The Queensland Judgments website is a joint initiative of the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for the State of Queensland (ICLRQ) and the Supreme Court of Queensland Library Committee (SCLQ).
The object of the Queensland Judgments website is to publish, on behalf of the principal courts and tribunals of Queensland, an authoritative, complete and functional collection of Queensland case law (including the Queensland Reports) which can be made available to the community free of charge.
The ICLRQ is the charitable institution which is responsible for publishing the authorised reports of the judgments of the Supreme Court of Queensland (Queensland Reports).
The origin of the ICLRQ can be traced to 1901. At that time, the only available law reports in Queensland were published by newspapers or other private concerns. At the initiative of the Supreme Court, a Council of Law Reporting (based upon the English model) was established to assume responsibility for law reporting, with the first volume of the new series of authorised reports being published in 1902.
The ICLRQ continues to operate under the ultimate control of the Judges of the Supreme Court. The ICLRQ has a nine person Council comprising three practising barristers (appointed annually by the Judges of the Supreme Court), three practising solicitors (also appointed annually by the Judges of the Supreme Court) and three ex officio members (the Attorney-General, the Solicitor-General and the Registrar of the Supreme Court).
For more information about the ICLRQ, see www.queenslandreports.com.au and Helen Gregory’s Capturing Law and History: One Hundred Years of Queensland Law Reporting (SCLQ, 2007).
The SCLQ is the charitable institution which is responsible for operating Queensland’s principal legal research library (Supreme Court of Queensland Library). It is also responsible for maintaining an official collection of the published reasons for judgment of the Supreme, District and Magistrates Courts, together with a number of more specialised Queensland courts and tribunals.
The origin of the Supreme Court Library can be traced to 1862, when the first Judge of the Supreme Court (Lutwyche J) was able to secure public funding to establish the first law library in the colony.
In 1968, the SCLQ was established as a statutory corporation, and operates under the control of a 12 member committee comprising the Chief Justice of Queensland (or a Judge of the Supreme Court appointed by the Chief Justice), the Chief Judge of District Courts (or a Judge of District Courts appointed by the Chief Judge), the Chief Magistrate (or a Magistrate appointed by the Chief Magistrate), four practising barristers (two appointed by the Chief Justice and two appointed by the Bar Association of Queensland), four practising solicitors (two appointed by the Chief Justice and two appointed by the Queensland Law Society) and a nominee of the Minister for Justice (ex officio). For more information about the SCLQ, see www.sclqld.org.au.
This section provides an overview of the system of courts and tribunals in Queensland.
The principal court in the Queensland legal system is the Supreme Court of Queensland. It was established upon the foundation of the Colony of Queensland (1859).
The Supreme Court is a superior court of record, with jurisdiction to hear and determine most serious criminal and civil matters. The Supreme Court currently deals with about 850 new criminal matters and 3500 new civil matters each year. The Judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the Governor-in-Council, with security of tenure until the statutory retirement age of 70. The Chief Justice of Queensland is the Judge of the Supreme Court with ultimate responsibility for administration of the Court, together with a number of other constitutional and statutory functions.
Prior to 1992, the jurisdiction of the Court was most commonly exercised by single Judges (with or without a jury). Appeals from these judgments were usually heard by a panel of three Judges, sitting either as the Full Court (for civil matters) or the Court of Criminal Appeal (for criminal matters).
Since 1992, the Court has been structured into two divisions – the Trial Division and the Court of Appeal.
Most Judges of the Supreme Court are members of the Trial Division. The Judges of the Trial Division hear and determine criminal and civil trials, and resolve a range of other applications. These matters are determined by a single Judge, who usually sits with a jury in criminal matters. Appeals from these judgments are to the Court of Appeal.
The Court of Appeal is constituted by a President and a number of other Judges of Appeal. The Court of Appeal conventionally sits as a panel of three Judges, usually with the participation of one or more Judges from the Trial Division. The Court of Appeal hears and determines appeals from the Trial Division, the District Court and certain specialised courts and tribunals. About 380 criminal appeals and 280 civil appeals are lodged every year. The Court of Appeal also has a limited original jurisdiction (eg the admission of legal practitioners).
The District Court provides the second major tier of the Queensland court system. The District Courts were constituted to facilitate the determination of less serious criminal and civil matters by hearings held within the appropriate local district. The District Court deals with about 4700 new criminal matters and 5500 new civil matters each year.
The District Court was originally established in Queensland in 1866. For a period of time (1921-1958), the court was disbanded and its Judges integrated within the Supreme Court. Since the District Court’s reinstatement, however, it has been invested with a very significant original and appellate jurisdiction. All matters are dealt with by single Judges of the District Court, who commonly sit with juries in criminal matters. As with the Supreme Court, the Judges of the District Court are appointed by the Governor-in-Council, with security of tenure until the statutory retirement age of 70. The Chief Judge of the District Court is the Judge with ultimate responsibility for the administration of the Court.
Appeals from the District Court are to the Court of Appeal.
The Magistrates Court provides the third major tier of the Queensland court system, with a wide jurisdiction to deal with less serious criminal and civil matters. The Magistrates Court deals with about 200,000 new criminal matters and 30,000 new civil matters each year.
