By Subject

Selected legal databases and other resources are listed below, available to UniMelb staff and students only, unless otherwise indicated.

The majority of those listed are Australian 'one stop shop' databases which contain subject commentary, analysis, legislation and selected cases. Links are often provided from the commentary to the legislation and cases.

The Research Guides listed below contain far more comprehensive coverage of databases. For a list of all our Research Guides, see our Research Guides webpage.

For selected databases in other disciplines that may assist with your legal research, see the Law Library's Interdisciplinary Databases webpage. For a complete list of University of Melbourne databases, use the University Library A–Z Databases list. 

Administrative Law

Australia - commentary, legislation and caselaw annotations

• Australian Administrative Law - on Lexis+ (Australia). Commonwealth administrative law
• Federal Administrative Law (Commonwealth administrative law) – available via Westlaw Australia
• Victorian Administrative Law – available via Westlaw Australia

Business / Commercial Law

Australia

• CCH iKnowConnect – see the Business Law section for Australian commentary, cases and legislation on topics such as buying and selling businesses, and business contracts.

Competition Law

For comprehensive coverage of databases for Australia, EU, China and the USA, see our Competition and Consumer Law Research Guide

Australia

• CCH iKnowConnect – see the Competition, Consumer and Contract Law section to access the annotated Competition and Consumer Act, including the Australian Consumer Law, and consumer credit law – cases and commentary. Includes a Comparative Table of Provisions to compare equivalent provisions in the ACL and Trade Practices Act.
• Miller's Australian Competition & Consumer Law Annotated - Australian annotated legislation (includes cases & commentary) - available via Westlaw Australia
• Trade Practices Law - Competition and Consumer Law - available via Westlaw Australia

European Union (EU) - Global & Comparative

• Global Competition Review – a competition law and policy journal and news service, publishing breaking competition news, commentary and analysis as well as in-depth reports.
• Kluwer Competition Law – EU and global journals, books, commentary, legislation and international agreements

Constitutional Law

For comprehensive coverage of databases, see our Constitutional Law Research Guide - Australian and comparative.

Australia

• Halsbury's Laws of Australia Lexis+ (Australia) - Chapter 90 - Constitutional Law
• Laws of Australia - chapter 19 (Government / Constitutional Law) - available via Westlaw Australia

Comparative & Global

• Max Planck Encyclopedia of Comparative Constitutional Law - contains analytical coverage of constitutional law topics in a comparative context, arranged alphabetically by topic.
• World Constitutions Illustrated - HeinOnline - constitutions of most of the countries of the world, and commentary, scholarly articles and bibliographies.
• Democratic Decay and Renewal (DEM-DEC) - a global resource containing a range of materials related to the deterioration and renewal of democratic rule worldwide, including Research, Concept Index, Experts Database, Teaching Materials, COVID-DEM Democracy & Pandemic Tracker and extensive Links.

Contract Law

Australia

• Carter on Contract - on Lexis+ (Australia). Australian commentary and analysis on all aspects of contract law, with reference to legislation and illustrative cases.
• CCH iKnowConnect – see the Contract Law section, which includes Australian cases, commentary and legislation.

Construction Law

Australia

• Construction Law Research Guide
• Building Contracts Australia – Lexis+ (Australia) – contract forms, precedents and commentary
• Building and Construction Contracts in Australia (Dorter and Sharkey) – available via Westlaw Australia
• Halsbury's Laws Of Australia Lexis+ (Australia) See chapter 65 - Building and Construction
• SAI Global Standards – Australian Construction and Building Standards (NOTE: access requires registration or reregistration with Unimelb email – see the instructions in the Catalogue)

UK

• i-law.com Construction – UK building and construction journals, books and legislation, and the Building Law Reports – for access please see the Construction Law Research Guide
• Lexis PSL Construction

Corporations / Company Law

Australia

• Australian Corporation Law ASIC Releases – on Lexis+ (Australia)
• Australian Corporation Law Principles & Practice – on Lexis+ (Australia) – commentary and analysis, annotated legislation, cases.
• Australian Corporation Practice – on Lexis+ (Australia) – transaction and subject-based guide to the Corporations Act. Includes checklists, sample precedents and resolutions.
• CCH iKnowConnect – see the Company and Securities Law section, which includes ASIC releases, ASX rules and commentary, and  practice manuals, commentary, annotated legislation and cases for Australian company and corporations law, personal property, managed investment law and practice, and New Zealand company law.
• Company Receivers and Administrators (Australian legislative framework and caselaw in the area of company receivership) – available via Westlaw Australia
• CCH iKnowConnect – see the Corporate Governance and Compliance Law section.
• Ford, Austin & Ramsay's Principles of Corporations Law – on Lexis+ (Australia) – subject-based analysis of the principles of corporations legislation. Legal principles, cases and annotated legislation.
• McPhersons Law of Company Liquidation – available via Westlaw Australia

