NSW basics of law, commonwealth or state acts, university question

[abby walsh]

I know this is probably a dumb question, but i was wondering how you tell weather an act/rule is commonwealth or state act?. for example what would
Air Great Lakes Pty Ltd v KS Easter (Holdings) Pty Ltd Supreme Court of New South Wales [1989] 2 NSWLR 309
be classified as and why plus how was this information found? thank you for your help

 

[Rob Legat - SBPL]

First, what you’ve bolded: that is a case - not an ‘act/rule’.

In terms of cases, you look at the court If was heard in. Most state courts, such as the Supreme Court of NSW for this example, do not determine Commonwealth laws.

In terms of acts, they often will say so when properly quoted. For example the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) is a Commonwealth Act, while the Property Law Act 1974 (Qld) is a state Act of Queensland.

There are generally other clues as well, such as the Commonwealth acts having the Commonwealth Coat of Arms at their beginning, and the state ones having their own state coats of arms.