From the time of Queensland’s foundation (1859), a jurisdiction of this kind was exercised by a network of Stipendiary Magistrates and Justices of the Peace – few of whom were legally qualified. These officials sat in courts then known as Courts of Petty Session (criminal) or Courts of Requests or Small Debts Courts (civil). From 1964, these courts were merged into a unified Magistrates Court. Under current legislation, Magistrates are required to be legally qualified. They are appointed by the Governor-in-Council, with security of tenure. Only a limited jurisdiction within the Magistrates Court remains capable of being exercised by Justices of the Peace. The Chief Magistrate, who is conventionally a District Court Judge, has responsibility for the administration of the Court.
In earlier years, it was common for appeals, by way of order to review, to be instituted directly from the Magistrates Court to the Full Court of the Supreme Court. More recently, the only direct avenue of appeal from Magistrates Court has been to a single Judge of the District Court. A further potential avenue of appeal then lies to the Court of Appeal.
Pursuant to various Queensland statutes, a number of courts and tribunals have been established to exercise jurisdiction over more specialised matters. Many of these courts and tribunals are presided over by a Judge of the Supreme or District Courts. The principal bodies comprise:
Judgments of the Supreme Court of Queensland have always been subject to further appellate review.
Initially, these judgments were only subject to appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which heard matters in London. After Federation, however, a High Court of Australia was established (1903), which was invested with a similar jurisdiction to hear appeals from the Supreme Court of Queensland (including from judgments at first instance). For a time, dissatisfied litigants in Queensland could elect to appeal to either the Privy Council or the High Court – or could seek to appeal first to the High Court, and then appeal again from that judgment to the Privy Council.
Any right of appeal from Queensland courts to the Privy Council has since been abolished. Nor is there any absolute right of appeal to the High Court of Australia. Appeals to the High Court may only be instituted after the Court has granted special leave to appeal. Whilst about 40 applications for special leave are made every year in Queensland matters, few applications are successful. Accordingly, at any given time, there are few Queensland judgments which are subject to appellate reconsideration by the High Court of Australia.
This section provides an overview of the systems historically adopted by Queensland courts and tribunals to maintain a record of their reasons for judgment. It also outlines the conventions for the citation of unreported judgments.
Queensland courts have always maintained, in registry files, official records of every order, judgment or criminal sentence pronounced by the court. These are terse documents, which record the ultimate outcome of the proceedings, but not the reasons for judgment.
Reasons for judgment are conventionally given by the courts in contested matters. Sometimes, the reasons are given immediately (ex tempore). In more complex cases, judgment may be reserved for further consideration (curia adversari vult), with a reasoned judgment being delivered later.
Until the 1980s, it was conventional for the courts to deliver their reasons orally in open court.
Before the introduction of official court reporters, these oral reasons were recorded (if at all) only in the Judge’s own notes, in the handwritten notes of the parties’ legal representatives or in published newspaper reports.
When a system of court reporting was introduced, a shorthand or sound recording of the reasons was often prepared. However, these recordings were not always transcribed and added to the court file – particularly in circumstances where no request for a transcription was made by the parties.
This continues to be the position in modern Queensland.
For these reasons, there is no comprehensive official record of the reasons for judgment delivered by Queensland courts and tribunals in all matters.
For judgments prior to the 1970s, the only readily accessible record is to be found in:
Commencing in the 1970s, however, a more comprehensive collection of Queensland judgments began to be prepared by the SCLQ.
From 1972, the SCLQ began to maintain a printed record, in a set of bound volumes, of many of the reasons for judgment delivered by the Full Court of Queensland and the Court of Criminal Appeal.
From 1979, a similar collection was commenced for the judgments delivered at first instance in the Supreme Court.
These judgments are conventionally cited by reference to the case name, the court, the name of the deciding Judge and the date (eg Addul-Rahman v Jeffs (unreported, Supreme Court of Queensland, Dowsett J, 19 August 1988)).
In more recent times, a more systematic practice has been adopted for recording and citing unreported judgments.
Under the new practice, all judgments of the Court of Appeal, and all reserved judgments of the Trial Division of the Supreme Court (other than criminal sentences), are conventionally assigned a medium neutral citation (MNC). The form of this citation commences with the year of judgment in square brackets (eg [2000]), then the court’s abbreviation (eg QCA or QSC), then the number of the judgment assigned in chronological order (eg from [2000] QCA 1 to [2000] QCA 528).
The Supreme Court’s official collection of these judgments is held by the SCLQ.
This collection includes any revisions of these judgments which are formally issued by the Court (eg to correct typographical errors). However, the judgments in this collection do not incorporate the numerous further revisions which are made when preparing the judgment for reporting in the Queensland Reports. That is because the authorised report, when issued, becomes the final record of the judgment as a legal precedent.
The MNC practice, whilst systematic, is still not comprehensive. Numerous judgments of the Trial Division are delivered ex tempore – and these judgments are regularly cited in later judgments of the courts. If these judgments have not already been assigned a MNC, the SCLQ will seek to supplement its unreported judgment collection to include these authorities and retrospectively assign them a MNC.
The SCLQ is also seeking to retrospectively assign MNCs to its full collection of historic judgments and make this collection available on the Queensland Judgments website.
