Law resources
This guide will help you quickly find resources for legal research – whether it be locating an Act or case you have a citation for, or learning about the law on a topic.
Not sure where to start? Check out the legal research flowchart or look at the guides for legislation or case law to learn which resources and strategies to use to find the information you need.
Primary sources of law
Primary sources of law are where the law is written down, as made by parliaments and courts and tribunals. This section contains links to resources that contain the full-text of primary sources of law as well as extrinsic materials (e.g. bills, Hansard). It also includes key indexing tools.
If you are unfamiliar with the topic, it is recommended that you start with secondary sources listed below. Refer to the legal research flowchart and legislation and case law guides above for advice.
Commonwealth
South Australia
All jurisdictions
This document covers different versions of Acts (current, as passed, or historical), delegated legislation, bills and explanatory memoranda, parliamentary debates, etc.
Not sure where to start? Or which resource to use?
Look at the Legislation research guide to learn which resource to use for your research task - whether it be locating the current version of an Act, searching for Acts on a topic, or interpreting an Act.
To learn more about the different types of legislation resources - what they are and why they are useful - have a look at the Legislation resources guide.
There are a number of different resources that can help you identify and access case law from Australia.
| Find that Case@Flinders | Use to locate the full-text of cases where you have the full citation. e.g. Mabo v Queensland (No. 2) (1992) 175 CLR 1 |
Use either of these case citators to:
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| AustLII | Contains the full text of unreported judgments from Australian courts and tribunals. Use to:
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Not sure where to start? Or which resource to use?
Look at the Case law guide to learn which resource you should use for your research task – whether it be locating a known case, finding cases that refer to an Act, updating or noting up a case, searching for cases on a legal topic, etc..
If you want to learn more about the different case law resources – what they are and how they can help you – have a look at the Case law resources guide.
Secondary sources of law
Secondary sources of law help you identify, understand, and analyse primary sources of law.
| Australian Guide to Legal Citation | Referencing guide produced by the University of Melbourne. |
| Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations | Comprehensive index to abbreviations of Australian and international legal resources. |
| Find that Case@Flinders | Index of case law abbreviations, both law reports and medium neutral citations. |
| Encyclopaedic Australian Legal Dictionary | Definitions of legal terms Provides a short definition of a legal term, indicates the area of law the topic fits within, points you to key primary sources, and highlights related terminology and issues. |
| Australian Legal Words and Phrases | Legal definitions Provides citations of primary sources where words and phrases have been legally defined. |
| Oxford English Dictionary | General definitions Provides definitions of English words. |
- Halsbury's Laws of Australia (Lexis+)
- Laws of Australia (Westlaw Australia)
- Law Handbook (Legal Services Commission of South Australia)
Books cover broad areas of law and are useful to help understand the legal principles of an area of law and how they might apply in different situations.
Use findit@flinders to search for books and ebooks.
Books in the Law Library are organised differently to the rest of the Library. They are arranged according to the Moys classification system, developed specifically for legal materials. Below are the location numbers for some core topics in law.
Administrative law |
KM300 |
Australian legal system |
KL26 |
Business law |
KN250 |
Civil litigation |
KN350 |
Constitutional law |
KM76 |
Contract |
KN10 |
Corporate law |
KN260 |
Criminal justice system |
KM570 |
Criminal law, Australian |
KM526 |
Criminal law, evidence |
KM600 |
Equity |
KN200 |
Evidence |
KN390 |
Health law |
KN185 |
Indigenous Australians and the law |
KM208.431 |
Judicial review |
KM306 |
Legal ethics |
KL82 |
Legal skills |
KL66 |
Legal theory (jurisprudence) |
KA10 |
Property law |
KN50 |
Property law, real |
KN60 |
Public law |
KM26 |
Tort law |
KN30 |
Trusts |
KN210 |
Commentary services are practitioner resources that cover a specific area of law, providing the key information that practicing lawyers need to know.
