Head of School: Professor John Taylor
School Manager: Tim Neems

Law is central to business. Today, law plays a greater role in business than ever before, governing practically every business activity: the choice of business organisation; the obligations of business to customers, government and other stakeholders; and every business transaction ranging from the simplest sale of goods to the most complex corporate takeover. The most extensive set of laws in Australia are those relating to taxation.

The increasing complexity and global reach of business has brought with it new legal questions and solutions. Corporate governance, transfer pricing, intellectual property, sustainability of natural resources, trade practices, and corporate financing are all areas of increasing significance in business.

It is essential that people making business decisions give thorough consideration to the taxation and business law issues involved. The same can be said of many personal decisions associated with retiring, purchasing an investment property, or choosing whether to take up an overseas secondment. The main focus of the research and teaching of the School of Taxation & Business Law is on areas of law dealing with these issues.

Undergraduate programs

The School of Taxation and Business Law offers undergraduate students a range of courses from Bachelor to Honours level in the fields of taxation and business law. Students may choose to do a Business law or a Taxation major in Australian School of Business degree programs. Our foundation business law course, LEGT1710 Business and the Law, is part of the optional core for the Bachelor of Commerce degree.

The Business Law major is designed for students who are interested in commercial law in a business context rather than entering legal practice. It provides students with an understanding of organisation’s legal obligations in today's complex business world.

Taxation provides the government with funding to deliver essential services and to effectively manage the economy. Tax professionals assist organisations with a range of business decisions, ranging from choosing the most appropriate company car to establishing retirement plans for employees, or financing offshore expansion.

The Taxation major is designed for students who are interested in becoming taxation professionals or who are looking to enhance their studies with taxation knowledge. Complementary business majors include accounting, finance, international business and management.

Students completing double majors in Accounting and Business Law or Accounting and Taxation are able to complete the required courses to satisfy accreditation requirements of CPA Australia and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA).

We also offer specialist taxation degrees both at under graduate and post graduate level.

The Bachelor of Taxation program has been granted accreditation by CPA Australia and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA). This means the Bachelor of Taxation satisfies the educational requirements for associate level of membership, provided the student has studied elective courses in the accounting stream of the Bachelor of Taxation.

The B Tax delivered via distance learning (online), which allows you to manage the other priorities in your life or juggle work with your study commitments. Some courses are available on a face to face basis for those students living in the Sydney area.

Postgraduate programs

For postgraduate students we offer courses in the Master of Commerce (MCom) and the Master of Professional Accounting programs, a Business Law specialisation for the Master of Commerce (MCom) program and the Master of Taxation (MTax) and Master of Applied Taxation (MAppTax) degrees. In conjunction with the Faculty of Law we offer courses in the graduate coursework program Master of Business Law (MBL).

The Master of Taxation’s principal objective is to develop high level taxation knowledge base and advanced professional skills in taxation. The Master of Taxation can be studied over one full-time year with four courses per semester or two part-time years with two courses per semester. The Master of Taxation program is designed for the tax specialist who is keen to gain deeper knowledge and who seeks career prospects. The program aims to develop an advanced taxation knowledge base and advanced professional skills in taxation, international taxation, revenue administration or taxation and financial planning.

The Master of Application Taxation (MAppTax) has been developed in partnership with the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAA) exclusively for Graduate Diploma of Chartered Accounting (Grad DipCA) graduates. The program enables students to keep up to date with the volume and complexity of tax law.

The MTax and MAppTax are delivered via distance learning, which allows you to plan your study around the other priorities in your life. Some courses are also available on a face to face basis for students in Sydney.

At the graduate level our research programs are the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and the Master of Philosophy (MPhil).

Specialist Professional Accreditation

The Master of Taxation has been approved by CPA Australia for specialist taxation accreditation. Students who are members of CPA Australia, The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia.

(ICAA), and qualified lawyers may have both Award and Non-Award study with Atax recognised towards their Continuing Professional Development (CPD), Continuing Professional Education (CPE) and Continuing Legal Education (CLE) membership requirements respectively.

Phone: (+61 2) 9385 6777
Email: tbl@unsw.edu.au or atax@unsw.edu.au
Fax: (+61 2) 9313 6658
Location: ASB Building, Level 6 (enter via East Lobby)