Sentencing remarks are separately recorded in the QSCL’s QSIS system.
The Judgments of the Supreme Court of Queensland - Trial Division (QSC) may be accessed by clicking here and Supreme Court of Queensland - Court of Appeal (QCA) may be accessed by clicking here.
From 1984, a similar collection of bound volumes of selected unreported judgments of the District Court began to be maintained by the SCLQ.
Similarly, from about 2000, the practice of assigning MNCs to written judgments delivered by the District Court was adopted, using the abbreviation QDC (eg [2000] QDC 1).
The Judgments of the District Court of Queensland (QDC) may be accessed by clicking here.
A collection of District Court sentencing remarks is also held on QSIS.
As most judgments of the Magistrates Court are delivered orally, only a small number of judgments since 2006 have been assigned a MNC, using the abbreviation QMC (eg [2008] QMC 1).
The Judgments of the Magistrates Court (QMC) may be accessed by clicking here.
From 2002, when the Mental Health Court commenced, the court began assigning MNCs to selected judgments, using the abbreviation QMHC (eg [2002] QMHC 1).
The Judgments of the Mental Health Court (QMHC) may be accessed by clicking here.
From 1978, a collection of bound volumes of selected unreported judgments of the Local Government Court, later called the Planning and Environment Court, began to be maintained by the SCLQ.
From about 2000, a practice of assigning MNCs to selected judgments of this court began to be adopted, using the abbreviation QPEC (eg [2000] QPEC 1).
The Judgments of the Planning and Environment Court (QPEC) may be accessed by clicking here.
A collection of Childrens Court sentencing remarks is held on QSIS.
Since 2004, a small number of other judgments of this court have been assigned a MNC, with the abbreviation QChC for judgments of District Court Judges (eg [2004] QChC 1) and QChCM for judgments delivered by Magistrates (eg [2004] QChCM 1).
The Judgments of the Childrens Court of Queensland (District Court) (QCHC) may be accessed by clicking here and Childrens Court of Queensland (Magistrates) (QCHCM) may be accessed by clicking here.
An online collection of the judgments of the Land Court and Land Appeal Court is to be found on the Queensland Courts website (www.sclqld.org.au/caselaw/LCQ) and AustLII.
Land Court judgments are cited using the abbreviation QLC (eg [2015] QLC 1).
Land Appeal Court judgments are cited using the abbreviation QLAC (eg [2015] QLAC 1).
The Judgments of the Land Court of Queensland (QLC) may be accessed by clicking here and Land Appeal Court of Queensland (QLAC) may be accessed by clicking here.
From 2009, when QCAT commenced operation, the tribunal commenced assigning MNCs to selected judgments.
QCAT judgments are cited using the abbreviation QCAT (eg [2015] QCAT 1).
QCAT appeal judgments are cited using the abbreviation QCATA (eg [2015] QCATA 1).
The Judgments of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) may be accessed by clicking here and Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (Appeals) (QCATA) may be accessed by clicking here.
This section provides an overview of the published law reports of Queensland judgments and their citation.
In general, the law reports seek to provide a permanent record of the most important judgments of a court, in a form which is more efficient and informative for future reference and use (eg by use of catchwords and headnotes).
There are two main types of law reports - authorised and non-authorised.
The law reports of a court’s judgments are authorised if they are recognised by the court itself as the most authoritative record of its judgments. This recognition is usually granted because the Judges themselves have assisted in revising the reports to ensure that they are accurate prior to publication.
In the period immediately after Queensland’s foundation, no law reports were published in Queensland.
During this period, the only public record of the courts’ decisions were published in local newspapers.
In 1878, the Queensland Law Society published the first volume of law reports in Queensland – the Queensland Law Reports, which were edited by Henry Beor QC (QLR (Beor)).
This was a high quality publication, but unfortunately did not survive beyond the first volume, because of the death of Beor QC on Christmas Day 1880.
The single volume of these reports is divided into three parts, each with its own numbering system. This volume is conventionally cited by reference to the year of the judgment, the volume, the part and the page reference (eg (1876) 1 QLR (Beor) Pt I 27).
Shortly afterwards, in 1881, the Queensland Law Journal (QLJ) commenced publishing law reports of Queensland judgments. The QLJ series continued in a series of 11 volumes until 1901.
These reports are usually cited by reference the year of the judgment, the volume and page (eg (1889) 3 QLJ 161).
In its first volume, this series also published a supplement which sought to cover the period since the demise of the Queensland Law Reports. Judgments in this supplement are cited as QLJ (Supp) (eg (1879) QLJ (Supp) 1).
In later volumes, sets of numbered Notes of Cases were also published. These notes are cited as QLJ (NC), with reference being made to the relevant number of the case note, rather than the page number (eg (1899) 9 QLJ (NC) 104 – for case note numbered 104).
In the late 1890s, with the assistance of the Supreme Court, a five volume set of Queensland Supreme Court Reports (QSCR) was prepared to retrospectively report judgments of the Supreme Court (and appeals to the Privy Council) during period prior to the commencement of the Queensland Law Reports.
These reports are cited by reference to the year, the volume and the page number (eg (1876) 4 QSCR 155).
