Study Guides: Legislation: Home

Welcome

If you are researching legislation, this guide is for you.

In this guide, you will learn how to find :

Australian legislative materials, including Acts, Bills, Regulations, Explanatory Materials and Second Reading Speeches
Related Australian Cases, Commentaries, and Articles
Links to foreign legislation resources

Key resources for Australian Legislation

Official registries for Commonwealth and NSW Legislation

The following websites have the official full text of all Acts, along with information on key dates, historical versions, lists of amendments, Regulations, Bills and explanatory materials.

Federal Register of Legislation Official site for Commonwealth legislation.
NSW Legislation Official site for NSW legislation.

Have a look at our Searching Australian legislation page for links to the official sites for other Australian jurisdictions.

Parliament websites

Parliament websites contain useful information about passage history of Bills, links to second reading speeches, and explanatory materials.

Parliament of Australia - Bills & Legislation Provides information on the passage of bills introduced in the Federal parliament. Also links to explanatory materials and second reading speeches.
Parliament of NSW – All Bills (1997+) Provides information on the passage of bills introduced in the NSW Parliament since 1997. Also links to explanatory notes and second reading speeches.

Databases

Each of these databases has certain unique features (such as links to relevant cases or second reading speeches) - helpful for researching legislation or statutory interpretation.

LawOne Once you have found an Act, click on the 'Key Info' button for full-text of each Act, with key dates, historical versions, lists of amendments, Bills, second reading speeches and explanatory materials.
Lexis+ Australia Provides access to all Australian legislation. After you have found an Act, use the 'Legislation Citator' to access related cases, commentary, and articles.
AustLII Free access to all Australian legislation. Find an Act, and then for each provision use the 'NoteUp' feature to find related cases and articles.

Legislation: Home