Legal Studies 2025 HSC exam pack

Students should:

• read the question carefully to ensure that they do not miss important components of the question
• have a clear understanding of key words in the question and the question requirements
• use the first page of the answer booklet to develop a plan to assist in the logical sequencing of information
• sustain their judgements throughout the response with a clear connection to the question
• communicate ideas and information using legal terms and concepts appropriately
• refer to relevant examples such as legislation, cases, media, international instruments and documents, where applicable
• present a sustained, logical, and cohesive response
• review their response to ensure that it addresses the question requirements.

Part A – Human Rights

Question 21

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate knowledge of how the recognition of peace rights has changed over time
• show the evolution of responsibility and obligation to achieve and maintain peace.

Areas for students to improve include:

• showing understanding of the key features of peace rights.

Question 22

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate a clear understanding of the influence the media can apply to human rights by creating awareness, promoting issues, and consequently often creating pressure on governments to initiate legislative reforms and changes
• integrate supporting examples to illustrate the influence of the media on changes in human rights. For example, the showcasing of human rights issues through media outlets or specific documentaries or investigative journalism programs, for example, ABC’s Four Corners
• write in a direct and concise manner while appropriately applying legal concepts and terminology.

Areas for students to improve include:

• demonstrating an understanding of the impact of the media on human rights
• applying legal terminology and using examples to help demonstrate the relationship between the media and changes in human rights.

Question 23

In better responses, students were able to:

• refer to a range of international and domestic legal measures
• explicitly demonstrate the ways in which legal measures protect human rights
• support arguments with legal terminology, such as ‘state sovereignty’ and ‘enforceability’.

Areas for students to improve include:

• explicitly identifying the characteristics of human rights to show understanding
• using the lines provided as a guide for the length of their response
• integrating a clear example throughout the response.

Part B – Crime

Question 24

In better responses, students were able to:

• apply knowledge and understanding specific to both transnational and domestic crime
• analyse the ability of legal measures to protect community interests, for example, the safety of the victim and the need for law reform to address concerns
• adhere to the key term in the question
• use and integrate a wide variety of examples, such as BOSCAR statistics and media articles.

Areas for students to improve include:

• making clear the link between the area of knowledge and the implications for the protection of the community
• ensuring all elements of the question are addressed, for example, reference to domestic and transnational crimes.

Question 25 (a)

In better responses, students were able to:

• reference relevant legislation, such as the Australian Consumer Law or relevant case law
• recognise that while non-compliance does challenge effectiveness, the law remains effective if enforcement is strong
• address the difficulty of achieving compliance with reference to the statement and with relevant examples.

Areas for students to improve include:

• engaging with the statement and supporting their response with examples
• providing a judgement regarding the extent of the law in terms of its degree of effectiveness.

Question 25 (b)

In the better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate a clear understanding of changing community values and just outcomes for consumers and the interrelationship between them
• show an understanding of contemporary issues
• respond to the key word ‘assess’, by making a judgement of value or outcomes.

Areas for students to improve:

• engaging with the question regarding community values and just outcomes
• integrating a range of examples to support a judgement
• presenting a sustained argument throughout the response to demonstrate the interrelationship between changing values and just outcomes.

Question 26 (a)

In better responses, students were able to:

• engage with the judgement in relation to non-compliance and the extent to which the statement from the question is accurate
• integrate their argument within the body paragraphs
• provide an informed judgment using a range of evidence, such as legislation, international instruments and documents that show the introduction and development of law and the impact of compliance, for example, the Paris Agreement
• write in a cohesive manner.

Areas for students to improve:

• engaging with the key term ‘to what extent’
• addressing the effectiveness of the law, rather than repeating the statement from the question
• using a range of examples beyond legislation and international law to support a judgment.

Question 26 (b)

In better responses, students were able to:

• engage with a value judgement and draw out the relationship between changing community values and global environmental protection
• integrate a range of examples that implicitly or explicitly connect with a number of contemporary issues.