With the publication of this series, a full chronological set of law reports from the colonial era in Queensland had been completed.
By the time of Australian Federation, the Supreme Court appears to have regarded each of these earlier sets of law reports as the preferred source of citation of earlier Queensland judgments. So, in this sense, these early law reports became regarded as authorised reports.
Shortly after Federation, however, a committee chaired by the Chief Justice (Sir Samuel Griffith) took steps to establish a more formal set of authorised reports of the Supreme Court, based upon the English model, in which responsibility for law reporting was vested in a Council of Law Reporting.
In 1901, the first Council of Law Reporting was established in Queensland. This Council was under the control of the Supreme Court and became responsible for selecting, revising and publishing the most significant judgments of the Supreme Court in a series of annual volumes of authorised reports.
This series of volumes commenced in 1902 as the State Reports of Queensland (St R Qd). This series was conventionally cited by the year of the volume (in square brackets) and the page number (eg [1902] St R Qd 1).
Notes of cases were also published as part of these volumes, under the title Queensland Weekly Notes (QWN). This series was conventionally cited by volume year and the number of the case note, rather than by page number (eg [1902] QWN 2 – for case note 2).
In 1958, the State Reports of Queensland was renamed the Queensland Reports (Qd R). These reports continued a similar citation system, based on volume year and page number (eg [1960] Qd R 1).
After 1972, no further QWNs were published.
From 1983, the reports were expanded to include two volumes per year, and in 1983 the reports were expanded again to include three volumes per year. In citing these reports, reference is made to the volume number after the volume year (eg [1983] 2 Qd R 1).
In 2020, a new series of the Queensland Reports commenced. The new series is continued to be known as the Queensland Reports but is published as a set of consecutively numbered volumes with three volumes published each year. A new form of citation was adopted for this series, using round brackets to identify the year of judgment and a simpler abbreviation was implemented (“QR” rather than “Qd R”). Finally, the new series improved the typography of the Queensland Reports, by moving to a style which is clearer and more readable.
The key features of the Queensland Reports are that they are:
By a series of Practice Directions, the principal courts of Queensland require that the Queensland Reports be cited in preference to all other versions of the reported judgments.
In assigning case names to reported judgments, the Editors of the Queensland Reports apply a number of governing principles. These principles are designed to produce concise, consistent and appropriately distinctive case names, which can be conveniently used for citation purposes (eg by deleting reference to secondary parties, and expressions such as "and Anor" or "and Ors").
It is important to note, however, that similar principles are not uniformly applied by the courts, when assigning case names to delivered judgments. This results in minor differences between the case names of the same judgment – in both its reported and unreported form. Nor have similar principles been uniformly applied by the authorised reports, particularly during their early history.
When editing judgments for publication in the modern Queensland Reports, however, it has been practice for case names of all cited Queensland authorities to be edited to conform with modern principles.
In preparing the Queensland Judgments website, the same approach has been taken. In the heading of all reported cases, the case name has been formulated in accordance with modern naming principles.
In citing early Queensland judgments, it is acceptable to refer to either the original published case name or the shortened case name as appears on this website.
On this website, the original published case names continue to be recorded in Editorial Notes at the foot of each judgment page. All case name searches on this website are also conducted over a database which contains both the original published case name and the shortened case name.
There are a number of other long-running series of law reports of Queensland judgments, including the following:
In all Australian courts, convention requires that the authorised report of a judgment be cited in preference to other versions.
In the principal Queensland courts, this convention has been formalised by a set of uniform Practice Directions concerning the Citation of Authority:
These Practice Directions provide that, when citing a judgment to the court, a citation of the judgment from a set of authorised reports is to be preferred.
They further provide that an unreported judgment should not usually be cited unless it contains a statement of legal principle, or a material application of principle, which is not found in reported authority.
The Practice Directions do not prescribe the format in which copies of authorities should be provided to the court.
However, the conventional requirement is that these copies be an exact image of the judgment as it appears in the relevant printed law report, or in the case of unreported judgments, an exact image of the judgment as delivered by the relevant court. Printouts of reformatted onscreen text is not usually regarded as acceptable.
In relation to unreported Queensland judgments, there is no requirement that images of the judgment be obtained from the Queensland Judgments website in preference to other sources. In practice, the SCLQ provides copies of newly delivered judgments (including any updated versions of the judgments) to a range of reputable publishers of online legal databases. In the ordinary course, it would be expected that identical images of the same judgment will appear in all such databases.
In citing early Queensland judgments, it is acceptable to refer to either the original published case name or the shortened case name as appears on this website.
The full text of the Practice Direction issued by the Supreme Court is as follows:
PRACTICE DIRECTION NUMBER 16 OF 2013
SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND
CITATION OF AUTHORITY
In its initial release, the Queensland Judgments website contains a number of main components.
The Queensland Judgments website contains a complete online set of the authorised reports of the Supreme Court of Queensland, commencing from the foundation of the Court in 1859. The set comprises:
This set is published by the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for the State of Queensland and is updated monthly as soon as new instalments of the Queensland Reports are published.
This set is presented in two formats – PDF and HTML.
