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Legislation

Extrinsic materials

Research legislation at Murdoch University Library

Explanatory memoranda

Each jurisdiction in Australia has an official publisher for legislation, from which you can obtain explanatory memoranda. 

Links to these databases can be found on our Databases page:

From 1982, the provision of Explanatory Memoranda has been standard practice for government Bills introduced into the Commonwealth Parliament. Explanatory Memoranda are available for Bills since 1996 through the Federal Register of Legislation (attached to the Bill) or the Parliament of Australia website. Explanatory Memoranda can also be sourced from AustLII.

Federal Register of Legislation

  1. Find the relevant Act on the Federal Register of Legislation
  2. Select the "All versions" link from the activity menu
  3. Scroll to the bottom of the "All versions" page to the "As made" heading, then access the "Originating Bill and Explanatory Memorandum" link.

Parliament of Australia

  1. Find the Bill on the Parliament of Australia website
  2. From the Bill's homepage, select the link to the "Explanatory Memorandum" for the Bill.

  1. Source the Act using Legify, or find it directly in the Federal Register of Legislation
  2. In the Federal Register of Legislation select the "All Versions" link from the activity menu
  3. Scroll to the bottom of the page to the "As made" heading to access the Bill and Explanatory Memorandum links
  1. Find the Bill on the  Parliament of Western Australia website
  2. Navigate down the Bills page to access the EM.

Pre-2000 Explanatory Memoranda are rare. The WA Parliamentary Library provides a list of Explanatory Memoranda for Bills before 2001.

Tip: If you encounter a broken link, use the Internet Archive Wayback Machine to attempt to source content. As the Parliament of Western Australia website was redesigned in 2019, links were broken during the transition to the new format. However, the Internet Archive takes snapshots of websites, which allows you to look at websites as they appeared on specific dates and times. Therefore, you can put the Parliament of Western Australia URL into the Internet Archive, and choose a date prior to 2019.

Legal research often requires a lot of sleuthing, so using alternative methods to source material is a valuable skill to develop.

Second reading speeches

Each jurisdiction in Australia has an official publisher for legislation, from which you can obtain second reading speeches. 

Links to these databases can be found on our Databases page:

Second reading speeches are available from the Parliament of Australia website.

Parliament of Australia

  1. Find the relevant Bill on the Parliament of Australia website.
  2. On the Bill's homepage, look for the "Transcripts of speeches" heading. Under this you will find links to any second readings speeches.
  3. Click on the link to the Minister's second reading speech. This will redirect you to Hansard.
  4. Select "Download Fragment". This will downloand the second reading speech as a PDF.

ParlInfo

If the Bill does not have a Bill home page, select the relevant document types from the ParlInfo Guided Search Results list.

  1. Select the ParlInfo Guided Search for "Second Reading Speeches for a Bill"
  2. Add the Bill title to the "Enter search text" box
  3. Add the date range of the Bill
  4. Click "Search"
  5. Navigate through the results to find the Second Reading Speech.

In Western Australia, bills are generally introduced to Parliament from the Legislative Assembly. Therefore, when Second Reading Speeches (2RS) are referred to, they are the 2RS given in the Assembly (not to the Legislative Council).

  1. Find the Bill on the Parliament of Western Australia website
  2. Under "Bill History", look for the second reading speeches.

Not all Bills have a link to the second reading speech. When this happens, you will need to search hansard to access the second reading speech.

Parliamentary Committee reports

  1. Find the Bill on the Parliament of Australia website
  2. Scroll down to the "Notes" panel
  3. Links to committee reports may be listed under "Notes"
  4. If links are not included, or if there is no home page for your Bill: Note the committee name and report date, then search for the committee on the Committees page:
  1. Access the Committees page on Parliament of Western Australia website
  2. Select "Advanced Search"
  3. Add in all the details you know
  4. Select "Search"
  5. Select the "Report" tab.

Law Reform Commission reports

Commonwealth

There are a range of ways to access Commonwealth Law Reform Commission reports. You need to be aware of all of these, as no one source is comprehensive.

Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) website

The ALRC publishes final reports on the "Publications" section of their website.

  1. Click on the magnifying glass search icon in the top right hand corner
  2. Add your search terms to the search box and select "Search"
  3. Under "Publication type", filter the results by "Final Report"
  4. Click on the title of a report to be taken to a list of publications related to an inquiry.

HeinOnline

HeinOnline includes the Australian Law Reform Commission Library.

  1. Access HeinOnline from the databases page
  2. Under "Browse databases by name", select "Australian Law Reform Commission Library (ALRC)
  3. Add your search terms to the search box and press "Search"
  4. Click on the title of a relevant result to be taken to the full report.

