Priestley 11 · Usually third year
Equity and Trusts for Australian law students
Equity is the subject most students describe as the one that finally makes the rest of the degree fit together, usually about three weeks after they wanted it to. It is also the subject with the densest reading load, because the principles are worked out across long lines of authority rather than set out in a statute.
What the subject covers
- The equitable jurisdiction, the maxims, and the relationship with the common law
- Fiduciary obligations, and the no conflict and no profit rules
- Breach of confidence
- Equitable estoppel
- Express trusts: the three certainties, formalities, and the duties of a trustee
- Resulting and constructive trusts, including the remedial constructive trust
- Tracing, and equitable remedies including specific performance and injunctions
Topic coverage varies between law schools and between jurisdictions. Your subject guide is the one that counts.
Cases you will meet in an Australian Equity and Trusts course
Three decisions that turn up in Equity and Trusts across Australian law schools. Some of them are English decisions that Australian courses still teach as core authority, so this is a list of what you will be taught rather than a list of Australian judgments. Treat it as a starting point rather than a reading list. Your course sets its own, and it is the one that counts.
Barnes v Addy
(1874) LR 9 Ch App 244
Third party liability for knowing receipt and knowing assistance.
Muschinski v Dodds
(1985) 160 CLR 583
The constructive trust as a remedial response to unconscionable retention.
Baumgartner v Baumgartner
(1987) 164 CLR 137
Applying that reasoning to a pooled domestic relationship.
How the subject is assessed
Equity is heavy on the research essay, because the doctrinal arguments are genuinely open. Expect a long problem question as well, usually combining a trust with a fiduciary claim, and an exam that rewards knowing which line of authority is binding.
Using CaseSharp for Equity
Problem questions
Equity problems reward identifying the right cause of action before the remedy. Filter by court and jurisdiction to find the binding line rather than the interesting one.
Case notes
Long joint judgments are the norm here. Briefs separate ratio from the reasoning around it and keep the source record close so you can check each point and its legal pinpoint.
AGLC4 essays
Equity essays often cite English authority alongside Australian decisions. CaseSharp's citation check (beta) suggests a draft footnote for each case citation it finds. Treat it as a draft you check against AGLC4 and the original source.
Exam scaffolds
Scaffold by cause of action, with elements underneath. This is the subject where an overruled or distinguished authority on a scaffold does the most damage, so check the citing cases before SWOTVAC.
CaseSharp is a research and study tool. It does not write your problem question answer or your research essay. When a citation in your draft is not in CaseSharp's records, the citation check (beta) marks it for your review instead of guessing.
Try it on an Equity question
Create a free account and run an Equity query like the one below, so you can see what comes back before you decide anything.
knowing assistance Barnes v Addy
Australian decisions in CaseSharp’s collection. Coverage varies by court and date.