Useful links
Unit of study_
LAWS6965: Tax Avoidance and Anti-Avoidance
2025 unit information
This is an advanced unit suitable for experienced tax practitioners who wish to extend their Australian tax law knowledge. The unit examines the pervasive phenomenon of tax avoidance and the design and effectiveness of common judicial and legislative responses to it. The unit starts by deconstructing typical examples of avoidance to elicit the common design features of avoidance practices. We will also examine the interrelationship between the process of statutory interpretation and the opportunities for avoidance. A particular focus of the unit will be on the scope and operation of Australia’s general anti-avoidance rule, Part IVA, but the unit will also consider the various judicial anti-avoidance doctrines and some of the specific anti-avoidance rules found in Australia’s tax legislation. The unit will also consider the kinds of approaches to tax avoidance and the anti-avoidance regimes employed in other countries. Finally, the unit will examine some of the procedural regimes used to curb the offering of tax avoidance products to taxpayers. Refer to the Sydney Law School timetable - https://canvas.sydney.edu.au/courses/4533/pages/postgraduate-lecture-timetable
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Sydney Law School
| Study level | Postgraduate |
|---|---|
| Academic unit | Law |
| Credit points | 6 |
|
Prerequisites:
?
|
None |
|---|---|
|
Corequisites:
?
|
None |
| Prohibitions:
?
|
None |
| Assumed knowledge:
?
|
It is assumed that students undertaking this unit have an understanding of Australian income taxation law commensurate with that which would be obtained from completing undergraduate study in Australian taxation law or five years working with Australian tax law in a law or accounting practice in an industry role or in the Australian Taxation Office. Students who do not have such knowledge or work experience should undertake LAWS6825 Fundamentals of Australian Taxation before enrolling in other units. For students who have not studied Australian law it is recommended that they undertake LAWS6252 Legal Reasoning and the Common Law System before enrolling in LAWS6825 and this unit |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- LO1. Identify, analyse, and evaluate the policy underlying the taxation laws aimed at countering avoidance of taxation
- LO2. Critically apply advanced knowledge of those rules to complex scenarios.
- LO3. Identify and analyse legal rules from multiple primary and secondary sources using relevant legal research methodologies.
- LO4. Design creative solutions to complex tax avoidance scenarios based on advanced legal knowledge
- LO5. Communicate sound, logically structured legal arguments on taxation anti-avoidance law and policy.
Unit availability
This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.
The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.
| Session | MoA ? | Location | Outline ? |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Intensive May - June 2025
|
Block mode | Camperdown / Darlington, Sydney |
Find your current year census dates
Modes of attendance (MoA)
This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.