The PDF format – which can be downloaded by clicking the PDF icon () which appears on each judgment page - provides an exact copy of the original printed text of the authorised reports. PDF copies of individual case reports can be downloaded or printed. PDF copies of reported judgments printed from this website include (as an endnote) a list of all relevant corrigenda.
The HTML format – which appears onscreen - is intended to provide an enhanced version of the original printed text, which is more suitable for viewing online. In this format:
It is not recommended that the HTML text of any judgment be printed for use in court. The PDF version of reports is the conventional format used for this purpose (Citation Rules).
The Queensland Judgments website, in this release, contains unreported judgments from the following Queensland Courts and Tribunals:
Each set of judgments is maintained by the Supreme Court of Queensland Library, and is updated daily as new judgments are delivered or revisions of earlier judgments issued.
Each set is also presented in PDF and HTML format.
The PDF format– which can be downloaded by clicking the PDF icon () which appears on each judgment page - provides an exact copy of the original printed text of the judgment as delivered by the relevant Court or Tribunal. If the judgment has been reissued by the Court or Tribunal in a revised form, then only the most recent revision appears. PDF copies of individual judgments can be downloaded or printed.
The HTML format – which appears onscreen - provides an enhanced online version of the original printed text, which is more suitable for viewing online. In this format:
It is not recommended that the HTML text of any judgment be printed for use in court. The PDF version of reports is the conventional format used for this purpose (Citation Rules).
The Queensland Judgments website contains a database which seeks to record:
Pending appeals are displayed under the Appeals tab.
Each judgment in this collection which has been noted as subject to an appeal is annotated with a warning symbol in its heading and an endnote, containing the judgment’s appeal history.
The Queensland Judgments website contains a digest, prepared by the editorial team of the Queensland Reports, which identifies and summarises key Queensland decisions (reported and unreported) concerning the meaning and operation of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld). This digest is updated weekly.
The Queensland Judgments website is in the course of ongoing development. Future phases of work involve:
The Queensland Judgments website has been designed to be simple to use and free of charge.
To obtain a short and informative introduction to the features and use of the Queensland Judgments website, we invite you to view our Getting Started Video.
A substantial part of the website can be used without the need for registration.
However, to obtain access to the Queensland Reports and to a range of personalised features of this website, registration is required. The registration process allows us to provide you with password-protected access to personalised lists and other settings. It also confirms your agreement to the Terms of Use which govern this website.
To register, simply go the website header and click on Register. A short online form can then be completed, and your registration finalised, within a few minutes. If you wish to do so, you can terminate your registration at any time.
To enquire about technical difficulties in obtaining registration or using the Queensland Judgments website, please forward your enquiries by email to [email protected].
To report any errors or omissions on this website, or to suggest improvements, please forward your emails to [email protected].
We will seek to respond to your enquiries as soon as possible within usual office hours.
The main features of the Queensland Judgments website are outlined in the Key Features Video.
In essence, they are as follows.
The Queensland Judgments website provides registered users with free online access to a complete set of the authorised reports of the Supreme Court of Queensland (Queensland Reports).
The Queensland Reports contain the most important judgments of the court, which have been summarised and edited by the Reporters and Editors of the ICLRQ, and revised by the deciding Judges.
They cover the entire history of the Court from its foundation in 1859, with a complete set of these reports now comprising some 160 printed volumes.
These reports are only accessible online, free of charge, on the Queensland Judgments website.
The online text of these judgments also includes a number of enhanced features, including the incorporation of all published corrigenda.
Every week, new judgments are selected for inclusion in the Queensland Reports – and every month a new part of the Queensland Reports is published.
Access to this updated information is available through the Queensland Judgments website.
This website publishes, every week, a list of the latest judgments which have been selected for reporting in the Queensland Reports (), with accompanying case notes prepared by the Editorial team of the Queensland Reports.
The Queensland Judgments website also publishes, as soon as it is available, the latest monthly part of the Queensland Reports.
The Queensland Judgments website also contains a record of the judgments as delivered by the Supreme Court of Queensland (since 2002), and all other principal Queensland courts and tribunals (since 2015).
When fully developed, the Queensland Judgments website is intended to contain an official and comprehensive record of all available judgments of the principal courts and tribunals of Queensland.
The Queensland Judgments website is updated on a daily basis to include the most recent judgments delivered by all principal Queensland courts and tribunals.
The judgments on the Queensland Judgments website have been classified, by the editorial team of the Queensland Reports, using a star system which seeks to identify those judgments which are likely to have most relevance as legal precedents:
This starring system is used throughout the website and has been incorporated into the Search function. Searches may be limited to a dataset comprising only starred judgments.
The Queensland Judgments website incorporates an appeals database.
This database seeks to record the appeal history of all judgments published in this collection, including any special leave applications or appeals to the High Court of Australia or the Privy Council.
This database also records all pending appeals to the Court of Appeal and the High Court of Australia (including special leave applications) from judgments published on this website.
For each relevant judgment published on this website, its appeal history is recorded in an endnote.
The existence of these pending or completed appeals is also prominently recorded on the judgment by use of a system of self-explanatory warning symbols:
The Queensland Judgments website contains a new information service to assist in identifying the key authorities concerning the meaning and operation of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld).
