Common law
The common lawso named because it was "common" to all the king's courts across Englandoriginated in the practices of the courts of the English kings in the centuries following the Norman Conquest in 1066. The British Empire spread the English legal system to its historical colonies, many of which retain the common law system today. These "common law systems" are legal systems that give great precedential weight to common law, and to the style of reasoning inherited from the English legal system.
Law of Australia
"Common law" in Australia, like in other former British colonies is the body of law developed from thirteenth century England to the present day, as case law or precedent, by judges, courts, and tribunals. However, after over a century of federation, there is a substantial divergence between English and Australian common law.