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AustLII
What it is
AustLII is a free online library of Australasian legal materials, including cases, legislation, treaties, law journals, law reform reports, and other content. Its collections cover Australia and New Zealand, including New Zealand material from the New Zealand Legal Information Institute. Users can search databases together or separately, select a jurisdiction, or search an individual database. Search syntax includes Boolean connectors, proximity operators, truncation, and phrase searches. The integrated LawCite citator follows citations to Australian cases, journal articles, and other materials across AustLII and collaborating international legal information institutes. Document pages offer print, download, and cited-by links. AustLII describes its responsive site as designed for current device types. Its training materials name law librarians, academic researchers, legal practitioners, government officers, and policy advisors among its audiences, and it has offered free training sessions for people moving to the site. The service was established in 1995 by the law faculties of UTS and UNSW and is supported by the AustLII Foundation Ltd.
For and against
For
- Free access to cases, legislation, treaties, and journals.
- Search across databases or narrow by jurisdiction.
- LawCite tracks citations across AustLII and partner institutes.
- Document pages include print, download, and cited-by links.
Against
- Annual tables of contents may be unavailable for some databases.
- Alphabetical tables of contents may be unavailable for some databases.
The verdict
AustLII brings a broad set of Australasian legal materials together with flexible search and citation tools at no charge. Readers should note that some databases may lack annual or alphabetical tables of contents.
Who it suits
AustLII suits legal practitioners, law librarians, academic researchers, government officers, and policy advisors looking for public legal materials. It also serves readers searching Australian and New Zealand collections.
Plans and prices
AustLII public legal information library
Free access to public legal materials
Read 7 Oct 2026 · austlii.edu.au
On the record
- Collections
- Its databases include cases, legislation, treaties, law journals, law reform reports and other content.austlii.edu.au · read 7 Oct 2026
- Document tools
- Document pages provide links including print, download and cited-by functions.www5.austlii.edu.au · read 7 Oct 2026
- LawCite
- The integrated LawCite citator tracks citations to Australian cases, journal articles and other content across AustLII and collaborating international legal information institutes.austlii.edu.au · read 7 Oct 2026
- Limits
- The user guide notes that annual and alphabetical tables of contents may not be available for some databases.austlii.edu.au · read 7 Oct 2026
- Mobile access
- AustLII describes its website as responsive and designed for use across current device types.www5.austlii.edu.au · read 7 Oct 2026
- Organization
- AustLII was established in 1995 by the law faculties of UTS and UNSW and is supported by the AustLII Foundation Ltd.classic.austlii.edu.au · read 7 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- AustLII provides free online access to Australasian legal materials.austlii.edu.au · read 7 Oct 2026
- Scope
- AustLII includes New Zealand content from the New Zealand Legal Information Institute.austlii.edu.au · read 7 Oct 2026
- Search
- Users can search databases together, separately, by jurisdiction or individually.austlii.edu.au · read 7 Oct 2026
- Search syntax
- AustLII search supports Boolean connectors, proximity operators, truncation and phrase searches.austlii.edu.au · read 7 Oct 2026
- Training
- AustLII has offered free training sessions to support users transitioning to its website.www5.austlii.edu.au · read 7 Oct 2026
- Users
- AustLII training materials identify law librarians, academic researchers, legal practitioners, government officers and policy advisors among its intended audiences.classic.austlii.edu.au · read 7 Oct 2026
