Victorian Government Commitment to Access to Legal Information

Good news from Austlii, which has had a rocky year since some of its core funding was cut off. There is a good explanation of just how the legal profession benefits in a letter from the Law Council.

From a Canadian perspective, Austlii has effectively supplanted the commercial services for our access to Australian law. It’s financial troubles are deeply troubling, and one hopes that Canberra will follow Victoria’s lead

The Australasian Legal Information Institute (AustLII) is to receive nearly $840,000 to expand the scope of Victorian legal information, such as legislation, decisions and interpretive material, that was available online and free to the community on its widely-used website.

“The project aims to make the free access to Victorian legal information through AustLII easier to use, more comprehensive and more sophisticated,” he said.

“This will significantly contribute to the Victorian operation of this online resource.”