Ray Wright and Chair of Parliamentary Democracy at Swinburne University, Prof Brian Costar.

Material from this DVD, along with other resources, have been used to produce an online interactive timeline - From Westminster to Spring Street - accessable from the About Parliament section of this site.

Copies of both DVDs have been sent to all secondary schools and public libraries in Victoria.  If you are unable to access these, please contact the Community Engagement and Education Unit to order a free copy.
Phone:  (03) 8682 2655
Email: educationinfo@parliament.vic.gov.au

 

Last Updated: Friday, 12 October 2018 12:30