Each of the platforms below provide a range of commentary services on different legal topics. Please check each for relevant titles.
- CCH IntelliConnect
- Lexis+
Use the main search box. From the results, select to view 'AU Secondary Materials' then select the content type 'Commentary'. - Westlaw Australia
Use the main search box. From the results, filter to the 'Publication type' of 'Commentary'
Australian law journal databases
- AGIS – Attorney-General’s Information Service (Informit)
The best resource to find information on any legal issue in Australia. It searches over 120 Australian law journals, as well as some international law journals, reports, book chapters, and conference papers. - Australian Public Affairs (Informit)
Useful when researching legal issues that overlap with policy and social sciences.
International law databases
- HeinOnline Journals
Full-text of over 2400 US and international law journals. - Westlaw International Materials
Click on "Journals" under "Content Types".
Multidisciplinary databases
Do you have the citation of an article that you want to read?
If you already have the details of an article, you can find it using findit@flinders.
Simply search for the title and author, and look at the ‘Get it’ box to find a link to the article online.
Law reform commissions are appointed by governments to review the law in specific areas and recommend reforms. These commissions
- publish issues papers
- seek public input (known as submissions) and consult with stakeholders
- release discussion papers
- seek further submissions and consult further with stakeholders
- provide a full report to the relevant minister
Law reform publications are very informative and an excellent source to learn of new and developing areas of law. They are also useful if you want an in-depth analysis of a legal issue, legal principle, or aspect of the legal system.
- Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC)
- South Australian Law Reform Institute
- Other Australian law reform agencies
(List from ALRC)
Other sources of law reform publications
- AustLII (Contains reports and papers from most Australian law reform commissions.)
- AGIS – Attorney-General’s Information Service (Informit)
- findit@flinders
Many older law reform papers and reports are held in the Law Library and can be found by searching findit@flinders. Include the phrase “law reform” in your search.
Foreign, comparative and international law
For information about researching the laws of other countries, try these websites:
- Globalex – Foreign Law Research
- LLRX.com – Comparative and Foreign Law
- Legal research guides from the jurisdiction - search Google for the country + legal research + libguide
These websites provide useful information about the legal system and where to find laws (including if they are available in English and for free).
Another option is to search for legal research guides from the jurisdiction. Simply search for the country + legal research guide.
- United Nations Treaty Series
- League of Nations Treaty Series (1919-1945)
- Australian Treaties Database
- International Treaties Collection
- International Court of Justice
- Permanent Court of International Justice
- International Criminal Court
- List of other courts and tribunals
Encyclopeadias
- Max Planck Encyclopaedia of Public International Law
A continuously updated encyclopedia containing peer-reviewed articles on every aspect of public international law. Written and edited by an incomparable team of over 800 scholars and practitioners, published in partnership with the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, and updated throughout the year. - Halsbury’s Laws of Australia (Lexis+)
Includes chapters on: civil and political rights, foreign relations, maritime law. - Laws of Australia (Westlaw Australia)
Includes chapters on: human rights, international trade.
Books
The Library holds a range of books and ebooks on international law. You can search findit@flinders, or browse the following location numbers for relevant titles.
International law |
KC80 |
Public international law |
KC100 |
Human rights |
KC200 |
International criminal law |
KC210 |
International trade law |
KC230 |
Learn about legal resources and research strategies
These videos take you through some of the concepts that are useful to understand when attempting to find, learn about and analyse the law.
An introduction to legal resources
This video provides a very broad overview of what legal research is and ideas behind how legal information is disseminated.
Legal research strategy
This video outlines a very broad legal research strategy that you can follow, no matter what you have been asked to find out.
Things to think about when researching law
This video highlights a number of questions to ask yourself as you search for relevant legal resources.
Legal resources
This video steps through how law is made in Australia and the resources that are produced along the way – both primary and secondary sources.
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