Update: 13 JAN 2016 @ 10AM

This issue was resolved by a point fix PM 12 JAN 2015.

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We are currently experiencing an issue related to the Home Page or "Basic" search tool within Westlaw AU.

When specifying an operator in a query run via this tool, the operator may be ignored, or in some cases evaluated and returned as a component term of the search.

Operators are symbols used in search queries to perform certain actions, e.g.:

• crime /10 punishment
  • The "/10" operator will match against these terms using the specified proximity (number of terms)
• commercial & franch!
  • The "!" operator will match any variation of the term past the point of truncation, e.g. franchise, franchises, franchising

Incorrect evaluation of operators can mean that unpredictable and/or incorrect result lists are displayed to the user once their query has been processed.

Workaround: use the Advanced Search and/or product-level (e.g. FirstPoint) search templates if your query includes operators.

We will be releasing a point fix in early-to-mid January that will resolve this issue.

Please contact TechCare for any related questions or further clarification.

Thomson Reuters apologizes for any interim inconvenience caused.