AustLII

  1. Access AustLII from the databases page
  2. From the AustLII home page, select "Law Reform" from the red banner
  3. You will be taken to the Australasian Law Reform Library. Here you will find a large number of law reform commission publications listed under Australian Law Reform Resources and New Zealand Law Reform Resources. You can choose to view only Australian or New Zealand law reform resources by making the appropriate selection at the top of the screen. You can choose to browse these publications individually, or you can search them individually or as a group.
  4. To search Commonwealth law reform only, deselect all databases by clicking on the blue check box next to "Select/Clear All" on the right-hand side of the page. If you do not do this, AustLII will search all of the law reform databases by default.
  5. Next, select the check box next to "Australian Law Reform Commission Reports (ALRC) 1975-".
  6. Enter your search terms in the search box.
  7. Select "Search".

Western Australia

AustLII

  1. Access AustLII from the databases page
  2. From the AustLII home page, select "Law Reform" from the red banner
  3. Under the "Australian Law Reform Resources" list, select "Western Australian Law Reform Commission 1969-"
  4. Under the "Specific Year" dropdown menu, select the relevant year
  5. Select the report name to view.

Law Reform Commission of Western Australia website

  1. From the home page, scroll down to "Publications"
  2. Select "Reports and Papers"
  3. Reports can then be browsed by number.

Other Australian law reform agencies

Other Australian law reform agencies can be access via the Victorian Law Reform Commission website:

Information about Commonwealth Royal Commissions and Commissions of Inquiry can be accessed through the Parliament of Australia website:

Information about Western Australia Royal Commissions can be accessed through the Parliament of Western Australia website:

There are many other Law Reform Commissions around the globe that may be of relevance to your research, particularly when comparing laws from various jurisdictions.

Some key resources for finding international law reform materials include:

Government gazettes

Commonwealth Government Gazettes from 2013 onwards can be found by searching the Federal Register of Legislation:

  1. Enter your search terms (e.g., topic or Act sessional details) into the search box on the home page
  2. Select "Search"
  3. Under the "Collections" filter, select "Gazette"
  4. Select "Search"

To find Commonwealth gazettes from before 2012, use Trove's advanced search:

  1. Select "Newspaper and Gazettes" from the drop-down menu
  2. Add search words
  3. From the "Type" box, select "Gazette" from the menu
  4. From the "Article" category box, select "Government Gazette Proclamations and Legislation"

Western Australian gazettes can be found by browsing the Western Australian Legislation website:

Tip: Try finding a WA Government Gazette on a specific topic by conducting a general internet search e.g., site:legislation.wa.gov.au "Western Australian Government Gazette" housing eligibility

Hansard

Commonwealth Hansard can be found on the Parliament of Australia website:

  1. Scroll down to find "Search Hansard"
  2. Select "More Options"
  3. Uncheck "Hansard title only"
  4. Add any details you know into the search fields
  5. Select "Search"

Western Australian Hansard from August 2000 onwards can be found using the Parliament of Western Australia website:

  1. Select "Advanced Search (August 2000 until present)"
  2. Check the box for "Detailed word and phrase searching"
  3. Add the details you know into the search fields
  4. Select "Search"

Western Australian Hansard from 1870 until June 2000 can be found using the Parliament of Western Australia website:

  1. Select "Hansard archive (1870- June 2000)"
  2. Select "Advanced search"
  3. Add the details you know into the search fields
  4. Select "Search"

Hansard can also be found in print in the Honourable Michael Murray Law Library at GR 328.94102 W527 3.

Treaties

Treaties that Australia is party to can be found in a variety of sources, but the most reliable source is the Australian Treaty Series on AustLII. AustLII can be accessed via our Databases page:

To access the Australian Treaty Series:

  1. From the AUSTLII database, select "Treaties" from the red banner. You will be taken to the "Australian Treaties Library"
  2. Under the "Databases" heading select "Australian Treaty Series (ATS).

AustLII also contains the Australian International Treaty Making Information Kit.

Other sources for both Australian and international treaties include:

  1. From the AustLII Australian Treaties Library page, select "Search Australian Treaties Library"
  2. Enter your search terms in the search box
  3. Under "Select the AUSTLII databases to search", tick the box next to Australian Treaties Library
  4. Select "Search"
  5. Select the relevant treaty.
  1. From the AustLII Australian Treaties Library page, look under the "Browse" menu and select your search preference:
    • By subject
    • By country
    • By title
  2. You can also browse by year by selecting a date range from the list.