The passage of the Archives Amendment Bill 2008 through parliament last week is an important event for the National Archives.
Since the Archives Act 1983 came into operation, the interactions of government and the way information is recorded have changed dramatically. The passage of the Bill represents the single biggest legislative change to the Archives Act, and reflects recommendations for updating the Act made as far back as 1998.
While seemingly minor, the amendments to the Act are significant in that they modernise the legislation, and strengthen and clarify the role of the Archives in the modern technological environment.
The new legislation includes a broader definition of a ‘record’, granting the same status to electronic records as paper records. Other changes aim to ensure that electronic records are transferred to the National Archives before changes in technology render them inaccessible.
The changes are also timely in that October 2008 marked the 25th anniversary of the Archives Act 1983. The Archives celebrated the anniversary with a public event where an expert panel talked about how the Archives Act had served Australia over the past 25 years, as well as what changes need to be made to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Audio of the event is available online.
Until next time,
Ross Gibbs
Director-General
National Archives of Australia
28 October 2008
Read previous messages from the Director-General.