The Australian legal system, based on the British common law model, operates under a federal structure that emphasizes the rule of law and individual rights. The Australian Constitution serves as its foundation, establishing the federal government and outlining the powers of the Commonwealth. The system comprises federal laws enacted by the Commonwealth Parliament and state or territory laws enacted by their respective parliaments.
The court system is divided into federal and state or territory courts, with the High Court of Australia being the highest court. Australia's legal system includes both case law, shaped by judges through judicial decisions, and statutory law, enacted by parliaments.
The legal profession consists of solicitors and barristers, who represent clients in lower and higher courts, respectively. The rule of law ensures everyone is subject to the law, and individual rights, such as freedom of speech and the right to a fair trial, are protected.
The Australian Parliament
The High Court of Australia
Please be reminded that cases or judgments are not indexed in FIND@HKUL. To look for full text cases, you will have to search in relevant legal databases, or search by the full title of a law report in FIND@HKUL with "Books+" search scope.
Alternatively, you may also change to Advance Search and enter the following search term for all available law reports within the HKUL Collection:
Federal Level
State Level
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Title |
HKUL Availability |
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Australian Capital Territory Law Reports [ACTLR] |
Electronic: 2008 – present (via Westlaw Asia) |
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New South Wales Law Reports [NSWLR] |
Print: 1971 – 2014 (PR KH75 N5) |
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Northern Territory Law Reports [NTLR] |
Electronic: 1991 – present (via Westlaw Asia) |
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Queensland Reports [QdR] |
Electronic: 1958 – present (via Westlaw Asia) |
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South Australian State Reports [SASR] |
Electronic: 1971 – present (via Westlaw Asia) |
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Tasmanian Reports [Tas R] |
Electronic: 1992 – present (via Westlaw Asia) |
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Victorian Reports [VR] |
Print: 1957 – 2008 (PR KH155 V6 R) |
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Western Australian Reports [WAR] |
Electronic: 1983 – present (via Westlaw Asia) |
Due to there being various law reporting agencies across different states, listed below are only a few major law reports in the country. To search for other law report titles, you may search directly in Lexis Advance Hong Kong/ Westlaw Asia for more details (search steps please refer to Key Databases tab).
Halsbury’s Laws of Australia is regarded as a reputable and comprehensive guide to all Australian Law.
The High Court of Australia serves to be the highest court and final court of appeal in Australia. Full text of cases are available from February 2011 to present, while summaries of cases can be traced back to 2006.
The Federal Court of Australia covers matters arising from Australia federal law, and hears appeals from decision of the Federal Circuit Court (except Family Court). Case documents of this Court are to be accessed upon requests, while selected cases of public interest are available online.
Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia
The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia share jurisdictions on family law, migration law and general federal law. Most judgments available on this site are up to as recent as 12-months. For more details, or historical records, you may visit AustLII.
Below are the quick links to Supreme Court of each State:
Below quick links are provided to access the legislations of the federal and of the different state governments of Australia. The Federal Register of Legislation is the authorised government wide website for Commonwealth legislation and related documents. The rest of the websites regard to the state government portals for current and repealed legislation together with related documents.
Federal Register of Legislation (1901 to present) |
States
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ACT Legislation Register (1989 to present )
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NSW Legislation (1824 to present )
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Northern Territory Government Register of Legislation (1995 to present)
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Queensland Legislation (1963 to present )
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South Australian Legislation (2003 to present)
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Tasmanian Legislation Online (1997 to present)
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Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents (1996 to present)
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Western Australian Legislation
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Below are a compilation of some quick links to access the bills of the federal and of the different states of Australia. All websites are the official websites for the announcements of bills and legislative information.
Federal
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Federal Register of Legislation (1996 to present)
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Parliament of Australia (1997 to present)
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State
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Northern Territory Legislation
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Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents
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Parliament of Western Australia
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Below gathers some quick links to access the bills of the federal and different states of Australia. All websites are the official website for the announcements of bills and legislative information.
Federal
| Federal Register of Legislation (2013 – present) |
States
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( 2001 to present)
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(1832 to 2001)
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(2011 to present)
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Queensland Government Publications (2003 to present)
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South Australian Government Gazette (1999 to present)
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(1998 to present)
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Australasian Legal Information Institute (AustLII)
Supporting the free access of legal information, AustLII offers an extensive collection of materials. Since laws and court systems might vary from states to state, territory to territory, you may visit AustLII where organised and detailed information are given. Information on case law is generally presented on the left.
