Australia became a nation on Jan. 1, 1901, when federation brought together the six British colonies created between 1788 and 1850. The federal government was established by the Australian Constitution, which is Section 9 of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, 1900, an act of the British Parliament.
Australia acquired international legal personality at some point thereafter. In 1919 the Treaty of Versailles was signed on behalf of the British Empire, but also by representatives of the Dominions, including Australia. The Balfour Declaration of 1926 gave the Dominions responsibility for their foreign affairs independent of the British government, including the right to conclude treaties. In addition, the Royal Commission on the Australian Constitution in 1929 confirmed this power. The Statute of Westminster of 1931 provided that the British government would enact legislation affecting the Dominions only at their request and with their consent, and permitted the Dominions to enact legislation with extra-territorial application. Thus, the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act of 1942 gave Australia legislative independence from Britain and increased power over their foreign policy. Australia made its first independent declaration of war during World War II and opened its first embassy in Washington in 1946. However, it wasn't until the adoption of the Australia Acts of 1986 that the British Parliament relinquished all legislative authority to create Australian law.
The Library has a number of recent titles on the constitution and constitutional law of Australia, e.g., the following:
An excellent place to begin researching Australian law is The Laws of Australia (KU14 1993), a 36-volume encyclopedia of very high quality published by LexisNexis. It is in looseleaf format for easy updating. Each topic includes a Table of Contents, Table of Cases, Table of Legislation, and Topical index. There are also a Consolidated Index, Table of Cases, and Table of Legislation covering the entire set.
The text is scholarly, and includes references to many cases and statutes. Therefore, the Laws of Australia can be used not only as an introduction ot the law of a given topic, but as a statute and case finding tool, in the absence of a digest.
A Practical Guide to Legal Research, 3rd ed, 2014, by Sanderrson and Kelly.
Laying Down the Law, 9th ed., 2014, by Cook et al.
Nemes and Coss' Effective Legal Research, 5th ed., 2012, by Bott et al.
Concise Legal Research, 6th ed., 2009, by Watt and Johns
There are also several electronic research guides of note, including:
Update: A Guide to Online Research Resources for the Australian Federal Legal System with some Reference to the State Level, updated January/February 2024, by Laurie Atkinson
Researching Australian Law, 2011, by Nicholas Pengelley and Sue Milne