LEGENDcom

RESOURCE BOOK

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Introduction toLEGENDcom

CONTENTS
CONTENTS....................................................................................................................................... 2
Disclaimer...................................................................................................................................... 2

RESOURCE MATERIAL ................................................................................................................... 3

INTRODUCTION TO LEGENDcom .............................................................................................. 3

ATTACHMENT: LEGENDcom Tipsheets................................................................................... 7

Disclaimer
Every effort has been made to ensure that the material presented in this topic is accurate as at the
publication date shown. Nevertheless, this material is issued by the Victoria University and FCG
Corporate Pty Ltd on the understanding that:
Victoria University and FCG Corporate Pty Ltd, their officers, authors, or any other persons or
agencies involved in the preparation of this publication expressly disclaim all or any contractual,
tortious, or other form of liability to any person (purchaser or reader of this publication or not) in
respect of the publication and any consequences arising from its use, including any omission
made, by any person in reliance upon the whole or any part of the contents of this publication.
No person should act on the basis of the material contained in this publication without obtaining
advice relevant to his or her own particular situation and without considering and taking
professional advice as may be necessary.

© Victoria University & FCG Corporate Pty Ltd 2009

These materials are produced by FCG Corporate Pty Ltd on behalf of Victoria University for use on its
Australian Immigration Law courses. No persons shall copy or reproduce any parts of the materials herein
for any other purpose without express authorisation or permission.

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Introduction to LEGENDcom

RESOURCE MATERIAL
INTRODUCTION TO LEGENDcom
LEGENDcom is an electronic database of migration and citizenship legislation and policy documents which is available
by subscription. LEGENDcom is a powerful decision-support tool that is based on the LEGEND system used by staff
within the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), and can also be used by people, e.g. lawyers and
migration agents, who require access to the most up to date migration and citizenship legislation and policy in order to
provide advice to clients on migration or citizenship matters, or for undertaking research in migration..

For registered migration agents, the Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA) state that subscribing to
LEGENDcom is sufficient to meet the Code of Conduct requirement to hold a professional library. Any queries regarding
professional library requirements should be made directly to MARA.

LEGENDcom CONTENTS AND ACCESS

LEGENDcom contains current and historical versions of the following:
 Migration Act 1958 and associated Migration Regulations (since 1 September 1994)
 Citizenship Act 1948 and associated Citizenship Regulations (since 10 April 1997)
 Other Migration and Citizenship related legislation
 Procedures Advice Manual 3
 Migration Series Instructions
 Australian Citizenship Instructions
 Legislative Instruments (including Section 499 Directions and Gazette Notices).

Updates are made to LEGENDcom on an ongoing basis so that changes to legislation and other material are generally
available on the day they come into effect. LEGENDcom also contains fillable PDF versions (not all forms are fillable
electronically) of current departmental forms, which can be saved on the computer. The forms can be completed in more
than one session if necessary, and can be printed prior to lodgement. However, these forms cannot be submitted
electronically. They must be printed, signed, and submitted in hard copy.

LEGENDcom is accessible through the Internet 24 hour a day, and provides a powerful search engine which allows the
user to search across current and/or historical legislation and policy information at a set point in time. Searches can also
be refined for finding complex or specific information. Related legislation and policy documents are hyperlinked to each
other and pop-up boxes provide value-added information in the form of explanations, background, and links to related
information.

All students on the Graduate Certificate of Australian Immigration Law and Practice at Victoria University have access to
LEGENDcom through WebCT.

LEGENDcom SUBSCRIPTIONS

Purchasing a subscription
Purchase of a subscription is done initially through DIAC’s LEGENDcom online subscription service. However, it gives
the subscriber the option of paying for the subscription either online (preferred) or offline. Subscription for LEGENDcom
requires full payment for twelve months access in advance. Payment by instalments is not permitted.

Online payment can be made by credit card, and gives immediate access to LEGENDcom (except for Non-profit
Organisation or Library subscription where verification must first be made).

