AUSTRALIA
BODLEIAN LAW LIBRARY
A GUIDE TO THE AUSTRALIAN LAW COLLECTION IN THE BLL
Legal System
Australia is a constitutional monarchy. The Queen of Australia is Head of
Government, and she appoints a Governor General – on advice of the
Commonwealth Government - to be her representative. Australia has a central
government (known as federal or commonwealth), and a federation of six States and
three self governing territories, each with their own constitutions, parliaments and
laws. The distribution of powers between federal and state governments is laid out in
the Australian Constitution.
The High Court interprets the Constitution and acts as final court of appeal. The
Federal Court has jurisdiction in certain national areas of activity, such as family,
industrial and trade practices law. Each state has a Supreme Court, County or
district level courts, and magistrates’ courts.
Primary Sources
Legislation – Federal
Acts of the Parliament of Australia (1900- )
Consolidated Acts of Australia (1901-1973)
Statutory Rules of Australia (1901-1987)
Statutory Rules of Australia (1988-1993)
Cw Austral 30
Cw Austral 30
*Cw Austral 90
Cw Austral 90
Legislation – States & Territories
Australian Capital Territory
Laws of the Australian Capital Territory (1960-1994)
Cw Austral ACT 10
New South Wales
Imperial Statutes in force in NSW
New South Wales Acts (1824-2000)
Statutes in Force in NSW(Consolidation) (1824-1957)
NSW Rules, Regulations & By-Laws (1917-1992)
Cw
Cw
Cw
Cw
Northern Territory
Laws of the Northern Territory (1911-1998)
Cw Austral North T 100
Queensland
Queensland Statutes (1865-1877) & (1941-2003)
Queensland Acts (1878-1940)
Queensland Statutes Consolidation (1828-1962)
Queensland Legislation Reprints (to 1993)
Cw
Cw
Cw
Cw
Austral
Austral
Austral
Austral
Austral
Austral
Austral
Austral
NSW
NSW
NSW
NSW
Qu
Qu
Qu
Qu
20
10
30
90
10
10
30
30
Tasmania
Van Diemens Land Acts of Council (1826-1875)
Acts of Parliament of Tasmania (1901-1959)
Tasmania Statutes (1960-2005)
Tasmanian Statutes Consolidation (1826-1959)
Tasmanian Statutory Rules (1954-1991)
Cw
Cw
Cw
Cw
Cw
Victoria
Victoria Acts of Parliament (1851-)
Victorian Statutes Consolidation (1958)
Victoria Rules & Regulations (1929-1993)
Cw Austral Vict 10
Cw Austral Vict 30
Cw Austral Vict 90
Western Australia
Statutes of Western Australia (1878 - )
Reprinted acts of Western Australia (1938)
Cw Austral WA 10
Cw Austral WA 30
Constitution
In Vol 1, 1901, Acts of the Parliament of Australia
Constitutions of the Countries of the World v.1 (as at 1986)
Cw Austral 30
General 510 C759
Treaties
Australian Treaties Library is online at
Austral
Austral
Austral
Austral
Austral
Tas
Tas
Tas
Tas
Tas
20
10
10
30
90
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/
Digests
Australian Digest (2nd / 3rd eds., 1967 - )
Australian Current Law (1968-1994)
Australian Legal Monthly Digest (1994-)
Cw Austral 150 A96
Cw Austral 200 B10a
Cw Austral 200 A10
Reports – Federal
Commonwealth Law Reports (1903-)
Argus Law Reports (1960 – 1973
Australian Law Reports (1973 - )
Federal Court Reports (1984 - 2005)
Federal Court Reports (1956 – )
Australian Company Law Reports (1974 - 1989)
Australian Corporation & Securities Reports (1989 - )
Australian Criminal Reports (1979 - )
Family Law Reports (1976 - )
Cw
Cw
Cw
Cw
Cw
Cw
Cw
Cw
Cw
Austral
Austral
Austral
Austral
Austral
Austral
Austral
Austral
Austral
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
C30
A15
A15
F15
F20
A25
A26
A27
F10
Reports – States & Territories
New South Wales
New South Wales Law Reports (1880 - 1900)
State Reports NSW (1901-1970)
New South Wales Reports (1960-1970)
New South Wales Law Reports (1971 - )
Cw
Cw
Cw
Cw
Northern Territory
Northern Territory Judgments(1951 - 1976)
Cw Austral North NT 100
Queensland
Austral
Austral
Austral
Austral
NSW
NSW
NSW
NSW
100
100
100
100
L30
S20
N20
N30
Queensland
Queensland
Queensland
Queensland
Justice of the Peace Reports(1907 – 1972)
Law Journal Reports (1907 - 1972 )
State Reports I (1902 – 1972)
Reports (1973 - )
Cw
Cw
Cw
Cw
Austral
Austral
Austral
Austral
Qu
Qu
Qu
Qu
100
100
100
100
Q20
Q30
Q50
Q50
Tasmania
Tasmanian Law Reports (1897 - 1940)
Tasmanian State Reports (1941 – 1978)
