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Law Subject Guide

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What are looseleaf services?

What are looseleaf services?

Looseleaf services contain commentary on an area of law, including analysis of key legislative provisions and case extracts. Australian law looseleaf services are available in the below law databases; subject/topic coverage varies in each.

The advantages of looseleaf services are that they:

  • assemble important information relevant to a field of law within the one product
  • provide expert commentary or analysis of associated legal concepts and/or legislative provisions
  • are regularly updated and
  • include relevant legislation and key case law in full-text or extract format (or link to these primary sources within the same database).

Westlaw Australia

Westlaw Australia

To view looseleaf service commentary titles from the Westlaw Australia homepage:

  • select the Content type > Secondary Sources > Commentary to view an alphabetical list of included commentary products
  • filter the list by topic area or jurisdiction using the options on the left-hand side

Click on a commentary product title to view the table of contents or select checkbox/es to search in those product/s using the global search above the list. View the below Westlaw Australia video for a demonstration of searching for commentary. 

Find and Annotate Commentary Publications - Westlaw (Australia) (Thomson Reuters, 2021) <https://support.thomsonreuters.com.au/product/new-westlaw-australia/video/find-and-annotate-commentary-publications-westlaw-australia-224>.

Lexis+ Australia

Lexis+ Australia

To view looseleaf service commentary titles from the Lexis+ Australia homepage:

  • find a commentary service for the relevant area of law by selecting Explore > Publications > View all Publications then
    • filter using Content > AU Secondary Materials > Annotated Legislation & Commentary [note commentary also includes the Halsbury's encyclopedia)
    • click on a title to view the table of contents or to search across that individual product.

Alternatively, search across all information in Lexis+ Australia by typing search terms into the general search box. In the results list select AU Secondary Materials and use the filter option for Content Type: Annotated Legislation on the left. Use Commentary for common law areas but note this includes results from the legal encyclopedia.

CCH iKnowConnect

CCH iKnowConnect

The CCH database contains commentary for various areas of law such as contracts, torts, company law, conveyancing, employment law, family law, taxation, intellectual property, privacy etc. To find information:

  • select a practice area using the briefcase icon on the left, then select commentary to browse topics
  • search by keyword and use the results list filters for the practice area/s and content type > commentary.

The term ‘looseleaf’ originates from the print version of these sources. These are comprised of ring binders with loose pages updated regularly via 'releases' or 'services' during the year. This involves removing and discarding outdated pages and replacing them with updated information. While looseleaf services are now available online, it helps to understand their traditional structure to use them effectively.