Always cite from an authorised report if it is available, in preference to an unauthorised report. Cite unreported judgments only if the case has not been otherwise reported. You can find a list of authorised law reports here
Before judgments are published, many courts make them available online as Unreported judgments, sometimes referred to as medium neutral citations.
Significant cases that reflect important points of law are published in law reports. These can either be:
Cases may be published in multiple law reports.
Citation hierarchy in order of preference:
Citation elements
Authorised Law report series
Court | Law Report Title | Abbreviation |
High Court | Commonwealth Law Reports 1903- | CLR |
Federal Court | Federal Court Reports 1984- | FCR |
Administrative Appeals Tribunal |
Administrative Law Decisions 1976- |
ALD |
Australian Industrial Relations Commission; Fair Work Australia; Fair Work Commission; Industrial Relations Commission of NSW |
Industrial Reports 1981- | IR |
Supreme Court of New South Wales |
New South Wales Law Reports 1970- |
NSWLR |
New South Wales Reports 1960-1971 Hardcopy St Benedict's R/KH/75/NSWR |
NSWR | |
New South Wales Law Reports 1880-1900 AustLII (1856-1900) (scanned copies of originals |
SR (NSW) | |
Supreme Court of Victoria |
Victorian Reports 1957- |
VR |
Victorian Law Reports 1875-1956 AustLII (1875-1956) (scanned copies of originals) |
VLR | |
Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory |
Australian Capital Territory Law Reports 2008- |
ACTLR |
Australian Capital Territory Reports 1973-2008 |
ACTR | |
Supreme Court of the Northern Territory |
Northern Territory Law Reports 1991- |
NTLR |
Northern Territory Reports 1979-1991 |
NTR | |
Supreme Court of Queensland |
Queensland Reports 1958- |
QdR |
Supreme Court of South Australia | South Australian State Reports 1971- | SASR |
State Reports South Australia 1921-70 AustLII (1920-1950) (scanned copies of originals) |
SALR | |
Supreme Court of Tasmania |
Tasmanian Reports 1979- AustLII (1979-1991) (scanned copies of originals) |
Tas R |
Tasmanian State Reports 1941-1978 AustLII (1941-1978) (scanned copies of originals) |
Tas SR | |
Tasmanian Law Reports 1904-1940 AustLII (1904-1940) (scanned copies of originals) |
Tas LR | |
Supreme Court of Western Australia |
Western Australian Reports 1960- |
WAR |
Western Australian Law Reports 1899-1959 AustLII (1899-1959) (scanned copies of originals) |
WALR |
Use an abbreviations guide to find out the full title of the report series:
Hints:
Use secondary resources such as books, journals, commentaries and encyclopaedias to find cases on a particular area of law.
Use Case Citators to help locate judgments when you:
Case Citators provide:
AustLII
AustLII
Selected Judgments Only
The State Administrative Tribunal deals with a broad range of administrative, commercial and personal matters reviewing decisions made by Government agencies and officials.
AustLII
Information and links to decisions.
Videos of special events and live streaming of selected cases.
Includes Federal Court Library resources, selected videos, and a catalogue of judgements
Selected videos from Full Court hearings heard in Canberra