Offline payment can be made by cheque and will take considerably longer as some payment options may take 10
working days to clear after receipt by the department, in which case access to LEGENDcom will be available once
payment has been received and cleared and an invoice issued (except for renewal subscriptions).

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Introduction to LEGENDcom

Online subscriptions
Subscription
Description Cost in A$
Type
This subscription is for customers who wish to access the legislation,
1,340 plus 580 per
Full policy, and fillable forms.
secondary licence
Provides the same access as a Full subscription, but at a reduced
cost.

To be considered a non-profit organisation customers must show that

they do not charge fees for providing migration assistance and that 700 plus 580 per
Non profit
they assist those clients who would not otherwise have the option of secondary licence
accessing migration assistance. For more information on what
evidence is required to establish non-profit status contact the
LEGENDcom Help Desk.

This subscription is for customers who do not require the fillable

forms.
This version of the product contains legislation and policy only.
Secondary licences cannot be purchased with this subscription.
Limited 1,230
You should only select this subscription type if you are certain that no
more than one user needs to access LEGENDcom at any one time.

This subscription is limited to those libraries listed as a participating

deposit library on the Department of Finance and Deregulation’s
Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO)
website.
Library Free
This list includes State and Territory public libraries, the National
Library and university libraries.

DVD Version
A DVD version of LEGENDcom can only be purchased in addition to one of the online subscription types mentioned
above at a cost of AUD$280 per year. The DVD version enables a subscriber to access LEGENDcom when travelling
and may not have Internet access. The DVD has the same content and functionality as the online version; however,
DVDs are only produced three times a year (broadly in line with the department's major legislative change cycles). For
the most current legislation, policy etc., it is important to rely on the online version where possible as changes may have
occurred since the DVD was produced.

How many subscriptions are required?

Only one subscription is required per organisation. Each subscription includes a primary licence. More than one person
can share a licence as long as they do not access the product at the same time. Secondary licences can be purchased if
more than one person needs access to LEGENDcom at the same time (except Limited subscription, which includes only
a primary licence).

The subscriber needs to decide the number of people within the organisation who require access to LEGENDcom at
any one time. This will determine the total number of licences required for that organisation. For example, if five users
will need to access LEGENDcom at once, then one subscription including a primary licence and four secondary licences
will be required.

Renewal subscriptions
Four weeks before the LEGENDcom subscription expires, a renewal reminder notice will start to appear upon each
logon to LEGENDcom. If the subscription has not yet expired the user can either renew immediately or defer renewal

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Introduction to LEGENDcom

and go to the LEGENDcom product. If the user chooses to renew immediately then the new subscription will only
commence the day after the existing one expires, and the subscriber will keep the same Logon ID and password.

If the subscription has already expired then it needs to be renewed before the product can be accessed. A message
may appear: ‘You do not have a current active account for LEGENDcom’, in which case the subscriber will need to

TIPSHEETS
Tipsheets providing advice on how to use LEGENDcom are designed to assist new users and can be accessed in
LEGENDcom through the Help functions on the Homepage. Copies of the Tipsheets are also included here as an
attachment.

Tipsheet topics include:

 Overview – introduces the LEGENDcom product and its functionality
 Searching – outlines the Basic and Advanced search functions, and how to refine searches in LEGENDcom
 Menus – explains the functions of the LEGENDcom Menus and how they may help with navigating
 Copying and Printing – outlines the most effective ways to copy and print information from LEGENDcom
 Hints – provides tips on using LEGENDcom more quickly and efficiently

LEGENDcom HELP AND TRAINING

Information sessions on LEGENDcom are available FREE to all subscribers and prospective subscribers. The duration
of each session is approximately 2 hours. Face-to-face sessions are scheduled from time to time and telephone
sessions are available upon request.

