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Westlaw Australia Guide - Homepage overview

This guide provides an overview of the Westlaw homepage when you first login and details various icons you will find within Westlaw. 

  1. Region – Choose from Australia, Asia, Canada, China, New Zealand, UK, US, or Global regions. *
  2. Client ID – Enter an ID to track time spent on a project or client research.
  3. History – Access your research history for the last 12 months.
  4. Folders – View all content saved within folders.
  5. Favourites – View and organise your favourites.
  6. Alerts – View and manage your alerts.
  7. Profile settings – View or change your Westlaw preferences and your OnePass profile or sign out.
  8. Sign out.
  9. Global search bar – Search in this bar using natural language, terms and connectors, or a citation.
  10. Search tips – Shows the full list of Boolean Terms & Connectors.
  11. Advanced search – A search form to conduct detailed search queries.
    The advanced search form changes depending on the Westlaw page you are accessing.
  12. Browse pane – Navigate content and resources within Westlaw via content types, practice areas, or tool.
  13. Custom pages – Create and access Custom Pages with frequently-used content.
  14. NewsRoom/News from Reuters – Articles showcasing insight and legal analysis from current news sources.
    Click View All News to access NewsRoom. *

* Depends on subscription


Icons

Icon 

Where can I see it? 

What does it mean? 

 

Top right-hand corner of screen.

Change the Client ID for your research, edit your profile/preferences, or sign out.

 

Top-left of a practice area/topic page.

Add this page to your favourites for quick and easy access.

 

Right of individual search results.

You have viewed this document in the last 30 days with the same Client ID.

 

Top-right of search results.

Change the level of detail shown in results: less, more, most.

 

Top-left of a practice area/topic page.

To make this your start page.

 

Right-hand toolbar.

Search text within your document.

 

Right-hand toolbar.

Customise your display option; show the KeyCite status for citations within the document.

 

Right-hand toolbar.

Add note/view annotations.

 

Right-hand toolbar.

Save to your folder.

 

Right-hand toolbar.

Email, print, or download.

 

Above the right-hand toolbar.

View in full screen mode.

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Westlaw Australia Guide - Contact groups

Create contact groups to easily send resources to a group of people within Westlaw (Australia).

Create a contact group

Contact groups can be used to send: alerts, newsletters, reports, and share folders.

  1. To create a contact group, click the User Preferences icon in the top menu.
  2. Select Contacts from the menu.
  1. In the pop-up window, select the Add Group button in the top-right.
  1. On the left-hand side, filter your organisation's contacts by name.
  2. Click the person's name to add to the right-hand side.
    Use the information icon to see more details about the contact.
  3. On the right-hand side, add a name for your group.
  4. Tick the checkbox to make the group available to others in your organisation, if you prefer.
  5. When all contacts are added, click Save Group.
  1. Your new group will show on the right-hand side of the Contacts pop-up box.
    You can view members, edit, or delete the group with the options on the right-hand side.
  2. When you are finished, click Close.

You can now send Westlaw resources to this group of people.


Create a Custom Page contact group

  1. To share your Custom Page with a group, select the Manage Page button and click Send Copy in the menu.
  1. In the top-right of the pop-up box, select Custom Pages Contacts.
  1. On the right-hand side, select the Add Group button.
  1. In the People pane on the left, filter for people by typing in the search field.
  2. Add them to the group by selecting their name; their name will appear in the Group Members box on the right-hand pane.
  3. In the New Group pane on the right, add a name for your group.
  4. Click Save Group.
  1. Your new group will show in the Contacts pop-up box. You can view members, edit, or delete the group with the options on the right-hand side.
  2. To send the Custom Page to the group, select the group name from the Groups panel on the right.
  3. The group name will appear in the panel.
  4. Select Insert Contacts to continue and send your Custom Page.
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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 - Alert24 Subject Area Descriptions

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

Attachments

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Westlaw Australia Guide - Creating a KeyCite alert

Learn how to create a KeyCite alert to receive updates on developments in a case.

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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

Forms & Precedents 2.0

Enhancements
Date & Time