Areas for students to improve include:

• engaging with the key term ‘assess’ to address the effectiveness of the law
• selecting contemporary issues that link to changing community values
• ensuring their response directly answers the question, rather than providing a general description or a narrative of an issue.

Question 27 (a)

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate a clear understanding of the federal and state legal frameworks, including legislation such as the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) and the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW)
• explain, supported by evidence, the nature and impact of non-compliance in areas such as parenting orders, child maintenance and domestic violence
• make clear and well-supported judgments about the extent to which non-compliance hinders the overall effectiveness of the law
• show an understanding of effectiveness criteria, such as enforceability, accessibility, protection of rights and just outcomes.

Areas for students to improve include:

• defining non-compliance clearly within the specific context of family law
• avoiding confusion between non-compliance (failure to follow the law) with limitations in the law (issues with how the law is written, applied, or enforced)
• providing a broad range of examples of non-compliance, rather than focusing on one issue
• integrating sources and explaining their relevance, purpose, and significance to the argument.

Question 27 (b)

In better responses, students were able to:

• define key concepts clearly, such as ‘community values’ and ‘just outcomes’
• recognise that family law evolves in response to social change, often influenced by shifts in community attitudes, and explain these links explicitly
• provide relevant examples, including issues related to same-sex families, surrogacy and assisted reproductive technologies and domestic violence
• explain the role of non-government organisations in addressing just outcomes and responding to changing community values.

Areas for students to improve include:

• ensuring the response directly answers the question rather than providing general or pre-prepared responses
• selecting content to clearly demonstrate how community values have changed over time
• integrating a range of sources to support judgments, including case law, legislation, and inquiries such as those conducted by the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC).

Question 28 (a)

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide an extensive understanding of both international and domestic legal responses
• address the key term ‘to what extent’ clearly by providing a balanced and well-reasoned judgement acknowledging limitations and challenges to legal measures, rather than presenting one-sided arguments
• demonstrate understanding of state sovereignty as a determining factor in both compliance and non-compliance and explaining how it can support or undermine the enforcement of legal protections for Indigenous Peoples
• integrate a broad range of case studies related to Indigenous Peoples with relevant evidence.

Areas for students to improve include:

• sustaining judgements throughout paragraphs, rather than placing evaluative statements at the end or in the conclusion
• avoiding descriptive or narrative summaries of case studies by clearly linking evidence to the question and the concept of non-compliance
• ensuring legal responses are analysed, rather than simply identified.

Question 28 (b)

In better responses, students were able to:

• establish a clear and explicit interrelationship between changing community values and the achievement of just outcomes
• examine relevant non-legal responses to demonstrate how they reflect and influence changing community values and contribute to just outcomes
• explain how changing community values have led to law reform and just outcomes.

Areas for students to improve include:

• making an explicit link between changing community values and law reform
• incorporating a broader representation of Indigenous Peoples, rather than generalised or Australian-specific examples
• moving beyond descriptive accounts of social attitudes by analysing how these attitudes contribute to progress or provide barriers to achieve just outcomes.

Question 29 (a)

In better responses, students were able to:

• select content and issues that demonstrate non-compliance, such as tenancy relationships, ‘renovictions,’ building defects, underquoting, boarding houses and a lack of compliance with international law
• provide an evaluation of both state and federal frameworks that support compliance, and the responsiveness of dispute resolution mechanisms, such as the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal
• demonstrate an extensive understanding of the challenges to compliance by using a range of evidence.

Areas for students to improve include:

• moving beyond simple case description that highlights the resolution of a dispute to focus on an assessment of the effectiveness of the law when facing compliance challenges
• providing relevant content that engages with non-compliance challenges
• supporting content with accurate and relevant examples.

