LibGuides: Guide to Online Legal Research: Key resources

Key databases

The Library has a range of specialised databases which you can access to find cases, legislation, journal articles and legal commentary. The following Australian databases will be useful for finding information on your legal topics. See also International legal materials.

Free databases

AustLII This link opens in a new window
Freely available Australian database containing full-text legislation & case law. Also includes journals, law reform papers and and subject specific collections.

Jade
Produced by BarNet, Jade allows you to search, annotate & share Australian case law for free. Jade Professional provides additional features & is available to students at no charge. Email editors@jade.io from your student email address with current degree & expected year of completion.

Subscription databases

Lexis Advance Research This link opens in a new window
Provides Australian case law (including the CaseBase case citator), legislation, journals & commentary (including a comprehensive legal dictionary & the Halsbury's legal encylopaedia). Some international content (NZ, UK, US, & Canada) is also included.
To get started, view the Lexis Advance Research Quick Guide. To be used exclusively for academic research only.
Westlaw AU This link opens in a new window
Provides Australian case law (including the case citator KeyCite), journals and commentary (including the encyclopaedia 'Laws of Australia').
CCH IntelliConnect This link opens in a new window
Provides subject-specific Australian commentary, legislation & case law, including family, corporations, business, superannuation, taxation, competition, contract, and torts law.
LawOne This link opens in a new window
Provides full-text legislation for all Australian jurisdictions, with advanced search capabilities and the option to browse legislation by topic.
InfoRMIT This link opens in a new window
Provides Australian journal content (in full-text and/or index only). Databases containing law content include: AGIS Plus Text, APA-FT and CINCH (Criminology).
HeinOnline This link opens in a new window
Primarily US content, however also includes an extensive collection of international journals in the 'Law Journal Library'.

Dictionaries and encyclopaedias

Dictionaries, encyclopaedias and handbooks provide a basic introduction to a particular topic and are a good starting point for legal research.

Encyclopaedic Australian Legal Dictionary (online)
This link will take you to the home page of the Lexis Advance Research database. Once there, click on the link to 'Encyclopaedic Australian Legal Dictionary' in the Publications list to search or browse the dictionary. SCU login required.
Halsbury's Laws of Australia (online)
Comprehensive Australian legal encyclopaedia. This link will take you to the home page of the Lexis Advance Research database. Once there, click the link to 'Halsbury's Laws of Australia' in the Publications list to search or browse the encyclopaedia. SCU login required.
The Laws of Australia
A legal encyclopaedia available in the Westlaw AU database. SCU login required.

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
This database includes dictionaries and encyclopedias, useful for background information.

Australian Law Dictionary by Trischa Mann
Call Number: Law KL 40 AULA 2017
Publication Date: 2017 (3rd ed)
LexisNexis Concise Australian Legal Dictionary by Ray Finkelstein & David Hamer (eds.)
Call Number: Law KL 40 BUTT 2015
Publication Date: 2015 (5th ed)

Key book titles

Nemes and Coss' Effective Legal Research by Bruce Bott, Irene Nemes, Graeme Coss and Ruth Talbot-Stokes
Publication Date: 2021 (8th ed)
Laying down the law by Robin Creyke; David Hamer; Patrick O'Mara
Publication Date: 2020 (11th ed)
A Practical Guide to Legal Research by Jay Sanderson and Kim Kelly
Publication Date: 2017 (4th ed)
See also the 2021 (5th) ed available in hardcopy.

Legal abbreviations

Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations
Abbreviations for legal publications from the UK, Commonwealth, US, and a selection of other jurisdictions.
CaseBase Abbreviations
Lissts the abbreviations used in CaseBase documents.

Australian legal websites

Documenting and recording your searches

Documenting and saving searches
An important step in the research process is to record your searches. This Microsoft Word template is one way to record your searches.