Legislation - Primary source - Law and Justice - All guides at RMIT University

What is legislation and where to find it?

The term legislation refers to Acts of Parliament. The term delegated legislation refers to regulations and rules created pursuant to an Act of Parliament. The term legislation can refer to a single law (also known as a statute) or to a collection of laws. Members of the Parliament are referred to as legislators, persons who make laws. Collectively they constitute a legislature, a body that makes laws.

You can find legislation in the databases and government websites listed below:

LawOne
Contains full-text and consolidated legislation for the Commonwealth and all States and Territories. Also includes full-text repealed legislation for these jurisdictions. Provides access to bills, second reading speeches and explanatory memoranda.
Lexis+ Australia
Contains legal information relating to Australia and New Zealand, including legislation, case reports, and analytical material. Select Advance search > Legislation.
Westlaw AU
Provides access to Australian legislation, case law, commentary, journals, news and precedents.
AustLII: Australasian Legal Information Institute
Provides free online access to Australian legal materials, including Australian treaties.
CCH iKnowConnect (formerly IntelliConnect)
Access to legal, tax, accounting, finance and business resources.

Multiple Jurisdictions

Thomson Reuters Westlaw
Collection of full-text international legal material, including law reports, journals, law reviews, legislation and case law are covered.
Australia
US
UK
Canada
EU

CommonLII
Legal information from all countries that are members of the Commonwealth and their territories (more than 60). Also covers a small number of significant non-Commonwealth countries and territories that have a legal system based on common law.
WorldLII
Content from over 100 jurisdictions from around the world, including a single search option for multiple legal information institutes (AustLII, BAILII, CanLII, HKLII, LII (Cornell) and PacLII).

United Kingdom

Westlaw UK
Provides access to vast but easily searchable databases of UK case law, legislation, news, legal journals, commentary, current awareness alerts and EU legal materials.
ICLR.3
Searchable database which provides access to ICLR's Law Reports and Weekly Law Reports covering case law from the Superior and Appellate Courts in England and Wales. The database also includes: case summaries, a citator service, access to legislation, and individual profiles in order to manage complex research.

BAILII - British and Irish Legal Information Institute
Contains British and Irish case law, legislation and other materials.

United States

Congress.gov - US legislation
A historical record of select US Bills from 1799 with the full-text of Bills from 1989 (101st Congress) and amendments from 1995 (104th Congress). Also contains the Congressional Record from 1925 (69th Congress).

Canada

CANLII - Canadian Legal Information Institute
Contains the consolidated statutes and regulations of every jurisdiction in Canada.

New Zealand

NZLII - New Zealand Legal Information Institute
Contains legislation, case law, law journals, and law reforms for New Zealand and its jurisdictions.

European Union

Eur-Lax
An official website of the European Union, it contains legislation, treaties and case law for the European Union.

For more resources for international legislation, please consult the International and Business Law tab of this guide

Government Legislation Websites

The Commonwealth and every State and Territory in Australia maintain a website that contains their legislation.

Australian Capital Territory (ACT)
New South Wales (NSW)
Northern Territory (NT)
Queensland (QLD)
South Australia (SA)
Tasmania (TAS)
Victoria (VIC)
Western Australia (WA)
Federal Register of Legislation - Commonwealth (CTH)
The Federal Register of Legislation (the Register) is the authorised whole-of-government website for Commonwealth legislation and related documents. It contains the full text and details of the lifecycle of individual laws and the relationships between them. The Register is managed by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel.

How Law is Made in Australia

Federal-Commonwealth

This Bills and laws webpage is a comprehensive explanation of the federal law-making process in the Australian Parliament. It includes a helpful video, Making a law, about the law-making process.

Victoria

The How a Law is Made in Victoria flow chart describes the key stages in law making in Victoria.

Parliament of Victoria Explains: How Parliament makes laws
YouTube video

Progress of a Bill

Follow the progression of a Bill through a Parliament by reading the official Records of Parliamentary debates, also known as Hansard.

Access Hansard here:

Parliament of Australia - Hansard online from 1901

Parliament of Victoria - Hansard online from 1999

Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory - Hansard online from 1989

Parliament of New South Wales - Hansard online from 1856

Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory - Hansard online from 1974

Parliament of Queensland - Hansard online from 1981

Parliament of South Australia - Hansard online from 1981

Parliament of Tasmania - Hansard online from 1979

Parliament of Western Australia - Hansard online from 1870

Video - Finding Australian Legislation

Law Reform

Organisations and resources dedicated to law reform in Australia and Victoria.

Australian Law Reform Commission
Undertakes research and provides recommendations to reform the law on topics selected by the Attorney-General of Australia.
Australasian Law Reform Library
Accessed via AustLII, includes law reform resources for Australia and New Zealand.
Victorian Law Reform Commission
Consults with the community and advises the Attorney-General of Victoria on how to improve and update Victorian laws.

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Law and Justice