Topic Research Guides: Indigenous Australians & the Law

General Australian Indigenous society texts are shelved at 305.89915

Texts concerning Indigenous Australians and the law are shelved at 342.8720994

Texts on land law are shelved at 346.432

Library Search results for:

• aboriginal heritage
• aboriginal society
• customary law
• deaths in custody
• dispossession Australia
• indigenous Australians and the law
• indigenous justice and equality within our legal system
• indigenous over representation in the criminal justice system
• Mabo
• native title
• police relations
• reconciliation
• removal of children / stolen generation
• self-determination

• Halsbury’s Laws of Australia – Title 5 – Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders (Lexis Advance)
• Indigenous deaths in custody: 25 years since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (Australian Institute of Criminology)
• An Indigenous Voice Referendum Council
• The Laws of Australia – Title 1 – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (Westlaw Australia)
• Pathways to Justice–Inquiry into the Incarceration Rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (ALRC Report 133)  (Australian Law Reform Commission)
• Recognition of Aboriginal Customary Laws (ALRC Report 31) (Australian Law Reform Commission)

Key Databases

• Australian Indigenous Law Library / AustLII
• Indigenous Law Resources / AustLII 

Key Journals

•  Aboriginal History 
• Aboriginal Law Bulletin  
• AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples 
• Australian Aboriginal Studies: Journal of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies
• Australian Indigenous Law Reporter
• Australian Indigenous Law Review
• Native Title News 
• Native Title Newsletter 

Full text Journals:

• Gale Academic Onefile
• HeinOnline​ 
• Informit 
• Lexis Advance
• ProQuest
• Westlaw Australia

CCH iKnowConnect

Lexis Advance

How to access and navigate LexisNexis Practical Guidance

Key Australian legislation relating to insurance law include:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 (Cth)
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth)
• Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth)
• Native Title Act 1993 (Cth)
• Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth)

Source legislation:

• Legify to find authoritative versions of legislation
• Commonwealth legislation at Federal Register of Legislation
• Western Australian legislation at Western Australian Legislation
• Parliament of Australia Bills Digest – bills, links to EM (explanatory memoranda) and Hansard (second reading speeches)
• Parliament of Western Australia Hansard – links to EM (explanatory memoranda) and Hansard (second reading speeches)

Significant native title law cases:

• Mabo v State of Queensland (No 2)  [1992] HCA 23; (1992) 175 CLR 1 
• McGlade v Native Title Registrar [2017] FCAFC 10 
• Members of the Yorta Yorta Aboriginal Community v State of Victoria [1998] FCA 1606 

Instructions for How to Source a Case

Australian Case Citators

• Lexis Advance: Australian case law, links to some full-text.

• Westlaw Australia:  Australian case law, most authorised versions.

• AustLII: free full text access to Australian medium neutral citation versions and unreported judgments.

• LawCite: a free, automatically generated Australian and international legal case and journal article citator.

• Jade: free database and current awareness service of Australian case law

• CCH iKnowConnect: includes a range of Australian decisions from a number of practice areas.

LawNow from Lexis Advance 

Use QuickFind to source sections of legislation,
then select to source related commentary or cases.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Australian Human Rights Commission

Agreements, Treaties and Negotiated Settlements

AustLII: Australian Indigenous Law Library

The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR)

Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy and Research Australian National University

Indigenous.gov.au

Indigenous Justice Clearinghouse national resources on indigenous justice.

Indigenous Law Centre UNSW

National Indigenous Australians Agency

National Native Title Tribunal Australian Government

Native Title Attorney-General’s Department

Reconciliation Australia

Working with Indigenous Australians Muswellbrook Shire Council, NSW