The UCPR Digest was originally prepared by Mr Lee Clark (Barrister) and a team of researchers.
This team has reviewed all Queensland judgments concerning the UCPR, with a view to identifying the key decisions which define the governing principles.
These decisions have been listed, and the governing principles concisely stated, in a digest of authorities arranged by UCPR rule.
Online links allow the full text of most decisions to be easily accessed.
This digest is updated, on a weekly basis, as the Editorial team of the Queensland Reports identifies in the Queensland Law Reporter new and noteworthy practice decisions.
The judgments on the Queensland Judgments website are fully searchable, using familiar Search Operators, and with the benefit of a number of advanced features.
Search results may be ranked according to user preference, including by Best Match.
Search results may be displayed according to user preference, including by displaying all hits in context.
Within each judgment, all hits are highlighted, with colour-coding adopted to identify each different search term. A navigation bar allows the user to move quickly, from hit to hit, and modify the search at will. It also contains a link to the Queensland Legislation website, to provide easy access to the relevant legislative provisions.
The Queensland Judgments website includes exact images of all original reports and judgments in a PDF format which is suitable for downloading and printing.
Judgments from the Queensland Reports are produced with endnotes, which record any published corrigenda for that judgment.
Judgments on the Queensland Judgments website are published with internal online links which, when fully implemented, will allow citations to be followed to the full text of all judgments published on the website.
External links to the full text of judgments published on other websites will be introduced when possible.
The Queensland Judgments website allows registered users to compile, save and print lists of authorities identified on the website.
Registered users may also adjust a number of features of the searching and browsing functions to suit their individual preferences.
The Queensland Judgments website contains a full set of the authorised reports of the Supreme Court of Queensland (from 1859) and a full set of the unreported judgments of the Supreme Court of Queensland (from 2002).
Links are also provided to the other online collections of Queensland unreported judgments which are maintained by the Supreme Court Library.
A full set of the authorised reports of the Supreme Court of Queensland may be browsed in this section.
There are four options.
The first, and default option, is to browse the Latest Authorised Reports which comprises the 50 most recent reports published in the Queensland Reports.
The second option is to browse cases that have been Selected for Reporting in the Queensland Reports. This option comprises those judgments which have been selected by the Editor of the Queensland Reports for subsequent publication in the Queensland Reports.
The third option is to Browse by Volume. This section is arranged as a full printed set of the Queensland authorised reports. It comprises lists of reported cases from the:
The final option is to Browse by Case Name. This option provides for the alphabetical browsing of all authorised reports, together with options to narrow those reports listed.
The full text of any law report in these lists can be viewed simply by clicking on the citation or the ‘text’ icon adjacent to the case name. This will initially display the full text of the report in its enhanced online format (HTML). However, the original format of the report (in PDF format) can also be viewed, downloaded and printed by clicking the PDF icon adjacent to the case name. The third icon adjacent to the case name permits the relevant report to be added to a personalised list.
The Queensland Judgments website contains unreported judgments from the following Queensland Courts and Tribunals which may be browsed in this section:
A project is currently underway to digitise the entire collection of unreported judgments for each jurisdiction. For now, Judgments not presently published on this website may be viewed on the Supreme Court Library website by clicking here or in its print collection.
There are a number of options by which to browse these collections. The collections can be browsed collectively, by selecting ‘All Queensland Courts’, or alternatively by a specific Court or Tribunal.
When browsing all Queensland Courts and Tribunals collectively, there are also browsing options available.
Each specific Court or Tribunal also provides three browsing options.
The full text of any judgment in these lists can be viewed simply by clicking on the citation or the ‘text’ icon adjacent to the case name. This will initially display the full text of the judgment in its enhanced online format (HTML). However, the original format of the judgment (in PDF format) can also be viewed, downloaded and printed by clicking the PDF icon adjacent to the case name. The third icon adjacent to the case name permits the relevant judgment to be added to a personalised list.
The Supreme Court Library’s official collection of unreported judgments includes judgments from the following jurisdictions prior to 2015 on its website (www.sclqld.org.au):
The Queensland Judgments website allows online searches to be conducted over the full text of the judgment collection, and various categories of judgment data.
To obtain a brief introduction to online searching, please view the How to Search Video.
A more detailed explanation is set out below.
Quick Search is available on the Home page.
It provides the easiest way to find a specific judgment in our collection (by name or citation) or to find any judgment in our collection which contains a particular word or phrase.
There are three Quick Search options:
The first Quick Search option allows searches to be conducted for any word, or combination of words, which appear anywhere in the text of the judgment collection. Search Operators may be used to more precisely formulate a search.
To take a simple example, if the word "watch" is typed into the Quick Search box, followed by a click of the blue "Search" button, then the full text of the judgment collection will be searched for any judgment containing the word "watch" or any similar word using the same stem (eg "watching"). If more than one word is typed into the Quick Search box (without a Search Operator) then the search will be conducted for judgments with both of those two words (or any words arising from the same stem).
A search results screen will then appear, listing all judgments which were found to contain one or more hits.
This list of judgments appears in an order that seeks to display the Best Match first. However, the order can be reset by the user to a judgment date order – showing either Newest First or Oldest First.
