Course overview

Description

This is a specialist degree in Taxation Law at a master's degree level, which will provide a detailed understanding of a range of taxation subjects relevant to tax law practice in Australia and internationally. It will give students the advanced technical skills they need as tax practitioners. Students will be able to select units covering advanced domestic taxation law and cutting edge cross-border and international taxation issues.

Course title
Master of Taxation Law (coursework or coursework and dissertation)
Award abbreviation
MTax
Course code
21550
Course type
Master's degree by coursework or by coursework and dissertation
Status
Current / 2025
Administered by
UWA Law School
CRICOS code
088236G

Course details

Intake periods
Beginning of year and mid-year
Attendance type
Full- or part-time (Student visa holders should read Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 for more information.)
Credit points required
48
A standard full-time load is 24 points per semester.
Standard course duration
1 year
Time limit
4 years
Delivery mode
Multi-mode
Locations offered
UWA (Perth), UWA (Perth CBD), Online
Domestic fee type
Postgraduate fee-paying/FEE-HELP
Available to international students
Yes. For information on international student fees see 'Student Procedures: Fees'. (Enquiries: https://www.uwa.edu.au/askuwa)
Course Coordinator(s)
Winthrop Professor Nolan Sharkey
Fees
Visit the fees calculator.

Prospective students should see the Future Students website for details on admission requirements, intake periods, fees, availability to international students, careers information etc.

Course structure

Key to availability of units:
S1
Semester 1
S2
Semester 2
N/A
not available in 2025 – may be available in 2026 or 2027
NS
non-standard teaching period

All units have a value of six points unless otherwise stated.

Take all units (12 points):

Note: Students who completed a law degree based on the common law cannot, unless permitted or required by the School, take LAWS4227 Foundations of Law and Legal Institutions.LAWS4227 Foundations of Law and Legal Institutions is a core unit in this program for all students who have not completed a law degree or have not completed a law degree based on the common law

AvailabilityUnit codeUnitnameUnit requirementsContact hours
S1, S2LAWS4227Foundations of Law and Legal Institutions
Incompatibility
Successful completion of
20820 Juris Doctor
or 21190 Bachelor of Laws
Weekly attendance
NSLAWS5237Advanced Australian International TaxationNoneThis unit will run intensively 14 - 17 April 2025. Attendance Compulsory

Take units to the value of 24-36 points from this group.

Group A
AvailabilityUnit codeUnitnameUnit requirementsContact hours
S1LAWS5132Income Taxation Law
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
20820 Juris Doctor
and LAWS4101 Foundations of Law and Lawyering and five Unit(s) ( LAWS4102 Criminal Law
, LAWS4103 Contract
, LAWS4104 Property
, LAWS4106 Torts
, LAWS4107 Land Law
, LAWS4108 Foundations of Public Law and ( LAWS4109 Legal Theory and Ethics
or LAWS4110 Interpretation
) ) For all other students: no prerequisites
Incompatibility
LAWS3362 Income Taxation Law
Students must attend all day sessions on Wednesdays in April and May. Refer to the timetable for more details.
NSLAWS5232Double Tax Agreements and International Tax LawNoneStudents must attend every day of the intensive period between 18-19 and 25-26 September 2025
NSLAWS5233Base Erosion, Profit Shifting and Transfer PricingNoneThis unit will run 11-15 August 2025. Attendance at all sessions is compulsory.
NSLAWS5234Taxation of TrustsNoneStudents must attend every day of the intensive period.
NSLAWS5235Taxation Law of a Foreign StateNoneStudents must attend every day of the intensive period, 05-09 May 2025. Refer to the timetable website for further information.
N/ALAWS5238Goods and Services TaxationNoneIntensive 24-28 March 2025. Attendance compulsory. Refer to the timetable website for further information.
NSLAWS5239Resource TaxationNoneStudents must attend every day of the intensive period 6-7 & 13-14 March
N/ALAWS5240Special Topics in TaxNone
S1, S2LAWS5694Research Paper I
Prerequisites
For Master of Public Policy
or Graduate Certificate of Public Policy students without a recognised Law degree: LAWS4227 Foundations of Law and Legal Institutions.
This research unit involves unstructured contact with a supervisor throughout the semester.
N/ALAWS5813Legal Issues for Not-for-Profit Entities
Prerequisites

Enrolment in
20820 Juris Doctor
and LAWS4101 Foundations of Law and Lawyering and five Unit(s) ( LAWS4102 Criminal Law
, LAWS4103 Contract
, LAWS4104 Property
, LAWS4106 Torts
, LAWS4107 Land Law
, LAWS4108 Foundations of Public Law and ( LAWS4109 Legal Theory and Ethics
or LAWS4110 Interpretation
) )
or for all other students one Unit(s) LAWS4103 Contract
, LAWS5103 Equity and Trusts
or equivalent
This unit runs intensively 3-6 September. Students must attend every day of the intensive period.