Tasmanian Reports (1979 - )
Cw Austral Tas 100 T10
Cw Austral Tas 100 T20
Cw Austral Tas 100 T30
Victoria
Argus Law Reports (1895 - 1959)
Victorian Law Reports (1870 -1956)
Victorian reports (1957 – 2003)
Cw Austral Vict 100 A40
Cw Austral Vict 100 V20
Cw Austral Vict 100 V30
Western Australia
Western Australian Law Reports(1899 –1959)
State reports of Western Australian (1899 – 1959)
Western Australian Reports (1960 - )
Cw Austral WA 100 W20
Cw Austral WA 100 S20
Cw Austral WA 100 W30
Encyclopedias, large collections and services
Halsbury’s Laws of Australia (current)
The Laws of Australia (current to 2005)
Australian Legal Monthly Digest (1994 - )
Australian Current Law (1968 – 1994)
Cw
Cw
Cw
Cw
Dictionaries
The Australian Digest: Words and Phrases (1997)
The Australian Legal Dictionary (1997)
Cw Austral 150 A96
Cw Austral 450 B988.6a
Journals
Australian Law Journal (1927 - )
Adelaide Law Review (1958/59 - )
Monash University Law Review (1974 - )
Melbourne University Law Review (1957 - )
Sydney Law Review (1953 - )
University of New South Wales Law Review (1975 - )
University of Western Australia Law Review (1948 - )
Cw
Cw
Cw
Cw
Cw
Cw
Cw
Austral
Austral
Austral
Austral
Austral
Austral
Austral
Austral
Austral
Austral
Austral
510
510
200
200
300
300
300
300
300
300
300
H196b
L425a
A10
B10a
A30
A10
M30
M20
S20
U70
W20
Law Reform Commissions
Australian Law Reform Commission Reports
(online http://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/finalreps.htm)
Victorian Law Reform Commission Reports
(online http://www.lawreform.vic.gov.au/ )
New South Wales Law Reform Commission Reports
http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/lrc/ll_lrc.nsf/pages/
LRC_reports
Queensland Law Reform Commission Reports
(online http://www.qlrc.qld.gov.au/publications.htm#1)
Western Australian Law Reform Commission Reports
(online http://www.lrc.justice.wa.gov.au/2_reports.html )
Cw Austral 510 L417
Cw Austral 510 V644c
Cw Austral 510 N5321a
Cw Austral 510 Q32b
Cw Austral 510 W527.2b
Selected Key texts
Behrendt et al
Cairns, BC
Chambers, R
Farrar, J
Findlay, M
Fleming, J
Ford & Lee
Kenyon et al
eds
Renard, I;
Ricketson, S
Star & Paine
Tredinnick, M
Vermeesch, RB
Williams, G
Willmott, L
Wishart, DA
Zines, L
Indigenous legal relations in Australia
Australian civil procedure (7th ed., 2007)
An introduction to property law in Australia
(2nd ed., 2008)
Corporate governance (3rd ed., 2008)
Australian criminal justice (3rd ed, 2005)
The law of torts (9th ed., 1998)
Principles of the law of trusts (3rd ed.,2007)
Landmarks in Australian intellectual
property law (2009)
Takeovers and reconstructions (2007)
Law of intellectual property (2007)
Australian torts Reporter (2007)
Australian corporation law (2007)
Business law of Australia (10th ed., 2001)
Human rights under the Australian
constitution (2002)
Contract law (3rd ed., 2009)
Corporations law guidebook (2008)
The High Court & the Constitution
(5th ed., 2008)
Cw Austral 510 B421c
Cw Austral 510 C136b7
Cw Austral 510 C445a2
Cw Austral 510 F243a3
Cw Austral 510 F494a3
Cw Austral 510 F597a9
Cw Austral 510 F699d3
Cw Austral 510 K37.5a
Cw Austral 510 R394a
Cw Austral 510 R539a
Cw Austral 510 C387a
Cw Austral 510 G385a
Cw Austral 510 V523a10
Cw Austral 510 W723a
Cw Austral 510 W738b3
Cw Austral 510 W814.5a
Cw Austral 510 Z77b5
Online resources – internet
Austlii - Australian Legal Information Institute
Legislation, caselaw and law reform commission reports, etc
http://www.austlii.edu.au
Australian Law on the internet
Selected sites from the National Library of Australia
http://www.nla.gov.au/oz/law.html
Treaties
Australian Treaties Library - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/
Weblaw
Legal information arranged by subject, and selected by academic law libraries.
http://www.weblaw.edu.au/weblaw/index.phtml
Online resources – databases
Firstpoint [External: OXLIP+]
Caselaw and legal journals from Westlaw- Thomson Australia
http://www.thomson.com.au/
Bodleian Law Library
Email law.library@bodley.ox.ac.uk
Web http://www.ouls.ox.ac.uk/law/
[prepared by REB Jan 08 v.1, rev. Nov 09 EMPW]
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