Legal Studies - HSC

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All users should be aware that some topics or historical content may be culturally sensitive, offensive or distressing, and that some images may contain nudity or are of people not yet identified. Certain words, terms or descriptions may reflect the author's/creator's attitude or that of the period in which they were written, but are now considered inappropriate in today's context.

Key to library resources

Access anywhere with a library card In the Library (or anywhere with a Library card for NSW residents)
Available to access in the library Only in the Library
Publicly available online Publicly available

Begin your HSC legal studies research

Getting started

The law is constantly changing and finding current information is vital. Use newspapers, journals, legislation, cases and government reports to find the latest information.

Use the resources here to find information to support your Preliminary and HSC Legal Studies research.

No matter which topic you're studying, you can find current, relevant information from encyclopaedias, journals, newspapers, books, government websites and statistics.

Law books at the Library

Browse the Politics, Economics & Law shelves (at location number 340s) in the Governor Marie Bashir Reading Room to find books that cover all areas of the law.

We also have law books in the Library's stack storage. If you have a Library card, you can access these books by searching the Library's catalogue and requesting them.

General resources for legal studies research

Legal cases

ebooks

A New Constitution for Australia

Ethics and Accountability in Criminal Justice : Towards a Universal Standard

How Parliament makes laws

Where do laws come from?

Discover in 10 minutes how a Bill becomes an Act, how legislation changes over time, and why some laws are made by the Commonwealth and others by the states.

Captioned version also available.

Developed by LIAC, State Library of NSW

How courts make laws

Legislation is a major source of law. Courts are the other source.

In this 10 minutes video you'll also find out about the court hierarchy, and the courts' and tribunals' jurisdictions.

Developed by LIAC, State Library of NSW

Captioned version also available.

Australian and NSW Constitution

Find legal answers