Researching cases

Case citators are a valuable research tool used to "note up" cases. Noting a case up essentially looks at a case's past and present status.

When noting up a case you will often find the following information: parallel citations, case history, journal articles or other secondary sources referring to the case, lists of subsequent citing cases and the judicial treatments in those citing cases.

It is important to look at how subsequent cases have used the case, to see if your original case remains good law (whether it has been overturned or upheld, for example).

Explore the tabs below to find links and information on Australian case citators.

Australian case citators

CaseBase (Lexis+)
CaseBase is a powerful, easy-to-use case citator and annotator covering over 100 Pacific and international report series, journals and unreported decisions from all major Australian and New Zealand courts and selected tribunals.
CaseBase Signals & Annotations
Find out what the different signals and annotations mean in CaseBase
Elements of a CaseBase Document
This article describes the different sections that might be displayed within CaseBase documents.
Video - CaseBase Citator
Watch this short video for an introduction to using the CaseBase case citator in Lexis Advance

Westlaw Australia This link opens in a new window
Australian legal material including law reports, unreported judgments, legal research titles, Australian cases by series, jurisdiction and practice areas.
When linking to Westlaw for the first time from a non-Bond PC or wireless device, if there is a message: Access with a single-sign-on
1. enter the group ID bond
2. tick Remember group ID
3. tick Always use single sign-on.
To create a persistent link, copy the url from the Copy Link function and then add &groupid=bond

Westlaw Australia Guide - KeyCite
Explains KeyCite flags and features
Westlaw Australia Guide - Cases document display
Outlines the key features and aspects of a case document in Westlaw Australia
Video - Understanding KeyCite flags in Westlaw Australia
This video describes KeyCite flags and how they can help you determine the validity of a case.

AustLii This link opens in a new window

LawCite is AustLII's case citator. It is particularly useful when searching for law journal articles or law reform reports referring to a particular case.

screenshot of AustLII homepage showing LawCite

LawCite This link opens in a new window
An automatically generated, freely available, international legal case and journal article citation index.

LawCite Search Form Help
Go through the fields in the LawCite search form
Video - AustLII - Interpreting Case Search Results
This is UTS (University of Technology Sydney) Library's video on interpreting search results in AustLII.

Case law databases

Lexis + Australia This link opens in a new window
Contains Australian law material including CaseBase cases, Unreported Judgments, Halsbury’s Laws of Australia, Queensland Reports (Qd R),College of Law Practice papers and LawNow. LexisNexis Practical Guidance modules are also included.
Westlaw Australia This link opens in a new window
Australian legal material including law reports, unreported judgments, legal research titles, Australian cases by series, jurisdiction and practice areas.
When linking to Westlaw for the first time from a non-Bond PC or wireless device, if there is a message: Access with a single-sign-on
1. enter the group ID bond
2. tick Remember group ID
3. tick Always use single sign-on.
To create a persistent link, copy the url from the Copy Link function and then add &groupid=bond
AustLii This link opens in a new window
Australian primary and secondary sources of law such as federal and state acts and cases, journals, scholarship, treaties and law reform resources.
CCH iKnowConnect This link opens in a new window
CCH iKnowConnect replaces CCH Intelliconnect from 15 December 2023.
CCH iKnowConnect contains full text versions of CCH Australia publications in different practice areas, including family law, taxation, industrial law, intellectual property, occupational health and safety, and contract law.

Jade - No subscription required
Judgment and Decisions Enhanced ('JADE') is a free current awareness service and professional legal research platform designed by the legal profession for the legal profession.

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.
If using Lexis+ on the same browser in the same session, you must click on Sign Out in Quicklaw.
Quicklaw will timeout when a session remains inactive for a period of 15 minutes. This timeout period is set by Lexis and cannot be changed.
CanLII This link opens in a new window
Canadian federal and provincial primary sources of law including legislation, judgments and tribunal decisions.
Westlaw International This link opens in a new window
This link will take you to the Westlaw homepage. From here select 'International Materials', then 'Canada', then you can select the 'Cases' options.
Canadian cases note up automatically in Westlaw through "KeyCite". When you access a case, have a look at the tab options on the top next to where it says "Powered by KeyCite".

On the web: Where to find Canadian case law
The research guide of the Great Library, Law Society of Upper Canada. Provides links to case law, as well as case-related services and information available mainly from the websites of Canadian courts and administrative tribunals.

ICLR Online This link opens in a new window
Contains all law reports published by the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales, since 1865.
This includes over 77,000 case reports from The Law Reports, The Weekly Law Reports, The Industrial Case Reports, The Business Law Reports and the Public and Third Sector Law Reports.
Also includes CitatorPlus a database including over 83,000 cases reported by ICLR, the All England Law Reports, Lloyd's Law Reports, Criminal Appeal Reports, Local Government Reports, Road Traffic Reports and Tax Cases.
Westlaw UK This link opens in a new window
Provides access to UK case law, legislation, news, legal journals, commentary, current awareness alerts and EU legal materials.
Do not use the PDF icon. Choose Download and then the file type (Word, PDF, etc).

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 window
Westlaw is an international online legal research tool providing full text access to case law, statutes, reports, journals and law reviews with a United States of America focus.
For other jurisdictions, select 'International Materials'.
Lexis China This link opens in a new window
A collection of Chinese laws, regulations, tax information, judicial decisions, and other legal documents, collected from government sources.
Bond University has access to the LexisNexis China Legislations and Cases module only.

LII (Legal Information Institute)
The Legal Information Institute (LII) is a non-profit, public service of Cornell Law School that provides no-cost access to current American and international legal research sources.

WorldLii This link opens in a new window
Major website covering international cases and legislation.
It has comprehensive links to international legal sites in a variety of subject areas.

Law: Primary Sources

Researching cases