Take units to the value of 0-12 points from this group.

Group B
AvailabilityUnit codeUnitnameUnit requirementsContact hours
NSLAWS5100Sustainability Law and Policy in Resource DevelopmentNoneThe unit will run over four days: 24-25 July, 31 July and 01 August 2025. Attendance at all sessions is mandatory.
N/ALAWS5111Corporate Environmental and Social Governance
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
or one LAWS5104 Corporations Law 20820 Juris Doctor in your chosen degree
Successful completion of
or two LAWS5104 Corporations Law 20820 Juris Doctor in your chosen degree Nil one 21560 Master of Legal Practice in your chosen degree Nil one LLM in your chosen degree Nil one 20560 Master of Resources and International Commercial Law in your chosen degree
Estimated 35 hours in total run as a one week intensive.
S1LAWS5165Public International Law
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
20820 Juris Doctor
and LAWS4101 Foundations of Law and Lawyering and five Unit(s) ( LAWS4102 Criminal Law
, LAWS4103 Contract
, LAWS4104 Property
, LAWS4106 Torts
, LAWS4107 Land Law
, LAWS4108 Foundations of Public Law and ( LAWS4109 Legal Theory and Ethics
or LAWS4110 Interpretation
) )
Incompatibility
LAWS3354 Public International Law
3 hours per week
S1LAWS5167Comparative Legal Method
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
20820 Juris Doctor
and LAWS4101 Foundations of Law and Lawyering and five Unit(s) ( LAWS4102 Criminal Law
, LAWS4103 Contract
, LAWS4104 Property
, LAWS4106 Torts
, LAWS4107 Land Law
, LAWS4108 Foundations of Public Law and ( LAWS4109 Legal Theory and Ethics
or LAWS4110 Interpretation
) )
Enrolment in
42580 Master of Public Policy
or 42280 Graduate Certificate in Public Policy
and LAWS4227 Foundations of Law and Legal Institutions
Incompatibility
LAWS3331 Comparative Law
3 hours per week
N/ALAWS5176Australian Financial Transactions Law and Regulation
Prerequisites
for Master of Commercial and Resources Law and Master of Taxation Law students: nil.
for Master of Applied Finance students: FINA5533 Finance Essentials (or equivalent)
and FINA5632 Investments
3 hours per week
NSLAWS5241International Dispute SettlementNoneThis will run across Tuesdays in July and August 2025 - refer to timetable for more details.
NSLAWS5260Intersections of Law, Policy and Governance
Incompatibility
Enrolment in
Unit(s) LAWS6260 Intersections of Law, Policy and Government
Enrolment in
Unit(s) LAWS4260 Intersections of Law, Policy and Governance
The on campus session for this unit will run in the mid semester break in semester 2, with the online pre-recorded modules to be completed beforehand.
NSLAWS5517Mining Law
Incompatibility
LAWS3371 Mining and Energy Law (formerly 200.371 Mining and Energy Law 371), LAWS5144 Mining and Energy Law
Students must attend sessions on 2-3 and 9-10 October 2025.
NSLAWS5532Energy Agreements: Oil and Gas, Alternative Energy and Sustainability
Incompatibility
Enrolment in
LAWS6727 Oil and Gas Agreements
Students must attend sessions on 21-22, 26 and 28-29 of August 2025.
N/ALAWS5576International Commercial Arbitration
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
20820 Juris Doctor
and LAWS4101 Foundations of Law and Lawyering and five Unit(s) ( LAWS4102 Criminal Law
, LAWS4103 Contract
, LAWS4104 Property
, LAWS4106 Torts
, LAWS4107 Land Law
, LAWS4108 Foundations of Public Law and ( LAWS4109 Legal Theory and Ethics
or LAWS4110 Interpretation
) )
Incompatibility
LAWS3307 International Commercial Arbitration, LAWS6576 International Commercial Arbitration
Students must attend every day of the intensive period 24-28 June 2024. Refer to the timetable website for further information.
S1, S2LAWS5695Research Paper II (12 points)
Incompatibility
LAWS5696 Research Paper III Part 1,
and LAWS5697 Research Paper III Part 2
This research unit involves unstructured contact with a supervisor throughout the semester.