Question 29 (b)

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate knowledge and understanding of content that addressed the question, moving beyond a narrow assessment of a single contemporary issue
• provide an informed judgement of the achievement of just outcomes by using content relating to changing community values concerning housing affordability, social housing provision, rental rights reforms and discrimination
• make genuine and sustained judgements supported by evidence and content choice.

Areas for students to improve include:

• avoiding general descriptions of contemporary issues
• addressing a range of just outcomes for those securing and providing shelter and the complexities around the imbalance of power
• integrating a range of evidence that is relevant to the themes within the question.

Question 30 (a)

In better responses, students were able to:

• engage with the question by evaluating how non-compliance challenges the effectiveness of workplace law in achieving just outcomes for employees and employers
• demonstrate a clear understanding of relevant legislation and mechanisms, including the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) and Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (Cth), as well as the roles of the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) and Fair Work Commission (FWC)
• integrate a range of relevant examples, such as cases relating to wage underpayment and workplace safety breaches, which illustrate how non-compliance impacts the operation of the law and its ability to protect workplace rights
• develop a coherent and balanced argument that leads to a clear and informed judgement about the overall effectiveness of legal responses.

Areas for students to improve include:

• developing an analysis of how non-compliance limits the effectiveness of the law by linking examples, such as ongoing wage theft or unsafe working conditions, to weaknesses in enforcement and regulation
• distinguishing between the roles and functions of legal mechanisms, recognising the Fair Work Ombudsman as an enforcement body and the Fair Work Commission as a forum for dispute resolution
• sustaining evaluation throughout their response, rather than relying on description of laws or processes, for example, by analysing the success or limitations of specific legislation rather than simply outlining its purpose
• maintaining a consistent focus on the question, ensuring that all discussion and examples relate to the issue of non-compliance and the overall effectiveness of workplace law.

Question 30 (b)

In better responses, students were able to:

• address the question by assessing the relationship between changing community values and the achievement of just outcomes in the workplace
• demonstrate understanding of how evolving social attitudes towards equality, safety and inclusivity have shaped, and been shaped by, developments in workplace law
• support their analysis with appropriate examples of legislation, mechanisms, and recent reforms, linking these to broader trends in community expectations
• present a well-structured and logical response that reaches a reasoned judgement about the extent to which a contemporary issue reflects changing values.

Areas for students to improve include:

• developing a detailed explanation of what is meant by the interrelationship between community values and the law, and applying this concept consistently throughout the response
• providing depth of evaluation, ensuring analysis moves beyond description of reforms to consider how effectively these achieve just outcomes
• supporting discussion with a broad range of relevant and contemporary examples to strengthen judgements about the responsiveness of the law
• maintaining a clear focus on the question, ensuring that all discussion relates to the connection between community values and workplace justice.

Question 31 (a)

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of the law concerning world order relevant to the question
• engage with the question and the statement within the question by developing an informed judgment about non-compliance and the challenges that are faced
• include a range of examples from international instruments (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, Rome Statute, UN Charter), media articles, documents and expert opinions that support world order content
• integrate relevant case studies, such as Ukraine, South China Sea or Sudan to illustrate challenges to the effectiveness of the law.

Areas for students to improve include:

• developing knowledge of the UN and its organs and the effectiveness of international courts, such as the ICC, and international instruments
• avoiding references to issues such as environmental law (whaling and climate change) or domestic issues in Australia of crime and politics that do not relate to world order.

Question 31 (b)

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of the interrelationship between changing community values and just outcomes in relation to world order, such as the importance of the UN Charter, Responsibility to Protect nuclear threat instruments, changes to the Conduct of Hostilities principles and the evolving nature of international courts
• provide informed judgments that support the synthesis of the question, drawing on relevant evidence from a range of sources including expert opinions
• integrate a range of case studies, such as Ukraine, Libya, Syria, East Timor and the South China Sea.

Areas for students to improve include:

• demonstrating knowledge and understanding from a range of content areas and providing greater links to the question
• expressing a judgement, rather than describing cases studied
• ensuring relevant contemporary issues are selected that relate to the question.