Criminal Law and Procedure

Australia

• Bourke's Criminal Law Victoria – Lexis+ (Australia)
• Criminal Law, Investigation and Procedure Victoria – available via Westlaw Australia
• Federal Criminal Law – Lexis+ (Australia)
• Victorian Criminal Charge Book - Judicial College of Victoria (free to access)
• Victorian Criminal Proceedings Manual – Judicial College of Victoria (free to access)
• Victorian Sentencing Manual – Judicial College of Victoria (free to access)

Global & Comparative

• SHERLOC – a free knowledge portal containing legal resources regarding organised crime and terrorism. Includes databases covering national legislation and case law, regional and domestic strategies, international and regional treaties, and a bibliographic database providing summaries of articles on organised crime and terrorism.

*For criminology and criminal justice databases, see our Interdisciplinary Databases page.

Cyber Law

Dispute Resolution / Commercial Arbitration

Australia

• Australasian Dispute Resolution - available via Westlaw Australia

• Halsbury's Laws of Australia - Lexis+ (Australia) - Chapter 25: Arbitration

Global & International

• Kluwer Arbitration
• ICC Dispute Resolution Library (open access) - provides access to documents from the International Court of Arbitration. It includes the ICC Dispute Resolution Bulletin from 1990 to date, a complete collection of ICC Dispute Resolution Rules and a wide variety of other publications.

Employment / Labour / Industrial Relations Law

Australia

• CCH iKnowConnect - Employment law – Australian employment, human resources, and occupational health and safety commentary, annotated legislation, cases and commentary.
• Halsbury's Laws of Australia - Lexis+ (Australia) - Chapter 165: Employment and Chapter 230: Industrial Law
• Laws of Australia - Chapter 26: Labour Law - available via Westlaw Australia
• Workplace Relations Legislation - Lexis+ (Australia) - includes all current Australian federal industrial legislation. Regularly updated. Also includes significant cases.

Global & Comparative

• For comprehensive coverage of international and global labour law databases, see the following Research Guides:
  • International Labour Law Research Guide
  • Global and Comparative Labour Law

Environmental / Climate Change Law

Australia

• Planning and Environment Victoria - on Lexis+ (Australia) - Annotated Victorian planning and environment legislation - including commentary and case law.

Global & International

• International Environmental Law Research Guide
• Climate Change Laws of the World - from the The Sabin Center and the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment (open access). Includes domestic legislation, policy statements, and  directives issued by the governments of 177 countries, and caselaw on climate change from 25 countries. Can be searched by region or individual country.
• Climate Change & the Law Collection - on the BRILL Primary Sources Platform.  This collection of primary documents comprises ‘grey literature’ from a world wide range of organisations and institutions from 2015 to current.

Energy and Resources Law

Australia

• Energy and Resources Law in Australia - on Lexis+ (Australia) - Australian annotated legislation, commentary and cases
• Australia's National  Geosciences, Mineral and Petroleum Reference Database (AESIS) - on Informit - Published and unpublished documented materials across the geosciences, minerals and petroleum and related area. Produced by Australian Geoscience Information Australia (AGIA).

Evidence

• Expert Evidence - available via Westlaw Australia
• Uniform Evidence Manual - Judicial College of Victoria (free to access).
• CCH iKnowConnect - see the Litigation & Court Practice section for Australian Uniform Evidence Law commentary, cases and legislation.

Family Law

Australia

• CCH iKnowConnect - see the Family Law section - Australian annotated legislation, cases and commentary.
• Australian Family Law - on Lexis+ (Australia) - Australian annotated legislation, cases and commentary
• Dickey's Family Law with Legislation - available via Westlaw Australia
• Key internet links on Family Law - from the Australian Parliamentary Library (free to access). This website provides links under the headings of Legislation, Court and Tribunal decisions, Key National Bodies, Australian sites, Overseas sites, Key Publications, and Government and Parliamentary reports.

United Kingdom

• Lexis Library (UK ) - Family Law - includes cases, citators and digests, commentary (such as Family Court Practice), current awareness, forms and precedents, journals (Child and Family Law Quarterly, Family Law journal, International Family Law) and legislation.

Human Rights Law

For comprehensive coverage of databases, see our Human Rights Law Research Guide - it covers the following jurisdictions: International, Regional (Europe, Americas, Asia, Middle East), Global and Comparative, Australia, US, UK, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand.

Indigenous Peoples and Law

For comprehensive coverage of databases and other resources, see our Indigenous Legal Research Guide - the research guide covers Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA.