See also the rules for the course and the Student Rules.

Rules

Applicability of the Student Rules, policies and procedures

1.(1) The Student Rules apply to students in this course.

(2) The policy, policy statements and guidance documents and student procedures apply, except as otherwise indicated in the rules for this course.

Academic Conduct Essentials and Communication and Research Skills modules

2.(1) A student who enrols in this course for the first time irrespective of whether they have previously been enrolled in another course of the University, must undertake the Academic Conduct Essentials module (the ACE module) and the Communication and Research Skills module (the CARS module).

(2) A student must successfully complete the ACE module within the first teaching period of their enrolment. Failure to complete the module within this timeframe will result in the student's unit results from this teaching period being withheld. These results will continue to be withheld until students avail themselves of a subsequent opportunity to achieve a passing grade in the ACE module. In the event that students complete units in subsequent teaching periods without completing the ACE module, these results will similarly be withheld. Students will not be permitted to submit late review or appeal applications regarding results which have been withheld for this reason and which they were unable to access in the normally permitted review period.

English Language competency requirements

3. To be considered eligible for consideration for admission to this course an applicant must satisfy the University's English language competence requirement as set out in the University Policy on Admission: Coursework.

Admission requirements

4.(1) To be considered for admission to this course an applicant must have—

(1) (a) a Juris Doctor or Bachelor of Laws, or an equivalent qualification, as recognised by UWA;

or 

(2) (a) (i) a bachelor's degree in a cognate area, or an equivalent qualification, as recognised by UWA, and (ii) the equivalent of a UWA weighted average mark of at least 50 per cent;

or 

(3) (a) (i) a bachelor's degree, or an equivalent qualification, as recognised by UWA, and (ii) the equivalent of a UWA weighted average mark of at least 50 per cent, and (iii) at least two years of relevant professional experience.

Admission ranking and selection

5. Where relevant, admission will be awarded to the highest ranked applicants or applicants selected based on the relevant requirements.

Articulations and exit awards

6.(1) The following courses form part of an articulated sequence:

  • 21350 Graduate Diploma in Taxation Law (24 points)
  • 21550 Master of Taxation Law (48 points)

(2) A student who withdraws from the Master of Taxation Law course before completing it, but after fulfilling the requirements of a lesser award in the above sequence, may apply for the relevant award.

(3) Credit for units completed in the Graduate Diploma will only be given if the course is not conferred.

Course structure

7.(1) The course consists of units to a total value of 48 points.

(2) Units must be selected in accordance with the course structure, as set out in these rules.

Satisfactory progress

8. To make satisfactory progress a student must pass units to a point value greater than half the total value of units in which they remain enrolled after the final date for withdrawal without academic penalty.

9. A student who has not achieved a result of Ungraded Pass (UP) for the Communication and Research Skills module (the CARS module) when their progress status is assessed will not have made satisfactory progress even if they have met the other requirements for satisfactory progress in Rule 8.

Progress status

10.(1) A student who makes satisfactory progress in terms of Rule 8 is assigned the status of 'Good Standing'.

(2) Unless the relevant board determines otherwise because of exceptional circumstances—

(a) a student who does not make satisfactory progress for the first time under Rule 8 is assigned a progress status of 'On Probation';

(b) a student who does not make satisfactory progress for the second time under Rule 8 is assigned a progress status of 'Suspended';

(c) a student who does not make satisfactory progress for the third time under Rule 8 is assigned a progress status of 'Excluded'.

11. A student who does not make satisfactory progress in terms of Rule 9 is assigned the progress status of 'On Probation', unless they have been assigned a progress status of 'Suspended' or 'Excluded' for failure to meet other satisfactory progress requirements in Rule 8.

Award with distinction

12. To be awarded the degree with distinction a student must achieve a course weighted average mark (WAM) of at least 80 per cent which is calculated based on—

(a) all units above Level 3 attempted as part of the course that are awarded a final percentage mark;

(b) all relevant units above Level 3 undertaken in articulating courses of this University that are awarded a final percentage mark;

and

(c) all units above Level 3 completed at this University that are credited to the master's degree course.

Deferrals

13. Applicants awarded admission to the course are entitled to a deferral of up to 12 months, as per the University Policy on: Admissions (Coursework).

Additional rules
Credit

14. Credit will not be granted for units that were taken in another degree that was conferred.