About research
Highly experienced researchers are available for all types of legal research.
If you need research on any legal subject, our team can help. As well as your research results, we will provide you with a clear summary of the resources we have consulted, including all the databases used and texts searched, and the search terms used.
Requesting research – contact your nearest library or use our online research request form.
- Auckland: auckland@nzlslibrary.org.nz, 09 304 1020
- Wellington: wellington@nzlslibrary.org.nz, 04 473 6202
- Canterbury: canterbury@nzlslibrary.org.nz, 0800 377 347 or 03 377 1852
Need help? See help information below.
Research charges
$40 per 15-minute unit
Urgent fee (within 4 hours)
Additional charge of $40
Photocopying/printing/scanning
30c per page (by staff)
Help
Deadline & delivery
Specify your deadline, and preferred delivery method: email PDF document, fax, courier, DX or post
Cap time
To ensure we meet your budget, we encourage you to put a cap on the time you would like us to spend on your research. We charge in 15-minute units. There are also charges for photocopying or printing, and delivery by post or courier. See above for details.
Charges for searching international databases, such as Westlaw, will be discussed with you before they are incurred.
Defining your research request
If you decide exactly what you require before making the request, the cost of the research will be less because the search is more specific. It is helpful to consider whether there are particular statutory provisions, regulations, rules, leading cases or legal terms relevant to your research problem. It is also useful to tell us if you want to limit the research by time frame (eg, cases in the last five years) or court level (eg, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court or Privy Council only).
You might want to ask us to search specifically for case law, texts, legislation, articles, precedents or definitions – though it’s worth keeping in mind that, even when you want cases, texts and looseleaf services can help you identify the leading decisions.
Our resources are most comprehensive in the NZ, Australian and UK jurisdictions. We also have Canadian material and a limited amount from other jurisdictions.
Once you have reviewed the material we provide to you, please don’t hesitate to call us to discuss the searches we undertook and any options for further research relating to the problem in question.
Sources you wish us to check and ones you have already checked
We are happy to discuss what sources we have and their coverage. If there are any specific sources that you would like us to refer to (eg, LINX, NZLR, Trapski’s Family Law or the Laws of New Zealand), please say so.
To avoid duplication of research, please tell us where you have already looked yourself.