Intellectual Property

Australia

• Australian Law of Trade Marks and Passing Off - available via Westlaw Australia
• Copyright and Designs - Lexis+ (Australia)
• CCH iKnowConnect - see the Intellectual Property Library - Australian annotated legislation, cases and commentary
• Law of Intellectual Property: Copyright, Design and Confidential Information - available via Westlaw Australia
• Patent Law in Australia (annotated legislation, commentary and case law) - available via Westlaw Australia
• Patents, Trade Marks & Related Rights - Lexis+ (Australia)
• SNIPER - Searchable Networked Intellectual Property Electronic Resource via Informit. A bibliographic database of journal articles, conference papers and other documents.

USA

• Intellectual Property Resource Center - BNA
• JurisNotes.com - US Intellectual Property law database that includes newsletters, cases and latest US IP developments. Note: you will need a user name and password to log in. Use your normal University student/staff log in to get to the JurisNotes Username/password information.

Global & Comparative

• Kluwer IP Law - information on patent, design, trademark and copyright. Includes 'Smart Charts', case law, news, and full-text books.
• Primary Sources on Copyright (1450–1900) A digital archive of primary sources on copyright.
• WIPO Lex - World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) database organised into three collections: intellectual property (IP) laws and regulations, WIPO-administered treaties and IP-related treaties, and IP judgments.

International Law

For comprehensive coverage of databases, see the following Research Guides:

• Public International Law
• International Criminal Law
• International Environmental Law
• International Human Rights Law
• International Humanitarian Law
• International Investment Law
• International Labour Law
• International Refugee Law
• International Tax Law
• International Trade Law
• Law of the Sea

Oxford Reports on International Law

Oxford Reports on International Law brings together decisions on public international law from international law courts, domestic courts, and ad hoc tribunals.

The database includes decisions from international courts of general jurisdiction, international human rights courts and international criminal courts, as well as international decisions in domestic courts, and EU Courts. Modules for trade law decisions and investment claims are also included in ORIL.

The decisions are accompanied by expert analysis and cross-case navigation via the Oxford Law Citator. New cases are added daily. Resources include:

• Oxford Reports on International Law in EU Courts
• Oxford Reports on International Trade Law Decisions
• Oxford Reports on International Law in Domestic Courts
• Oxford Reports on International Criminal Law
• Oxford Reports on International Human Rights Law
• Oxford Reports on International Investment Claims
• Oxford Reports on International Courts of General Jurisdiction

Other  Databases

• Max Planck Encyclopedias of Public International Law
• Oxford Scholarly Authorities on International Law - full-text online editions of reference works and treatises published by Oxford University Press. The books are fully searchable and linked by the Oxford Law Citator.

Media & Privacy Law

Australia

• Australian Privacy Law Handbook - Presidian Legal Publications
• Communications Law & Policy in Australia - Lexis+ (Australia)
• Media and Internet Law and Practice - available via Westlaw Australia
• CCH iKnowConnect - see the Privacy section - Australian annotated legislation, cases and commentary
• Privacy (guide to Australian legal principles and practice regarding personal, corporate and institutional privacy, covers breach of confidence, privacy and data protection) - available via Westlaw Australia

Medical & Health Law

Australia

• CCH iKnowConnect – see the Sports and Medical Law section for Australian medical law legislation and cases.

Practice & Procedure

Australia

• Australian Encyclopaedia of Forms & Precedents - on Lexis+ (Australia) - over 4000 legal forms and precedents covering 93 areas of law. Regularly updated.
• Civil Procedure Victoria - on Lexis+ (Australia) - Victorian annotated legislation, commentary and cases
• Court Forms, Precedents & Pleadings Vic - on Lexis+ (Australia)
• Lawyers Practice Manual Victoria - on Westlaw Australia - procedural guide for Victorian lawyers and students covering 16 subject areas. Practical commentary, including legislation and cases.
• CCH iKnowConnect - see the Litigation & Court Practice section - includes annotated legislation and commentary on the Australian Federal Circuit Court, Federal Court and High Court.
• Practice & Procedure High Court & Federal Court of Australia - on Lexis+ (Australia) - procedures for conducting civil matters in the High Court and the Federal Court - rules of court, legislation, court forms and practice directions.
• Quick on Costs - on  Westlaw Australia - general and comparative exposition on the law of costs in the High Court of Australia, Federal Court of Australia and Family Court of Australia, and the Australian State and Territory Supreme Courts.
• Ritchie's Uniform Civil Procedure NSW - on Lexis+ (Australia) - annotated legislation and rules for the conduct of proceedings in NSW courts. Includes commentary, practice notes and case law.
• Victorian Courts - on Westlaw Australia - annotated legislation, cases and commentary on practice in the Supreme Court, County Court and Magistrates Court.

