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Law Subject Guide

Find online and print resources for law

Overview

Family law research guide Photo of a family walking in the countryside

 

Explore a curated selection of resources to support your research on Australian family law topics. 

 

 

 

Image by Denise Husted from Pixabay

Getting started

Getting started


Check legal dictionaries to help with your understanding of unfamiliar terminology and jargon used in the family law field.

Legal encyclopedias

Use legal encyclopedias for brief overviews of family law concepts, and references to key case law and/or legislative provisions. See the legal encyclopedias section for help with using these products.

  • Title 17 - Family Law
  • Title 205 - Family Law

Secondary sources

Secondary sources

Books

Use Library Search to keyword search for books on family law topics or start with the subject Family law - Australia or Domestic relations - Australia

Key titles are shown below.

Commentary services and key journals

Commentary services and key journals

Secondary sources

Looseleaf commentary services

Commentary services (also known as looseleaf or reporters) provide analysis of fields of law, including commentary on key legislative provisions and cases. Access commentary, regulatory resources and practical tools on family law issues in the CCH iKnowConnect law database using the Practice Area - Family Law. See the commentary section for help with using commentary products.


Other resources

Also see Part 2 - Family Law in the below Lawyers Practice Manual Queensland.


Journal articles

Scholarly law journal articles are authored by legal experts and are grounded in research and theory. They provide in-depth analysis on specialised topics for an academic or professional audience. Use the resources mentioned earlier in this guide to search for journal articles on family law topics. A key Australian journal focusing on family law articles is shown below.

Informit incorporates the Families and Society Collection database, which covers journal articles on child development, parenting and family dynamics including legal issues. 

Explore by topic


Explore by topic

Explore by topic

Explore family law information in Lexis+ Australia:

  1. Select Explore on the Lexis+ Australia homepage
  2. Click on Topics
  3. Choose Family Law
  4. Select a sub-topic, eg Divorce.This may display an option to select a further sub-topic. Alternatively, search for relevant sub-topics using the search box beneath the list of topic areas
  5. Click through to view all documents for that topic. This includes cases, legislation, secondary materials etc. Use the left-hand filters to refine the list.

Lexis Practical Guidance modules provide guidance notes, commentary practice tips, legislation, legal precedents, cases, tools, forms and checklists etc.

The below guide demonstrates how to navigate and find information in Practical Guidance generally.

Primary sources


Primary sources

Identify key legislative provisions and leading cases using the secondary sources mentioned above.
 

Case law

For help with locating and researching cases see Australian case law earlier in this guide, particularly Cases on a legal issue/topic for strategies to find Australian case law on a specific subject area.

Use the below Westlaw Australia Key Number System headings to browse case law by family law topics. 

  • 35 Family law and child welfare

These two specialist law report series publish Australian family law cases:

Unreported family law cases are available via Westlaw Australia and Lexis+ Australia, as well as the following sources:

  • Select Jade Browser in the top menu
  • On the left side, select Browse collections > By topic 
  • Click on Family or Family and Child Welfare
  • Use the left-hand filters to refine the list, eg enter topic keywords to search within results.

Legislation

For general help with locating and researching legislation see Australian legislation earlier in this guide. LawNow Legislation in Lexis+ Australia lists Acts by subject, including family law, however it also includes some repealed legislation.


Selected websites

Selected websites

Explore these websites for additional resources on family law issues.

Simplified information about family law is available in the Family Law chapters in the below handbook:

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