Australia.gov.au
Encyclopedia
Australia.gov.au provides a single entry point to government in Australia, linking to information and services from around 900 Australian Government
websites, as well as selected State and Territory government resources. In addition, the site indexes over 4 million pages from Australia
n, State and Territory governments. The search service uses both metadata and full text collections to ensure australia.gov.au is a comprehensive government portal
. While its primary audience is Australian citizens, the site receives many visitors from outside Australia, especially intending tourists
and migrants
and people wishing to do business with Australia.
Australia.gov.au is owned and managed by the Australian Government Information Management Office
, a group within the Department of Finance and Deregulation. The development of australia.gov.au is part of the Australian Government’s ongoing commitment to make government information and services more accessible, more connected and easier to find.
Australia.gov.au receives over 600,000 visitors each month, and is linked to by over 12,000 web pages.
www.australia.gov.au was launched in February 2002 as the entry point to the Australian Government customer and subject portals. The Australian Government Portals Framework, traversing subject areas from business to families, underpinned the site.
There was no clear distinction between www.australia.gov.au and www.fed.gov.au and the existence of two Australian Government entry points caused confusion. In 2004, a new entry point was created by combining the best elements of each of the existing web sites. The new site continued to use the name www.australia.gov.au as this best reflected the Australian Government brand.
, Australian Taxation Office
, Bureau of Meteorology
and www.business.gov.au websites.
.
Government of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...
websites, as well as selected State and Territory government resources. In addition, the site indexes over 4 million pages from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n, State and Territory governments. The search service uses both metadata and full text collections to ensure australia.gov.au is a comprehensive government portal
Web portal
A web portal or links page is a web site that functions as a point of access to information in the World Wide Web. A portal presents information from diverse sources in a unified way....
. While its primary audience is Australian citizens, the site receives many visitors from outside Australia, especially intending tourists
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
and migrants
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
and people wishing to do business with Australia.
Australia.gov.au is owned and managed by the Australian Government Information Management Office
Australian Government Information Management Office
The Australian Government Information Management Office is a branch of the Australian Government. It was established on 8 April 2004, taking over some of the functions of the former National Office for the Information Economy ....
, a group within the Department of Finance and Deregulation. The development of australia.gov.au is part of the Australian Government’s ongoing commitment to make government information and services more accessible, more connected and easier to find.
Australia.gov.au receives over 600,000 visitors each month, and is linked to by over 12,000 web pages.
History
www.fed.gov.au was first launched in May 1998, providing access to all Australian Government information on the web through search, subject trees and indexes.www.australia.gov.au was launched in February 2002 as the entry point to the Australian Government customer and subject portals. The Australian Government Portals Framework, traversing subject areas from business to families, underpinned the site.
There was no clear distinction between www.australia.gov.au and www.fed.gov.au and the existence of two Australian Government entry points caused confusion. In 2004, a new entry point was created by combining the best elements of each of the existing web sites. The new site continued to use the name www.australia.gov.au as this best reflected the Australian Government brand.
Structure
Australia.gov.au has a number of features to make it easier to find government information and services:Australian Government Initiatives
Users can quickly find links to Australian Government Initiatives which are featured prominently on the front page of www.australia.gov.au.Search
The simple search function enables users to perform a search that offers a fast, current and comprehensive full-text search of approximately 4 million resources from over 900 Australian government web sites, plus government publications held in Australian Libraries.Browse Australian Government Information and Services
Users can drill-down within the browse structure to find what they are looking for. Users are able to browse for information and services by audience, (e.g. Australians Travelling; Businesses; Migrants; etc) and by subject, (e.g. Public Holidays, Pensions etc).Directories
Users can find specific Australian Government agency web sites using the A-Z list of Government sites or search using keywords to locate a link to the web site they are looking for. The Directories section also provides links to Parliamentary and Executive contacts and to the Government Online Directory which allows users to search or browse for Australian Government organisations, structure and key people.Government Media Release Service
Subscription based daily notification of current Australian Government media releases. This also includes an index and search function for all Australian Government media pages included in the service.Government Quicklinks
Provides links to popular Australian Government online resources such as the CentrelinkCentrelink
Centrelink is the trading name of the Commonwealth Service Delivery Agency , a statutory authority responsible for delivering human services on behalf of agencies of the Commonwealth Government of Australia. The majority of Centrelink's services are the disbursement of social security payments...
, Australian Taxation Office
Australian Taxation Office
The Australian Taxation Office is an Australian Government statutory agency and the principal revenue collection body for the Australian Government. The ATO has responsibility for administering the Australian federal taxation system and superannuation legislation...
, Bureau of Meteorology
Bureau of Meteorology
The Bureau of Meteorology is an Executive Agency of the Australian Government responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. It was established in 1906 under the Meteorology Act, and brought together the state meteorological services that existed before then...
and www.business.gov.au websites.
State and Territory Governments
Includes links to State and Territory Government entry points.FAQs, Help and Contact page
If site users can't find what they are looking for they can send an inquiry via the FAQs, Help and Contact page.Awards
In March 2006, Australia.gov.au was awarded "Best Government Site" by Australian NetGuideAustralian NetGuide
Australian NetGuide was originally established in Australia by OzEmail as that Internet service provider's member publication. In 1998 a New Zealand company took over the publication. It was transformed into an A5 magazine targeting home internet users. Australian and New Zealand NetGuide magazine...
.