AustLII vs GovInfo
AustLII
austlii.edu.auGovInfo
govinfo.govSide by side
| Figure | AustLII | GovInfo |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Legal Research Software | 7.9 (#11) | 7.8 (#13) |
| Founded | 1995 | 2016 |
| Mobile access | AustLII describes its website as responsive and designed for use across current device types. | GovInfo uses responsive web design and says no app or separate mobile URL is needed to use it on mobile devices. |
| Purpose | AustLII provides free online access to Australasian legal materials. | GovInfo provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government. |
Plans
In their own words
AustLII
AustLII is a free web library for Australasian legal information, established in 1995 by the law faculties of UTS and UNSW and supported by the AustLII Foundation Ltd. Its collections include cases, legislation, treaties, law journals, law reform reports, and other legal content from Australia and New Zealand, including New Zealand material from the New Zealand Legal Information Institute. Users can search all databases together, search them separately, filter by jurisdiction, or work within one database. Search syntax includes Boolean connectors, proximity operators, truncation, and phrase searching. The integrated LawCite citator follows citations to Australian cases, journal articles, and other materials across AustLII and collaborating legal information institutes. Document pages offer print, download, and cited-by links. The responsive site is intended for current device types. AustLII identifies law librarians, academic researchers, practitioners, government officers, and policy advisers among its users.
GovInfo
GovInfo is a free web and API service providing public access to official publications from all three branches of the U.S. Federal Government. Users can browse by alphabet, category, date, committee, or author, and search publication metadata. The API exposes content and metadata in self-describing packages, while selected collections offer machine-readable bulk files such as XML with schemas, stylesheets, and guides. Searches cover case law, statutes and regulations, and legal commentary, including opinions from more than 100 U.S. courts. PDF files receive digital signatures and a visible authenticity seal that can be checked in Adobe Acrobat or Reader. The preservation repository keeps at least two geographically separate archival copies, weekly backups, a standby recovery instance, virus scanning, and fixity checks; GPO reports ISO 16363:2012 certification from December 28, 2018. The responsive site works on mobile without a separate app or URL. A public-preview MCP server supports integrations with large-language-model workflows. Full text is limited to publications stored on GovInfo.