Archived websites
About the Australian Web Archive
Just as traditional libraries collect books and manuscripts, the Australian Web Archive gathers online content, including websites, webpages, and digital documents such as PDFs. While most social media is not archived, some Twitter accounts are included.
The AWA allows users to explore previous versions of websites or find sites that no longer exist. Since websites change frequently, the archive captures snapshots in time, with many sites collected once per year.
Browse the Australian Web Archive in Trove
In the collection
- Historical websites – Past versions of websites, including those no longer available online.
- Government websites – Regularly archived Commonwealth Government websites.
- News and organisational sites – Capturing online news outlets, institutions, and community groups.
- Personal and social sites – Selective archiving of blogs and other digital publications.
The AWA consists of three main collections:
- The Australian Government Web Archive – A collection of Commonwealth Government websites archived multiple times per year.
- The Australian Domain Harvest Collection – Covering more than 80% of the AWA, this harvests Australian (.au) domains annually.
- The PANDORA Archive – Established in 1996, it selectively archives sites based on themes or events, such as election campaigns.
How we collect web content
We collect online material as part of its mission to document Australian life. Under the Copyright Act 1968, legal deposit requirements were expanded in 2016 to include digital publications.
Web content is harvested automatically using crawler technology, which systematically scans and archives the .au domain. However, some websites block automated crawling, and some interactive elements may not function in archived versions.
Selection of Material for the AWA is carried out in accordance with the Library's Collection Development Policy.
Using the Australian Web Archive
You can explore the AWA collections through Trove. Websites can be searched by URL, keyword, or theme, offering a way to revisit Australia’s online history. Review the AWA collections by theme.