Property Law

Australia

• Australian Tenancy Practice & Precedents - on Lexis+ (Australia) - commentary, cases, legislation, outlines and precedents for drafting every type of tenancy document.
• CCH iKnowConnect - see the Conveyancing & Property Law section for commentary, annotated legislation, and cases. Includes Victorian, NSW and Queensland conveyancing legislation, commentary and cases, and also includes Lang's Commercial Leasing in Australia
• Personal Property Securities (commentary, annotated legislation, cases on this Australia-wide legislative scheme) - available via Westlaw Australia

Refugee & Immigration Law

For comprehensive coverage of databases, see our Refugee & Asylum Seeker Law Research Guide - covers the following jurisdictions: international, regional, global and comparative, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, USA, UK.

Australia

• Australian Immigration Law - on Lexis+ (Australia) - annotated legislation, cases, practice notes and commentary. Includes:
  • Procedures Advice Manual (PAMS)
  • Refugee and Humanitarian Cases and Commentaries
• LEGENDcom - database of Australian migration and citizenship legislation and policy documents from the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection.

Religion & Law

Global & Comparative

• Encyclopedia of Law and Religion - on BRILL Online Reference Collection (Law). Can be searched and also browsed by topic, country and religious tradition.

Sports Law

Australia

• Lexis+ (Australia): Halsbury's Laws of Australia - 175 - Entertainment, Sport and Tourism Encompasses various aspects of the law as it applies to sport, including the rights, duties and liabilities of sports persons and sports-related bodies.
• Westlaw Australia: The Laws of Australia - 32- Sport and Leisure Examines the legal issues confronting each of the major participants in the management of a sports event as well as the law as it applies to dispute resolution, liability, discrimination in sport and disciplinary tribunals and administrative procedures.
• Informit Includes the Australian and New Zealand Sports Law Journal (by the Australian and New Zealand Sports Law Association) and AUSPORT Australian Sport Database (Covers 1989 - August 2012.) Select to search across all databases or the Humanitites and Social Science Collection.
• HeinOnline Includes Sports Law and Governance Journal (formely Sports Law eJournal) and  US Sport law reviews and journals (search Law Journal Library)
• SPORTDiscus  (EbscoHost) A bibliographic database of sports and sports medicine research. Provided by the Sport Information Resource Centre, Canada.

Global & Comparative

• Gale OneFile: LegalTrac offers indexing for approximately 1700 journals, though US focus. Includes Journal of Law and Health, Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, The Entertainment and Sports Lawyer, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal. Topic finder tool identifies key subjects and terms from searches.
• LawInSport provides expert commentary and analysis on the latest legal issues and developments from the world of sport. Covering everything from anti-doping, to ambush marketing, to corporate governance.

International

• International Sports Law - on GlobaLex (open access). An expert written research guide that covers the structure and key documents of the institutions that govern international sports, dispute settlement mechanisms, sources of sports decisions, international treaties, and key policy documents. Sports law themes include human rights, discrimination, violence, women and sports, and sports and the EU.
• Court of Arbitration for Sport - Database of CAS awards and decisions (open access) - from 1986 to current.
• BLASE - Business and Legal Aspects of Sports Entertainment on Hein. US focus. Range of books, articles, government documents and links to external sources by topic.
• Play the Game - independent platform developed to raise awareness of critical issues in modern sport. Key activities include conferences, news production and research activities.

Taxation Law

For comprehensive coverage of databases, see the following Research Guides:

• Australian Taxation Law Research Guide
• Comparative Taxation Law Research Guide
• International Tax Law Research Guide - includes Australian International Tax Law Research Guide

Australia

• ATO Legal Database – rulings and determinations by the Australian Tax Office
• CCH iKnowConnect – see the Tax section, which includes Australian commentary, cases, legislation, books on income tax, GST, FBT and payroll tax
• Checkpoint - Thomson Tax and Accounting resources – Australian tax commentary, cases, legislation, news, etc.

USA

• Tax Notes - news and analysis on US Federal and State taxation, the Federal Research Library, international tax news from over 180 countries, and worldwide tax treaties. Please note: a password is required.

Torts

Australia

• Australian Defamation Law & Practice - on Lexis+ (Australia)
• CCH iKnowConnect - see the Torts and Personal Injury Law section - Australian cases, legislation and commentary. Includes: Australian Medical Liability cases and commentary.

Trusts / Equity

Victoria

• Ford and Lee: The Law of Trusts (general and comparative analysis of the law of trusts across all Australian jurisdictions and New Zealand, contains commentary, cases and legislation) - available via Westlaw Australia
• CCH iKnowConnect - see the Trusts & Estates Law section - includes commentary, cases and legislation for Australian estate planning and superannuation.