In the list of judgments, a concise preview of each judgment is displayed. The preview displays basic information about each judgment (eg case name, citation etc) and shows the search hit (with highlighting) in context. The user can choose the number of hits to be displayed and the number of words to be shown surrounding each hit.
The user can view the full text of any of the listed judgments by clicking on the judgment’s case name. This will display the judgment with all hits highlighted. Using the navigation bar which appears at the top of the page, the user can quickly navigate from one highlighted hit to the next. If the judgment is relevant, it can be downloaded or printed (in PDF format) or added to a list (for registered users). When the user is finished viewing the judgment, they can return to the list of judgments by use of the back key on their web browser.
The second Quick Search option allows a particular case to be found by searching the database of case names.
Each judgment in our collection (whether reported or unreported) is published with an original case name (eg Smith v Ash) which has been entered into this database. If a Shortened Case Name has been assigned to the case, this is also recorded as an alternative name in the database.
A Quick Search of this database can be conducted by typing in either the whole case name (eg smith v ash) or part of the case name (eg smith), followed by a click of the blue "Search" button. In formulating the search, capitals are not required. Search Operators can be used.
A search results screen will then appear which will display a list of judgments which satisfy the terms of the search query. A search for "smith" will result in a list of all judgments with "smith" in the case name. Each judgment can then be viewed in full, downloaded or printed in PDF format (as required), or added to a list (for registered users).
The final Quick Search option allows a particular case to be found by searching the database of case citations.
Each judgment in our collection (whether reported or unreported) has a unique citation.
For example, judgments in the Queensland Reports each have a citation which incorporates the year of the volume, the volume number and the page number (eg [2000] 2 Qd R 1).
Similarly, unreported judgments have a citation which incorporate the year of the judgment, the court delivering the judgment and the number of the judgment (eg [2000] QCA 22).
Further information about citations can be found at Queensland Reports and their Citation and Queensland Judgments and their Citation.
A Quick Search of this citation database can be conducted by typing in either the full citation (eg [2000] 2 Qd R 1) or the essential elements of the citation (eg 2000 2 qd r 1), followed by a click of the blue "Search" button. In formulating the search, capitals and brackets are not required. Search Operators cannot be used.
A search results screen will then appear which will display the unique judgment which satisfies the terms of the search query. The judgment can then be viewed in full, downloaded or printed in PDF format (as required), or added to a list (for registered users).
Where a more complex search is required (eg to limit the number of results), an Advanced Search option is available.
Advanced Search is available on the Search page.
This option allows users to make full use of the data and metadata systems on the website to allow more complex searches to be formulated.
The Advanced Search page has nine main fields. Each field is cumulative, so the search is limited to judgments which satisfy the criteria in all fields. In all field where free text may be used (other than the Citation field), Search Operators can also be used.
The nine fields and their operations are as follows:
Searches can be carried out on this website without the use of search operators.
A search for a single word (eg watch) will seek to find judgments which contain that precise word and similar words arising from the same stem (eg watching).
A search which simply lists a series of words (without double inverted commas) (eg watch house) will seek to find judgments which contain all of those precise words or similar words arising from the same stem (eg watching, houses, housing etc).
To add greater precision or flexibility to the search, the following standard search operators can be used:
All successful searches on the Queensland Judgments website produce a search results page.
At the top of the page, a summary of the search requested is set out – together with a statement of the number of judgments which the search has returned.
A numbered list of these judgments is then displayed. This list may extend over a number of pages.
The default settings of the website:
Most of these default settings can be reset, by registered users, to suit their own preferences (My Profile).
From the search results page, the search criteria can be edited by clicking on the Edit Search button. This displays all the Advanced Search fields (with existing search criteria shown). These fields can then be edited, and the blue Search button clicked, to undertake an edited search.
Alternatively, the search results can be filtered on the search results page. By clicking the Filter Search button, the search results are categorised by collection (whether reported, unreported or starred), by court and by the decade in which the judgments were delivered. A set of check boxes can then be used to filter the search results to focus upon the most relevant authorities.
The full text of each judgment listed can be accessed simply by clicking the case name or citation.
This website allows users to order their search results by Best Match or seek to display only Best Hits.
This ranking system is based upon the application of the caseRANK™ algorithm, which seeks to identify those judgments whose measurable characteristics seem most likely to have relevant search results.
To assist users in making appropriate use of this ranking system, the key criteria may be briefly outlined. They are:
In undertaking legal research, it is often convenient to compile lists of relevant authorities.
This facility is available on the Queensland Judgments website to registered users. The facility requires registration, so that lists can be saved to a particular registered user and subject to password protection.
A new list can be created and named:
Once a list has been created, any judgment can be added to the list:
These lists will be saved to our system and will be accessible only to those who log in to the website using the same registered email address and password as the creator of the list.
The lists may be deleted by visiting the My Lists page.
Lists are not accessible once a user’s registration on the website is terminated. They may then be deleted.
The Queensland Judgments website contains a new information service to assist in identifying the key authorities concerning the meaning and operation of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld).
The UCPR Digest was originally prepared by Mr Lee Clark (Barrister) and a team of researchers.
This team has reviewed all Queensland judgments concerning the UCPR, with a view to identifying the key decisions which define the governing principles.
