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Westlaw Australia Guide - How to search and browse books

This guide shows you how to search and browse books on Westlaw. Books are law textbooks available in edition format (that is they are published yearly) and the extensive collection on Westlaw is used by practitioners, the bar and students. These books are also available in hardcopy.

  1. Browse the collection of books by clicking Books under Secondary Sources.
  1. Books are displayed alphabetically.
  1.  Click on Product Scope to obtain further information about each title.
  1. You can also click on the library scope information to understand the key features within this page which includes filtering by Topic, Jurisdiction, Subscription or Favourites.

 

  1. Once you are in a Book, you can browse by clicking on the + symbol to open up the documents within a chapter, this includes the index.
  1. To search the full text of the entire Books collection type your terms directly into the global search bar.

  1. Searches can also be run with or without publication filters or by selecting specific publications using the checkboxes, i.e., a Topic filter.
  1. Books can also be searched using the Advanced Search which contains more search fields.
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Westlaw Australia Guide - How to find a case by Title or Party Name

The global search bar allows you to run different searches from a single location, including cases by title or party name.

  1. Begin by typing in the party name or names into the global search bar, e.g., Cadbury Schweppes v Darrell Lea Chocolate Shops.
  2. As you start typing the case name, relevant suggestions will appear in a drop-down list.
    Select the required case from the list by clicking the case title.
  1. The case document will be displayed.
  2. To see download the law report, click on the citation next to the word icon.
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Westlaw Australia Guide - Workplace Complaints Tracker Analytics

Learn how to use Workplace Complaints Tracker Analytics to help you to advise clients on the costs, timing, and likely outcomes of their matter by understanding the most probable results from cases that have already taken place.

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Westlaw Australia Guide - Custom Pages

Custom Pages can be created to easily search across several jurisdictions, practice areas, and/or databases.

Create a Custom Page 

  1. On the home page, scroll down to select the Custom Pages tab, and click Create Custom Page.
  2. Name your new page in the pop-up that appears and click Create Custom Page.
  1. Select the Manage Page button and select Add Content Section from the menu.
    Name the new content section, e.g., Employment & Human Rights, and click Save.
  1. In the new section, click the Add Content button.
  2. Add databases, jurisdictions, or practice areas by browsing or searching for matching content. 
  1. Once you find the content you want, check the box next to it to search all of the product's content.
  2. A blue link indicates content that you can drill down further into to select individual databases.
  3. Your selections will appear on the right side of the window.
    Check additional boxes to add more content to that section or click Save to save your selection.

Edit a Custom Page

  1. Click the Manage Page button in the upper right-hand corner and select Edit Page
  2. Use the Edit, Rename and Delete buttons to make your changes to sections. 
  3. Re-arrange sections by dragging and dropping them anywhere on the page. You can also drag and drop content links. 
  4. Click Save Changes once completed. 

Search using the Custom Page

Custom Pages will search all content selected on your page.

  1. Tick the boxes next to the content you wish to search, tick again to deselect content.
    Alternatively, use Select All and Clear All options.
  2. Type your query into the search box at the top of the page and click Search.
    Use Boolean Terms and Connectors or natural language to search.
  1. Your results will show in an overview page where you can choose to View All results within each section.

Make a Custom Page your start page

  1. To make a custom page become your home page, click Set as Start Page.

Note: You will need to log out of Westlaw and log in again for this to take effect.


How to share your Custom Page

  1. To share your Custom Page with other Westlaw users, click the Manage Page button and select Send Copy.
  1. To share with an individual person, type and select their name from the drop-down or enter their email address.
    If your colleague is outside your organisation, an invitation to accept the Custom Page will be sent.
    To send to a group of users, select Custom Pages Contacts.
  2. Once the email recipients have been added, select Continue.
  1. Ensure that the list of recipients is correct, then click Send.

Custom Page Tools

  1. Find a Citation – Search for a case by citation.
  2. Search KeyCite for a Citation – Search for a citation to find Negative Treatment via KeyCite.
  3. Alerts – See a list of the alerts you have created and their recent results.
  4. Folders – See the documents saved to your folders.
  5. Favourites – See a list of your favourites with the option to search them individually.
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Westlaw Australia Guide - Cases document display

The following guide outlines the key features and aspects of a case document.

