FAQ - Federal Statutes Annotations

  1. What is the Federal Statutes Annotations used for?
  2. What information does the Federal Statutes Annotations contain?
  3. In what formats does the Federal Statutes Annotations appear?
  4. How is the information arranged?
  5. How do I find what I'm looking for?
  6. What about Regulations and other subordinate legislation?
  7. How do I find whether an Act has been judicially considered?
  8. What about repealed legislation?
  9. How frequently does the Federal Statutes Annotations update?
  10. How do I find how up to date the Federal Statutes Annotations is?
  11. Does the Federal Statutes Annotations include the text of the legislation?
  12. How do I find the most recent developments?
  13. Do I need to keep old volumes?
  14. What other publications can assist my research?
  15. Who may I contact for further information?
  16. Feedback

1. What is the Federal Statutes Annotations used for?

The Federal Statutes Annotations is a guide to the legislation of the Commonwealth. It is an ideal first point of reference in determining the current status, history and judicial interpretation of Federal legislation. The Federal Statutes Annotations brings together a variety of information from different sources, including much historical information not otherwise available in a single publication.

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2. What information does the Federal Statutes Annotations contain?

Concise details of the amendment and judicial interpretation of Acts, Regulations, Rules and Miscellaneous Instruments (orders, by-laws, guidelines etc) in the Commonwealth jurisdiction. Act entries particularise any amendment which has occurred and include assent, proclamation, commencement and gazettal details of the amending legislation. Other information relevant to the operation or interpretation of legislation is also listed, including second reading speeches and books and articles.

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3. In what formats does the Federal Statutes Annotations appear?

The Federal Statutes Annotations publishes online and in hard copy formats.

Online: The benefit of Federal Statutes Annotations is always consolidated so there is no need to refer to a supplement.

Hard copy: Published in the form of an annual consolidation (currently 2 volumes) and an updating supplement. An additional Repealed Legislation volume publishes separately.

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4. How is the information arranged?

The Federal Statutes Annotations lists, in alphabetical order, the principal Acts of Parliament. The hard copy format includes various tables to help you find what you want including tables of principal Acts, Regulations, proclamations, bills and cases.

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5. How do I find what I'm looking for?

There are a number of ways to find the information you want.

Online: Search using the customised query template or browse the Contents screen.

Hard copy: As Acts are listed alphabetically, you can flip through the volumes to find the Act you're after. Alternatively, use the tables to find Acts, Regulations, bills or cases.

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6. What about Regulations and other subordinate legislation?

Regulations, Rules and other subordinate legislation made under an Act are listed under the relevant Act. Gazettal and commencement details are provided where available. Amendments to, and judicial interpretations of, subordinate legislation are noted in the same way as for principal Acts.

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7. How do I find whether an Act has been judicially considered?

In all formats, digests of the cases appear under the relevant Act entries. If a specific section of an Act has been considered by a case, the digest is presented under that section. Cases concerning Regulations are listed under the relevant regulation or clause.

If you are using the hard copy format of the Federal Statutes Annotations you can search for cases using the Table of Cases. Each case entry includes the Act and section number to which the case refers. If you are using one of the electronic versions you simply search by the case name using the search template.

All recent cases are cross-referenced to Australian Current Law. The most recent cases include a BC number to enable you to find the full text of the judgment in Unreported Judgments.

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8. What about repealed legislation?

Entries for repealed legislation are retained as many repealed Acts continue to have relevance after their repeal.

If you use the hard copy format you will find recently repealed Acts in the current publication, while older repealed legislation can be found in the separate Repealed Legislation volume.

Online also contains all the Repealed Legislation since the product began.

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9. How frequently does the Federal Statutes Annotations update?

The electronic and hard copy formats update at different times.

Hard copy: The Federal Statutes Annotations publishes as one consolidation and one supplement every year. The consolidation usually publishes in the first half of the year and consolidates all the previous year's information. The supplement usually publishes in the second half of the year. The Repealed Legislation volume updates every 4 years.

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10. How do I find the currency date for Federal Statutes Annotations?

The currency of updates is stated in each format. In the online format, click on the blue iblob next to the name of the product. In the hard copy format, the currency statement appears on the title page.

Currency should always be checked prior to commencing research.

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11. Does the Federal Statutes Annotations include the text of the legislation?

No, the text of the legislation is not included. The Federal Statutes Annotations is designed to work in conjunction with the latest official reprint of principal legislation.

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12. How do I find the most recent developments?

Australian Current Law Legislation is designed to help keep you up to date with all the latest changes since the last Federal Statutes Annotations update.

You can also use the Australian Current Law - Reporter daily online updates to keep up to date with the most recent case law since the last online Federal Statutes Annotations update.

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13. Do I need to keep old volumes?

If you need the historical information prior to the latest reprint then we recommend you keep the old volumes alternatively the online product has all the information available. However if you only require the most up to date information on the legislation then we recommend that you don't need to keep your old volumes.

Please note that:

Each consolidation of the hardcopy Federal Statutes Annotations is cumulative. When you receive a new consolidation you no longer need to keep your previous consolidation and supplement.

Each supplement includes information received since the last consolidation. When you receive your supplement it is important to keep both the supplement and the latest consolidation until the next consolidation publishes.

The Repealed Legislation volume is also cumulative. When you receive your new Repealed Legislation volume you no longer need to keep the old one.

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14. What other publications can assist my research?

LexisNexis also publishes the following similar products:

  • NSW Statute Annotations
  • Victoria Statute Annotations
  • Queensland Legislation Case Annotations

For further information please see the FAQ guide for each publication.

As a means of researching general propositions of law, Halsbury's Laws of Australia is an invaluable reference. All formats of the Federal Statutes Annotations contain cross-references to Halsbury's and the electronic formats are hyperlinked to Halsbury's for quick and easy reference.

Unreported Judgments provides full text of the judgments of the superior courts of all Australian jurisdictions. The Federal Statutes Annotations contains cross-references to Unreported Judgments for easy research.

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15. Who may I contact for further information?

For further information about the Federal Statutes Annotations please contact the LexisNexis Customer Relations team.

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16. Feedback

We value your impressions and would be pleased to receive any comments about the Federal Statutes Annotations.

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