Search tips
Contents
Types of search
There are multiple search functions on the website:
Simple search
The simple search looks for the exact text entered into the keyword parameter. Double quotes are not necessary to achieve an exact match. By default the search is limited to current Acts only. Use the advanced search to broaden the parameters.
Advanced search
The advanced search provides parameters to broaden the legislation categories to include, for example, subordinate laws, explanatory statements, bills as well as options to broaden the range of legislation versions to include repealed, as notified and all. Filters can be applied to narrow the results to legislation administered by a particular Minister or Directorate. There are 3 input types of Basic query, Boolean query and Expert query.
Other information
Actual words usedSearching looks for words actually used in the legislation, rather than searching by subject. For example, searching for divorce and dissolution marriage will return two different sets of results, although the subject may be the same.
Basic keywordsIf you enter words separated by spaces, the search will find documents that contain the exact match of the words ie, phrase. For example, searching for tree protection finds documents that contain the exact phrase tree protection. The Boolean query option should be used to find documents that contain both tree AND protection.
Not case sensitiveSearching is not case-sensitive, so the results will be the same whether you use capital or lower-case letters.
StemmingWord stemming can be turned on when using the Boolean query or Expert query options, meaning that variants of a word are included in the search, for example a search for govern will also find governs, governed, and governing. The title search in the ‘Browse legislation titles’ page has word stemming applied by default.
Boolean searchingBoolean operators AND, OR and NOT can be used to construct multiple queries in the Boolean query option. Those operators, and others in the Perceptive Enterprise Search Boolean operators list, can be used in the Expert query option to find the existence of terms within a document in relation to other terms.
Proximity searching
These operators find a word or phrase within a certain number of words of another word or phrase. For example, searching for peach w/10 cobbler finds documents that contain the word peach within 10 words of cobbler. For more information, see the Perceptive Enterprise Search Positional operators list.
ParenthesesParentheses (brackets) are ignored in the Basic query and Boolean query options. This is because in the Expert query option parentheses are part of the Perceptive Search queue syntax which is used for grouping search criteria. For more information, see the Perceptive Enterprise Search Precedence of operators and use of parentheses.
Wildcard symbolsThe wildcard symbol ? enables a single letter to be replaced, and the wildcard symbol * enables multiple letters to be replaced. For example, searching for appl? finds apply or apple, while appl* finds application as well. Avoid starting your search with a wildcard symbol. For more information, see the Perceptive Enterprise Search Special symbols.
Territory Plan
The Territory Plan is not searchable through the standard or advanced search. To search the Territory Plan you must search each document separately.