Researching and accessing legislation
Citing Acts in AGLC4
See Chapter 3 in the AGL4 for rules and examples on how to cite Acts and other legislative materials.
Accessing legislation
You can access the full-text of Australian legislation from the sources listed under 'Researching legislation' on this page, but the government sites listed below are the official sources, and are the most up to date.
Commonwealth (Cth)
Queensland (Qld)
Australian Capital Territory (ACT)
New South Wales (NSW)
Northern Territory (NT)
South Australia (SA)
Tasmania (Tas)
Victoria (Vic)
Western Australia (WA)
Researching legislation
- LAWLEX This link opens in a new window
Contains bills and legislation for all Australian jurisdictions. Includes progress of bills, commencement information, governing Act, amendments, history of amendments, gazette reference notices
- Video - LawNow and Legislation CitatorsWatch this video to see how to use LawNow in Lexis Advance to find and research legislation.
- AustLii This link opens in a new window
A database containing legislation for all Australian jurisdictions. This database allows you to 'note up' (i.e. find cases applying or interpreting a statutory provision). - Lexis Nexis Capital Monitor This link opens in a new window
Provides parliamentary, political, legislative, regulatory and judicial news and information almost as soon as it is available.
Sources for other jurisdictions
- On the web: Where to find Canadian legislationThe research guide of the Great Library, Law Society of Upper Canada, lists all the sources of Canadian legislation on the Internet.
- Justice laws websiteThe Justice Laws website features the Consolidated Acts, Annual Statutes, Table of Public Statutes and Responsible Ministers and Table of Private Acts.
- Researching Canadian legislation & parliamentary materialsResearch guide on locating and accessing Canadian legislation and other parliamentary materials from Osgoode Hall Law School Library, York University
- CanLII This link opens in a new window
CanLII is a free resource which provides access to court judgements, tribunal decisions, statutes and regulations from all Canadian jurisdictions.
- Quicklaw (Lexis+ Canada) This link opens in a new window
Quicklaw is now available on the Lexis+ Platform.
Canadian legal research database which provides court decisions from all levels, news reports, provincial and federal statutes, journals, and other legal commentary. Includes a case citator and case digests. - Westlaw International This link opens in a new window
Canadian legislation in Westlaw
This link will take you to the Westlaw homepage. From here select 'International Materials', then 'Canada', then you can select the 'Legislation' options.
- Legislation.gov.uk This link opens in a new window
Legislation from across the United Kingdom in one place. Online database of UK Statute Law. Contains primary and secondary UK legislation. - Westlaw International This link opens in a new windowSelect 'International Materials', then 'United Kingdom' to access UK content.
- BAILII
British and Irish case law & legislation, European Union case law, Law Commission reports, and other law-related British and Irish material.
- Westlaw International This link opens in a new windowStatutes & court rules has statutes and constitutions from all 50 states (and federal), the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, plus annotations and editorial enhancements.
- HeinOnline This link opens in a new window
- WorldLii This link opens in a new window
Major website covering international cases and legislation. It also has comprehensive links to international legal sites in a variety of subject areas. - Lexis China This link opens in a new windowBond University has access to the LexisNexis China Legislations and Cases module only.
Click Go to Lexis China (no login required).
A collection of Chinese laws, regulations, tax information, judicial decisions, and other legal documents, collected from government sources.
Law: primary sources