  1. Case Name or Title with the case information displayed such as court, date, and parallel citations.
  2. Functional tools and delivery options are displayed on the right-hand side of the screen.
Search document text for a term located in this document.
Copy Link or Copy Citation.
Show the KeyCite status for citations within the document.
Save content to Folders.
Annotate your documents with a document level note.
You can email, print or download results by clicking the relevant icon.
Create a KeyCite Alert to follow this case.
  1. KeyCite Flags alert you when a point of law in a document has been negatively discussed.
    The case title that has had the most significant impact on the case will be displayed.  
  2. The Westlaw version or unreported version can be downloaded as a word document.
    A list of Reported Judgments is also available under the heading Case Version.
  1. West Key Number Classifications outline key legal concepts or principles.
    West Key Number Classifications can be displayed in either a linear or tabular view by selecting the list or grid icons on the right-hand side.
  1. Case information such as party names and legal representatives are located further down in the Document tab. 
  1. The Negative Treatment tab displays negative direct litigation history and citing references for the case.
  1. The Negative Direct History displays the events or decisions that have negatively impacted the case you are viewing.
  2. The Negative Citing References are listed by most negative treatment, indicated by the bars in the Depth column.
  3. To view where the citing references discuss this case, set the display information to Most, and click on the highlighted hyperlink to read further.
  1. The History tab displays the direct history of the case and related references.
  1. These are listed in the left column.
  2. Direct history is also displayed graphically in the right column. The graphical display can be hidden by selecting hide.
    Use the – and + icons to zoom in and out.
  1. The Citing References tab displays a list of cases, administrative materials, secondary sources, briefs, and other court documents that cite the case.
  1. Sort the display of options by depth of treatment.
  2. Filter by content (e.g., cases or secondary sources), a specific treatment, court, title, citation or date.
  3. To view where the citing references discuss this case, set the display information to Most.
  4. Click on the highlighted hyperlink to read further.
  1. The Table of Authorities tab displays a list of cases determined as authoritative by the case.
  1. Sort the display by depth of treatment to see cases referenced most often.
  2. The table will display the depth, whether the case was quoted, and the page number(s).
  3. To view the case, click on the title to read further. Cases to be approached with caution are evidenced by red or yellow flags.
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Westlaw Australia Tip - How to find cases which judicially consider a word or phrase

You can quickly find cases where the judge considers the meaning of a word or phrase, using the Cases Advanced search template.

  1. From the homepage, select Cases and then click on the Advanced link to the right of the search bar.
  1. Scroll down to the Words and Phrases field and type your search terms. If you are looking for a phrase, use quotation marks around it to search for the phrase and not the individual words.
  1. On the results page, click on the phrase in each result to jump to the Words and Phrases Judicially Considered section in the case document.
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Westlaw Australia Guide - Alert24 Subject Area Descriptions

This document contains descriptions of all Australian Alert24 topics and subject areas.

Attachments

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Westlaw Australia Guide - Create a KeyCite alert

Set up a KeyCite alert to receive updates on developments in a case.

You can create three alerts in Westlaw:

  • A WestClip Search Alert can be created from a search, allowing you to receive future updates and new content based on the previously-conducted search.
  • KeyCite Alerts notify you of any subsequent citing references or changes to the litigation history of the case.
  • Create a Publication Alert to receive the latest updates from a publication.

KeyCite Alert

  1. In the case document you are viewing, select the alert bell.
  1. Enter a Name for your alert - this will appear in the subject field of your email – and click Continue.
  1. Tick the check boxes to be notified to Citing References, History References, or both.
    There is also an option to limit results to Negative Treatment only.
  2. Select Narrow by Content Type and Other Filters to narrow the citing references by content type or a specific publication.
    Once you have filtered, click Save, and then click Continue.
  1. Add the email address of the recipients. You also have the option to include full text of new documents by ticking the checkbox. Once the email addresses have been added, click Continue.
  1. Schedule your alert to a specific time and frequency, then click Save Alert.
  1. Once the alert has been saved, you will be taken to the Alerts page where you can edit the alert or return to the case document.
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Journal Updates

Content updates

 Journals Talk

The following Journal update articles were posted originally in Journals Talk.

Date & Time

New Co-Editor appointed to the Commonwealth Law Reports

Author updates

Peter Willis SC has joined the editorial board as Co-Editor of the Commonwealth Law Reports, effective 1 November 2023. Mr Willis will be working alongside Co-Editor Dr Paul Vout KC.

Date & Time