The Archives' IPS information holdings

Who we are

The National Archives of Australia was established under the Archives Act 1983. It is a budget-funded agency within the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio, and is an Executive Agency under section 65 of the Public Service Act 1999.

The head of the Archives is the Director-General, a statutory position created under section 7 of the Archives Act. The Director-General is appointed by the responsible minister, the Hon Brendan O'Connor MP, Minister for Privacy and Freedom of Information. Stephen Ellis was appointed as acting Director-General in April 2011.

The Archives' head office, repository and exhibition spaces are in Canberra, and there is an office, repository and reading room in each state capital and Darwin. In some cities the Archives will co-locate its reading room facilities with other local institutions.

The Archives' website contains additional information, including the organisation chart and the employment agreement. You are welcome to contact us.

What we do

The roles and responsibilities of the Archives are set out in the Archives Act 1983. In that context, the Archives is funded by the Australian Government to achieve two outcomes:

Outcome 1:

Authentic, reliable and usable Commonwealth records through the provision of information management products and services to Australian Government agencies

Outcome 2:

Greater understanding of our heritage and democracy through preserving, describing and providing access to the national archival collection

The Archives achieves these outcomes through three programs:

Program 1.1 Delivering information management products and services to Australian Government agencies.

As Assistant Director-General, Government Information Management Branch, Margaret Chalker is primarily responsible for activities associated with delivering Outcome 1, including providing advice and practical assistance to agencies in records and information management, particularly in promoting integrated digital management of information, and implementing the disposal provisions of the Archives Act 1983.

Program 2.1 Securing, describing and preserving records of national archival value.

As Assistant Director-General, Operations & Preservation Branch, Stephen Ellis is primarily responsible for activities associated with delivering Program 2.1, including arranging transfer of archival records from agencies, documenting, describing, indexing and storing these records, as well as preserving and conserving records at risk of deterioration.

Program 2.2 Providing an accessible, visible and interpreted national archival collection.

As Assistant Director-General, Access & Communication Branch, Anne Lyons is primarily responsible for activities associated with delivering Program 2.2, including research facilities, websites, exhibitions, programs and events that help the public access, research and interpret the records held by the Archives.

The above programs are supported by National Coordination Branch (Assistant Director-General Karen Griffith) and Corporate Services Branch (Assistant Director-General Cheryl Watson). The organisational chart provides additional information about the Archives' structure.

Details of the resources available to the Archives through Government funding can be obtained from the Portfolio Budget Statements. The Archives reports on its achievements in its annual report. Plans and priorities for the future are outlined in the Archives' strategic plan.

Section 5 of the Archives Act 1983 provides that the Archives' functions include:

• developing and providing policy advice on managing Commonwealth records
• promoting and ensuring preservation of Commonwealth records for as long as they are needed
• providing personal and corporate records services for people or organisations closely associated with the Australian Government
• assembling and making available management and descriptive information about records and the current and former agencies responsible for them
• facilitating awareness and use of records by the public
• promoting archival research in Australia, and encouraging scholarly use of the National Archives collection. 

Under sections 5 and 6 of the Archives Act 1983, the Archives has decision making powers that can potentially affect members of the public in relation to the following matters:

• the determination of custodial and storage arrangements for Commonwealth records that are of enduring value
• the authorisation (with the concurrence of the agency whose records are involved) of the retention or destruction (after a specified period) of records
• the regulation of public access to records that are in the 'open access' period, in accordance with the Archives Act and in consultation with the agencies concerned
• the determination of the standards of reference and advisory services provided to the public, including reading room hours, levels of reference assistance and documentation provided
• the awarding of research grants for advanced research and professional development.

The following documents provide useful background information about the Archives generally, and the framework within which access to records is managed:

• Fact Sheets, which outline many of the Archives' policies, standards and services (particularly Commonwealth Records Series (CRS) System fact sheet);
• the Commonwealth Records Series (CRS) Manual, which provides the framework for the Archives' intellectual control of its collection; and
• the National Archives' annual report.