These decisions have been listed, and the governing principles concisely stated, in a digest of authorities arranged by UCPR rule.
Online links allow the full text of most decisions to be easily accessed.
The UCPR digest is updated periodically to refer to those judgments selected for inclusion by the Editors and Practice Decisions Editor of the Queensland Reports.
All information provided by users upon registration may be updated, at any time, by visiting the My Profile page. The link to this page is visible to registered users, who are logged in, in the website header.
A registered user may also adjust a number of default settings on this website by visiting the My Profile Page. The settings which can be adjusted are:
A registered user may create new lists or delete lists by visiting the My Lists page. The link to this page is visible to registered users, who are logged in, in the website header.
A registered user may terminate their registration, at any time, by visiting the My Profile page.
The reports and judgments on this website commonly refer to statutes and case law which are available on external websites.
It is intended that many of these references will be directly linked to the full text of these materials. Plans are also in place to link each report or judgment which appears on this website to a range of reputable online case citators.
For present purposes, however, a list of convenient links is provided.
The principal source of Queensland legislation (including historical materials from 1963) is the website of the Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel – www.legislation.qld.gov.au.
The 1962 reprint of Queensland Statutes is available on the SCLQ website - https://www.sclqld.org.au/queensland-statutes-1962-reprints
The 1936 reprint of Queensland Statutes is available on the QUT Library website - http://digitalcollections.qut.edu.au/collections/qld-law/.
The principal source of Commonwealth legislation (including historical materials) is the Australian Government’s Federal Register of Legislation website – www.legislation.gov.au. website – www.comlaw.gov.au.
The principal Australian case citators are:
The principal source of Australian authorised reports are the subscription-based legal websites:
Some historic reports may be found on www.austlii.edu.au.
The New South Wales Council of Law Reporting publish a set of New South Wales Law Reports (from 1985) at www.nswlr.com.au. The Victorian Council of Law Reporting authorise the publication of a set of Victorian Reports (from 1957) on www.victorianreports.com.au.
Substantial collections of Australian unreported judgments can be found on both subscription-based and free websites:
Please find here a paper entitled "A brief note about law reporting" by John McKenna KC prepared with the assistance of the Consultative Council of Australasian Law Reporting (CCALR).
The Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for the State of Queensland is a charitable institution. It was established in 1907. The ICLRQ is controlled by a Council comprising three barristers and three solicitors appointed annually by the Judges of the Supreme Court, together with three ex officio members (the Attorney-General, the Solicitor-General and the Registrar of the Supreme Court). The ICLRQ is responsible for publishing the authorised reports of the Supreme Court of Queensland.
The Supreme Court of Queensland Library is Queensland’s principal legal research library. It is under the control of a statutory body, the Supreme Court Library Committee, which comprises representatives of the Supreme, District and Magistrates Courts, together with representatives of the legal profession and the Attorney-General. The SCLQ is responsible for publishing an official collection of the judgments of most Queensland courts and tribunals.
2018
The object of the Queensland Judgments website is to publish, on behalf of the principal courts and tribunals of Queensland, an authoritative, complete and functional collection of Queensland case law (including the Queensland Reports) which can be made available to the community free of charge.
There is a full set of the authorised reports of the Supreme Court of Queensland, a full set of the unreported judgments of the Supreme Court of Queensland (from 2002), all other Queensland Courts and Tribunals (from 2015), and a new digest of key decisions concerning the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld).
Much of this collection is presently available only in print format. It is a time-consuming and technically difficult task to convert this material to an accurate and fully searchable online database. This work is being progressively undertaken over time.
No
Yes. Please read the Terms.
No. A substantial part of the website can be used without the need for registration. However, to obtain access to the Queensland Reports and to a range of personalised features of this website, registration is required. Registration is a simple process, but is required to provide each user with password-protected access to their personalised lists and other settings. It is also required to confirm that the user agrees to the Terms of Use of this website.
We would suggest that you watch our Getting Started Video.
We have outlined the main features of the website in our Key Features Video.
We have explained how to use the search functions on the website in our How to Search Video.
You can email us for help during normal office hours.
If you have a question about technical issues with the website, please email [email protected].
If you have a question about legal research you wish to conduct on the website, the Supreme Court Library research desk can be contacted on [email protected].
If you wish to report any errors or omissions on the website, or suggest improvements, please email [email protected].
You can email us for help during normal office hours.
If you have a question about technical issues with the website, please email [email protected].
If you have a question about legal research you wish to conduct on the website, the Supreme Court Library research desk can be contacted on [email protected].
If you wish to report any errors or omissions on the website, or suggest improvements, please email [email protected].
All use of this website is subject to our Terms of Use. These include important disclaimers and other terms and conditions. Users are respectfully requested to read these terms before using this website. These terms were last updated on 1 March 2017.
This website is operated pursuant to our Privacy Policy.
The ICLRQ and the SCLQ wish to thank the Judges, Registrars and staff of the Supreme Court of Queensland, and the staff of the Supreme Court Library, for their ongoing assistance in the publication of this website.
We also wish to thank the team which is primarily responsible its day-to-day operation:
The ICLRQ and SCLQ also wish to extend particular thanks to the many others whose contributions made this website possible.
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