Law Guide: Getting Started
Find targeted resources for legal research
LexisNexis Concise Australian Legal Dictionary
This 6th Edition of the LexisNexis Concise Australian Legal Dictionary, reviewed, updated and expanded by a large team of legal experts from across Australia.
Where do I find cases?
These links are listed in likely order of usefulness.
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Westlaw Australia This link opens in a new windowSay hello to new Westlaw, bringing simplicity and speed to your legal research workflow. Built in conjunction with Australian lawyers, it uses cutting-edge technology to deliver answers you can rely on — faster. With superior coverage and natural language search, you can connect to a huge, reliable database trusted in Australia for 100 years.
Sign in using ANZLaw (Westlaw/Practical Law)
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Lexis Advance Pacific (Australian material) This link opens in a new windowLexis Advance Pacific provides access to JCU subscribed legal publications, including:
*Carter's Criminal Law of Queensland
*Queensland Reports
*New South Wales Law Reports
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Queensland JudgmentsFree access to Queensland Reports from 1859 and unreported Queensland Supreme Court judgments from 2002.
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AustLII (Australasian Legal Information Institute) This link opens in a new windowAustLII publishes public legal information -- that is, primary legal materials (legislation, treaties and decisions of courts and tribunals); and secondary legal materials created by public bodies for purposes of public access (law reform and royal commission reports for example) and a substantial collection of law journals.
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JADE This link opens in a new windowJADE (Judgments And Decisions Enhanced) is a free caselaw and legislation database. JADE can be used to search for or browse Australian legislation and court and tribunal decisions, and receive alerts of new decisions and court digests. A basic JADE account is free for anyone once you register. JCU students can also receive free access to the enhanced features of JADE Professional by sending an email to editors@jade.io. from their university email address.
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ICLR Online This link opens in a new windowICLR Online is a dedicated case law platform publishing UK law reports since 1865 and includes: The Law Reports (Appeal Cases, Queen's Bench, Chancery), The Weekly Law Reports, and others. Law reports are combined with a Case Citator and indexing to present all relevant case information.
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Lexis Advance (International material) This link opens in a new windowProvides full-text access to International primary and secondary law materials.
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Westlaw International This link opens in a new windowThomson Reuters Westlaw (Formerly Westlaw International) provides full-text access to American and International primary and secondary law materials.
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CCH - IntelliConnect This link opens in a new windowProvides access to publications in the CCH tax, corporations, family, torts, and conveyancing law collections. Includes titles such as the Australian Company Law Cases and the Australian Master Tax Guide.
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LawCite This link opens in a new windowLawCite is an automatically generated international legal case and journal article citator. It will help you to locate and find a decision, see how a decision has been subsequently dealt with and find other materials such as journal articles about a decision.
Where do I find legislation?
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Federal Register of LegislationThe Federal Register of Legislation (formerly ComLaw) incorporates all content previously published on ComLaw including the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments and the Acts database established under the Acts Publication Act 1905.
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AustLII (Australasian Legal Information Institute)AustLII publishes public legal information -- that is, primary legal materials (legislation, treaties and decisions of courts and tribunals); and secondary legal materials created by public bodies for purposes of public access (law reform and royal commission reports for example) and a substantial collection of law journals.
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LawLexLawlex provides free access to Commonwealth and state-based legislation. Click on Browse Legislation to view a list of legislation grouped by subject area.
The University does not subscribe to LawLex's Premium Research Features.
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JADEJADE (Judgments And Decisions Enhanced) is a free caselaw and legislation database. JADE can be used to search for or browse Australian legislation and court and tribunal decisions, and receive alerts of new decisions and court digests. A basic JADE account is free for anyone once you register. JCU students can also receive free access to the enhanced features of JADE Professional by sending an email to editors@jade.io. from their university email address.
Law Collections at JCU Libraries
At JCU the law collections are located within the main library collection. In Townsville this is located at the eastern end of the first floor of the Mabo Library; in Cairns this is on the second floor of the Library building.
Law resources at JCU
Where do I find secondary sources?
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Informit AGIS Plus Text This link opens in a new windowAGIS Plus Text unlocks over 30 years of authoritative and peer reviewed legal research from the Australasia and Asia-Pacific regions as indexed by the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department.
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CCH - IntelliConnect This link opens in a new windowProvides access to publications in the CCH tax, corporations, family, torts, and conveyancing law collections. Includes titles such as the Australian Company Law Cases and the Australian Master Tax Guide.
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Lexis Advance (International material) This link opens in a new windowLexisNexis provides access to full-text primary legal materials from many jurisdictions including the USA, UK, EU, Canada, NZ and Australia. Secondary sources, including journals, law reviews and indexes are also available.
Not available to community borrowers or walk-in users.
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AustLII (Australasian Legal Information Institute) Indigenous law resourcesThis collection includes parliamentary papers, government reports and policy documents affecting Indigenous Peoples, reports and submissions by civil society organisations, documents related to significant test cases and legal proceedings and Indigenous advocacy.
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JADE This link opens in a new windowJADE (Judgments And Decisions Enhanced) is a free caselaw and legislation database. JADE can be used to search for or browse Australian legislation and court and tribunal decisions, and receive alerts of new decisions and court digests. A basic JADE account is free for anyone once you register. JCU students can also receive free access to the enhanced features of JADE Professional by sending an email to editors@jade.io. from their university email address.
Library services
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