The following documents outline policies and procedures used by the National Archives:

• Freedom of Information Manual which relates to requests for access to records under the Freedom of Information Act 1982;
• Access Manual which relates to requests for access to records under the Archives Act 1983;
• Reference Services Manual which to a lesser extent relates to requests for special access to records under the Archives Act 1983;
• Special Access Arrangements which relates to requests for access to records under the Archives Act 1983;
• Disposal Authorities which authorise the destruction or other disposal of Commonwealth records (not all Disposal Authorities are available on the website);
• Why Records Are Kept: Directions in Appraisal which outlines the appraisal framework for Commonwealth records, including criteria for the selection of records as national archives;
• Preventing the Destruction of Significant Records which provides advice and guidance for circumstances where it may be appropriate for the National Archives to prevent the destruction of a group of records (a 'disposal freeze'); and
• How to apply which outlines how applications for research grants will be assessed.

Our reports and responses to Parliament

The Archives prepares an annual report for the Minister who tables the annual report in Parliament. The most recent annual reports are available here.

On 3 December 1998 the Senate adopted a recommendation of the Finance and Public Administration References Committee that varied the tabling requirements under the Senate Continuing Order No. 5 (the Harradine motion). Under the varied Order, agencies are now required to publish lists of files created, at half yearly intervals.

Routinely requested information

Through its Disclosure Log, the Archives publishes information contained in documents that the Archives has provided access to under the FOI Act.

Arrangements for public consultation

The FOI Act requires agencies to report whenever an agency administers or establishes a public consultation arrangement in the course of developing a specific policy proposal, including how and to whom a comment may be submitted by members of the public.

• The Archives currently does not have any proposals or arrangements that are relevant to this FOI Act requirement.
• If circumstances change, the Archives will publish information on this page.

Separately from the above requirements of the FOI Act, the Archives engages with stakeholders on a regular basis.

The Archives holds consultative forums in each state and territory.

• Meetings of consultative forums are chaired by the Director of the Archives' office in each state or territory, and include historians, genealogists, and representatives from various community groups.
• Through consultative forums, stakeholders articulate community views and expectations, and contribute to decisions that affect the Archives’ records and services.

The Archives also engages specifically with Indigenous stakeholders.

• The Archives' Northern Territory Aboriginal Advisory Group comprises representatives from the Northern Territory Stolen Generations Aboriginal Corporation, Central Australian Stolen Generations and Families Aboriginal Corporation, and community representatives from the Top End and Central Australia. The group meets biannually to discuss issues, practices, policies and services associated with access to Commonwealth records by Indigenous people.
• A similar Aboriginal Advisory Group exists in Victoria, and the Archives also has a relationship with Nunkuwarrin Yunti of South Australia.

Optional information to be published under the IPS

Under the FOI Act, agencies are encouraged to publish more than just the required categories of information. Therefore, consistent with advice from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, the Archives also publishes:

• Our priorities: corporate and strategic plans.
• Our finances: financial information; pay and grading structures; and contracts.
• Our lists: contracts and grants.
• Our data sets: The Archives currently does not have any data sets.
• If circumstances change, the Archives will publish information on this page.
• Our submissions: The Archives currently does not have any submissions.
• If circumstances change, the Archives will publish information on this page.

Routine reporting of the following information is a requirement of the government:

• Expenditure on legal services
• Grants

In addition, the Archives publishes Fact Sheets which outline many of the Archives' policies, standards and services.

Access charges for documents not available on the website

Some Archives documents are impracticable to publish online, such as pre-1999 annual reports.

A person seeking access to any of these, or other documents not discussed above, may contact the Archives' FOI contact officer to arrange access.

Charges may be imposed for making that information available. Charges will be consistent with charges in the Freedom of Information (Charges) Regulations 1982 (which generally apply to access requests under Part III of the FOI Act).

• Photocopy at 10 cents per page
• Copy (other than a photocopy) at $4.40 per page
• Copy of the document in the form of a CD or DVD will be charged at an amount not exceeding the actual costs incurred by the Archives in producing the copy
• Copy of the document to be sent to the applicant by post or delivered to the applicant will be charged an amount not exceeding the cost of postage or delivery

For copies of records accessed under the Archives Act please see Copying Charges.