Ask Zoe – Australian Law

Use this when the user wants to keep going with a longer conversation about an Australian legal question on zoelaw.ai, or asks for a link to Zoe. Returns a link to the Zoe chat on zoelaw.ai, optionally starting with a short general topic. Do not use for anything that the other Zoe tools can answer first. Do not put names or personal details in the topic. General information only, not legal advice.

continue_in_zoe

Use this when the user has an everyday Australian legal problem, such as a rental bond, unpaid wages, a faulty product or refund, or a debt collector, and a plain-English explainer would help. The state or territory is optional: call the tool straight away and do not ask which state first. Returns up to three matching Zoe guides with a short summary, key points, sources and a link. Do not use for legislation text (use search_australian_legislation), for finding a lawyer (use find_legal_help), for non-Australian law, to draft a letter or other document, or to say whether the user should sue or would win. General information only, not legal advice.

find_zoe_guide

Use this when the user asks where to find a lawyer in Australia for a type of problem and has said a city or state, for example 'a tenancy lawyer in Perth'. Returns a short editorial list of law firms for that area and place, then free or low-cost options such as community legal centres. Listings are not paid and not endorsements. Do not use to compare or choose between firms, or for personal injury in Queensland (not listed). Do not use without a city or state. General information only, not legal advice.

find_legal_help

Use this when the user names a specific Australian decision by its neutral citation and wants to read it, for example '[1992] HCA 23', or when a search result needs opening. Returns the judgment text where Zoe is licensed to show it (long judgments continue with an offset), with the court, date, parties, links and source attribution; otherwise the details and an official court link if one is known. Do not use to search by topic or name (use search_australian_cases), for legislation (use get_legislation_section), or for non-Australian law. The text may not be the official version. General information only, not legal advice.

get_case

Use this when the user names a specific Australian Act and a section number, in any wording ('section 13B of the Privacy Act 1988', 's 51 of the CCA'), and wants to read or quote it. Prefer this over a topic search whenever both an Act and a section number are given. Returns the section text where Zoe is licensed to show it, with links and source attribution; otherwise a link to the official source. Do not use to search by topic (use search_australian_legislation), for case law (use get_case), or for non-Australian law. The text may not be the latest or official version. General information only, not legal advice.

get_legislation_section

Use this when the user wants to find Australian court decisions on a topic, by case name or by neutral citation, for example 'High Court cases on duty of care', 'Mabo v Queensland' or '[2019] FCA 495'. Returns up to five decisions with citation, court, date, parties, a short excerpt from the judgment and links to ZoeLaw and the official court source. Coverage today is mainly the High Court, the Federal Court and NSW courts and tribunals, with more courts being added; excerpts are shown only where Zoe is licensed to show the text, and other results are details only. Higher courts and more-cited decisions are listed first. Topic searches look through the full text of decisions in every court Zoe holds; use a few distinctive words rather than a whole sentence. Do not use for legislation (use search_australian_legislation), for non-Australian law, for finding lawyers (use find_legal_help), to predict who would win, or to apply a decision to the user's own situation. General information only, not legal advice.

search_australian_cases

Use this when the user wants to find which Australian Act, regulation or section covers a topic, for example 'which law covers returning a rental bond in NSW'. Also use it when the user asks whether there is a law about something and names no Act, as long as it is about Australia, an Australian state or city, or Australian federal (Commonwealth) law. Returns matching sections with titles, section numbers, short excerpts and links to ZoeLaw and the official source. Excerpts are shown only for jurisdictions where Zoe is licensed to show the text; other results are links. Do not use for case law or court decisions (use search_australian_cases), for non-Australian law, for finding lawyers (use find_legal_help), or to ask what the law means for the user's own situation. General information only, not legal advice.

search_australian_legislation