LexisNexis Announces Agreement with AustLII to Advance the Rule of Law and Access to Justice in the AI Era

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Agreement supports the next generation of AI-powered legal research for Australia’s free legal information service.

SYDNEY, July 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ – LexisNexis Australia and the AustLII Foundation today announced an agreement that will shape the future of public access to legal information in Australia. This agreement will strengthen the rule of law, broaden access to justice, and ensure Australia’s legal ecosystem keeps pace with the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

AustLII is a not-for-profit charity that provides free online public access to Australian legal information, serving private citizens, government, the courts, educational institutions and the legal profession. The agreement will enable AustLII to build world-class AI-enhanced research capabilities on the foundation of its comprehensive legal data collection.

Under the agreement, LexisNexis will support AustLII to accelerate the development of AI-enhanced legal research capabilities, helping ensure Australians continue to have free access to trusted legal information in an AI-enabled legal environment.

For LexisNexis, this reflects a deep commitment to the broader legal ecosystem, one that goes beyond commercial interests. A well-functioning rule of law benefits every participant in Australia’s legal community, and investing in the infrastructure that underpins access to legal information is central to that vision.

This agreement is to help AustLII develop new AI-assisted tools that make Australian legal information easier to discover, understand and navigate for citizens, courts, government, educators and legal professionals

"At LexisNexis, we believe that access to the law is a cornerstone of a just society. This agreement with AustLII reflects our commitment to supporting the future of free public legal information in Australia. It is about ensuring that AI advances the rule of law rather than undermining the power of these technologies available to every Australian. We are proud to stand alongside AustLII in this shared mission."
Carol Chris, Managing Director, LexisNexis Australia and New Zealand

"Free access to law" means something different in 2026 than it meant 30 years ago when we started AustLII. Our users have an expectation that AI will be used to enhance the research that they do using AustLII. With the support from LexisNexis, our aim is to build the highest quality AI resources on the foundations of AustLII’s comprehensive data collection."
Professor Andrew Mowbray AM, Executive Director, AustLII, UTS Law Faculty

"The LexisNexis contribution will allow AustLII to continue its core mission in the artificial intelligence era. AustLII will expand its role as an independent and trusted free access publisher. AustLII will continue to serve the needs of all of its users including private citizens, government, the courts, education and the legal profession."
Professor Philip Chung AM, Managing Director, AustLII, Macquarie Law School

"I am delighted by the contribution from LexisNexis to support AustLII and the rule of law in Australia. I also wish to thank all of AustLII’s existing contributors and note the importance of everyone’s contributions in maintaining, expanding and enhancing the AustLII service. In particular, I would like to thank UTS for its ongoing support and for hosting AustLII’s facilities."
Mr Ian Govey AM, Chair, AustLII Foundation

Australia has one of the finest legal systems in the world, and for over three decades AustLII has been a quiet but essential pillar of that system. LexisNexis is committed to ensuring that this not only endures but grows stronger in the AI era. This agreement is one of the most meaningful contributions that can be made to the health of Australia’s legal ecosystem. 

About LexisNexis AI Development
LexisNexis prioritizes a customer-driven AI innovation approach that solves complex problems and enhances value. The company employs over 4,000 technologists, data scientists, and legal experts to develop safe, purpose-built solutions with human oversight in line with RELX Responsible AI Principles. Backed by advanced encryption and privacy technology, its global technology platform seamlessly integrates the latest AI advancements, including agentic AI, legal-tuned models and a proprietary framework for the development of legal-tuned agents, within a multi-cloud infrastructure. This enables high model performance and authoritative responses anchored in comprehensive legal content, with validated citations powered by Shepard’s^®. Document Management System (DMS) integration personalizes and grounds responses in a customer’s own documents. The company’s multi-model approach selects the best AI model for each use case, supported by partners AWS, Anthropic, Microsoft, Mistral, and OpenAI. 

About LexisNexis Legal & Professional
LexisNexis^® Legal & Professional provides AI-powered legal, regulatory, business information, analytics, and workflows that help customers increase their productivity, improve decision-making, achieve better outcomes, and advance the rule of law around the world. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis^® and Nexis^® services. LexisNexis Legal & Professional, which serves customers in more than 150 countries with 11,900 employees worldwide, is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers.

About AustLII
AustLII Foundation is a not-for-profit charity that provides free online public access to Australian legal information. AustLII is hosted by the University of Technology Sydney and is committed to promoting the rule of law and improving access to justice across Australia and internationally.

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