When face-to-face sessions are scheduled an announcement is posted on the LEGENDcom Homepage and the
proposed dates advised. Places will be offered on a first come first serve basis. The number of sessions conducted will
depend on demand. Early registration allows sufficient time to finalise session numbers, date and time (note dates may
be subject to change depending on room availability and attendee numbers). Once numbers are finalised the
LEGENDcom Help Desk will advise by email of the session date, time and venue

Introductory information sessions provide practical information and techniques that can be applied in LEGENDcom daily
use. Sessions cover such topics as navigating and searching in LEGENDcom and using fillable forms, and are designed
for new users interested in gaining a basic understanding about LEGENDcom as well as current users who want to
refresh their skills.

Intermediate information sessions are for users who want to further develop their skills.

Alternatively the LEGENDcom Help Desk can provide training by telephone. These sessions include similar content to
face-to-face information sessions. They can also be customised for the needs of the user. A telephone information
session can be organised by contacting the LEGENDcom Help Desk. Such sessions need to be booked in advance.

The LEGENDcom Help Desk is manned by DIAC staff and can assist with technical support, subscription queries, and
other questions concerning use of the product. The LEGENDcom Help Desk operates between 08.30 and 17.00 hours
(AEST) Monday to Friday (excluding Canberra Public Holidays), and will respond to messages left after 17.00 (AEST) on
the next working day.

Email: legend.com@immi.gov.au

Telephone:
Australia (toll free): 1800 008 717
Outside Australia: 61 2 6264 1584

HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

The minimum hardware requirements in order to access LEGENDcom are:
 Standard machine with 366 MHz Pentium II compatible (750 MHz Pentium III compatible recommended)
 128 MB RAM Super VGA (1024 x 768) monitor with 16-bit colour (256 MB RAM recommended)
 Internet connection (broadband recommended)
 Mouse or compatible pointing device

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Introduction to LEGENDcom

Apple Macintosh and Linux systems

LEGENDcom recommend subscribers use Microsoft Windows based PCs as only limited technical support is provided
to those using Macintoshes or Linux. However, a number of clients have been able to access the product successfully
through Macintosh or Linux systems. Before purchasing a LEGENDcom subscription, it is recommended that a test be
conducted to see whether the computer system can support LEGENDcom by testing the sample free version, available
through the link
https://www.ecom.immi.gov.au/subscription/legendcom/NXT/gateway.dll?f=templates&fn=default.htm$vid=
legendcom:Sample$NPUSERNAME=SampleUser

Internet Browsers
To ensure security and privacy of information, the LEGENDcom site uses a secure protocol (HTTPS) for all
transmissions of personal data between the user’s browser and the site. Hence the browser must be able to support
HTTPS for the establishment of a secure connection using 128-bit encryption. If the browser does not support this level
of encryption, then the connection will not be established and the user will not be able to access or submit a subscription
for LEGENDcom. If the user’s browser does not support the secure protocol (HTTPS), then the browser needs to be
updated in order to access LEGENDcom.

LEGENDcom supports the following browsers:

 Netscape Navigator 6.0 or later
 Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or later Service Pack 2 with Java Plug-in v1.3.1; Java and cookie support must
be enabled

PDF Reader
LEGENDcom includes Adobe fillable forms that can be saved and completed offline. To save the fillable forms and the
data you have entered you need to have Adobe Reader 6.0 or better. Adobe Reader is available by visiting the Adobe
website and following the instructions for downloading the latest version.

Java
If LEGENDcom is opened but the Table of Contents is inaccessible (i.e. the grey area on the left of the screen is blank),
this is probably due to Java not being installed on the computer.

If Java is not installed, LEGENDcom can still be accessed by clicking on the HTML tab at the top of the Table of
Contents (the grey area to the left of the screen). Alternatively, it is recommended that the Java component be
downloaded direct from the Java website. (We recommend downloading Java by selecting the 'Manual Download' link at

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ATTACHMENTS
ATTACHMENT: LEGENDcom Tipsheets

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Introduction to LEGENDcom - ATTACHMENTS

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