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publications.gov.au - Access to Australian Government publications

Obtain an Australian Government Publication

Current Publications

Australian Government agencies are responsible for the production and distribution of the publications that they create. The Publications.gov.au website aims to assist citizens to find publications and/or information on how to obtain the publication on the website of the publishing agency; however, it does not directly sell or otherwise provide publications to the public.

Australian Government agencies are active online publishers. To ensure that the searchable index is as complete as possible, AGIMO uses advanced web technology to provide a searchable index of all content found on Australian Government websites.

The Publications.gov.au Search for a Publication also includes a catalogue of Australian Government publications held by Australian libraries. This catalogue allows users to find libraries that have copies of the publications they are seeking. The library catalogue is kindly provided by the National Library of Australia.

The Publications.gov.au website is managed on behalf of the Australian Government by the Australian Government Information Management Office, a business group within the Department of Finance and Deregulation.

Older and Out of Print Publications

Copies of out of print publications held by libraries can be found by using the Search for a Publication. This searches the catalogue of Australian Government publications held by Australian libraries. The National Library of Australia provides a Copies Direct Service to get copies of books, articles, chapters of books, photographs, pictures, maps, etc. You may also be able to acquire out of print publications through second hand book dealers.

Electronic publications that are no longer held on the publishing agency's website may be available through PANDORA, Australia's web archive of online publications.

Australian Government Publishing Service (AGPS) Publications

The Australian Government Publishing Service (AGPS) operated from July 1970 to 1997 and had overall responsibilities for Australian Government publishing and printing. In October 1997 the production facilities of AGPS, including the Government Printing Office, were sold to CanPrint Communications Pty Limited. Printing, publishing and distribution then became the responsibility of each individual department or agency.

Unless stocks were retained by the author agencies or the titles were later republished by those agencies, titles published by the AGPS or the AGPS Press are no longer in print.

Commonwealth Copyright

For copyright queries regarding Australian Government publications, contact Commonwealth Copyright Administration (CCA). The CCA is responsible for the management of copyright in published materials on behalf of Commonwealth agencies.