The timeline is divided into Ancient History and Recent History. The 18 main topics, are divided into four sections, Culture, History, Issues and Society. Each of the main topics has an alphabetical list of headings for entries which can be searched. An ingenious navigation tool is the shield, the symbol of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. This provides an easy 4 way option.
Every navigation is recorded, allowing a quick return to a previous search.
There is no single highly detailed index to the whole work if an index is defined as a detailed alphabetical key to names, places, and topics in a book with reference to their page number, etc. The printed version has an Entry Guide comprising lists of entries under subject, region, state, tribal groups, and author. This means that indexing is only at the level of entry heading. These same lists underlie the CD-ROM navigation tools. It was a deliberate decision on David Horton's part to choose a sophisticated 'See also' reference system and ordered lists of entries and not an index.