By Subject

Selected legal databases and other resources are listed below, available to UniMelb staff & 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 all our Research Guides, see our Research Guides.

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.

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.

Australian

Comparative & Global

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.

Global

  • Kluwer Law Online > Encyclopaedias. This tab contains the International Encyclopedia of Laws (IEL). The Contracts topic is an excellent comparative tool containing  commentary and analysis on the contract laws of over 40 countries.

Construction Law

Australia

UK

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

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

Global & Comparative

  • Kluwer Law Online > Encyclopaedias. This tab contains the International Encyclopedia of Laws (IEL).International Encyclopaedia of Laws: Cyber Law – on Kluwer Law Online. Excellent comparative tool containing  commentary and analysis of the laws of over 30 countries.

Dispute Resolution / Commercial Arbitration

Australia

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

Global & Comparative

Environmental / Climate Change Law

Australian

Global & International

  • 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.
  • Kluwer Law Online > Encyclopaedias. This tab contains the International Encyclopedia of Laws (IEL). The Environmental Law topic includes commentary and analysis on over 50 countries, as well as European and International Environmental Law.

Energy and Resources Law

Australian

Global & Comparative

  • Kluwer Law Online > Encyclopaedias. This tab contains the International Encyclopedia of Laws (IEL). The Energy Law topic includes commentary and analysis on over 30 countries as well as the international energy law regime.

Evidence

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

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 Law Online > Encyclopaedias. This tab contains the International Encyclopedia of Laws (IEL). The Intellectual Property Law topic provides an excellent comparative tool containing  commentary and analysis of the laws of 55 countries.
  • 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)

International Law

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

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:

Other  Databases

Media & Privacy Law

Australia

Medical & Health Law

Australia

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

Practice & Procedure

Australia

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 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.

Global & Comparative

  • Kluwer Law Online > Encyclopaedias. This tab contains the International Encyclopedia of Laws (IEL). The Migration Law topic is an excellent comparative tool containing commentary and analysis of the laws of 11 countries.

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.
  • Kluwer Law Online > Encyclopaedias. This tab contains the International Encyclopedia of Laws (IEL). The Religion topic is an excellent comparative tool containing commentary and analysis of the laws of 19 countries.

Sports Law

Australia

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.
  • Kluwer Law Online > Encyclopaedias. This tab contains the International Encyclopedia of Laws (IEL). The Sports Law topic contains an excellent comparative tool containing commentary and analysis of the laws of 35 countries.
  • 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

  • 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.
  • Bloomberg Tax – international offering includes Australian content within country portfolios and guides. The database focuses on news and practitioner-oriented reports, including the Daily Tax Report.

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.
  • Bloomberg Tax - US Tax news, analysis  on Income Portfolios and Estates, Gifts and Trusts Portfolios, Books and Treatises. Also includes primary sources (cases, rules, treaties) and practice tools (calculators, guides, forms).

Global & International

  • IBFD - Tax Research Platform - international, global and comparative tax law - treaties, legislation, cases, commentary, journals and books.
  • Bloomberg Tax - International tax treaties, BNA Foreign Income Portfolios (guides to foreign tax law and transfer pricing for select jurisdictions), comparative tools, news and practitioner-oriented journals.

Torts

Australia

Global & Comparative

  • Kluwer Law Online > Encyclopaedias. This tab contains the International Encyclopedia of Laws (IEL). The Torts Law topic contains an excellent comparative tool containing commentary and analysis of the laws of 23 countries.

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.