Access to archival records is governed by the Archives Act 1983. Under the Act you have a right of access to most Commonwealth government records that are over 30 years old. The definition given in the Act provides that records are in the open access period when a period of 30 years has elapsed since the end of the calendar year in which they came into existence (for example, records created during 1977 entered the open period on 1 January 2008). A 50 year access rule applies to Cabinet notebooks (see Fact Sheet 128 – Cabinet notebooks) and a 99 year rule applies to census records.
The Act applies to all records except those of the Courts, some records of the Parliament [1], some records of governors-general (eg correspondence with the monarch) and some records held by other national collecting institutions such as the Australian War Memorial and the National Library of Australia. You have a right of access to all other records over 30 years old, including those held by government agencies.
Under the Archives Act all records are available for public access after 30 years unless they contain information that falls into certain exemption categories that are defined in section 33 of the Act. There are 16 exemption categories (see Fact Sheet 46 – Why we refuse access) and information that falls within them is said to be exempt information. Before the Archives releases records for public access it examines them to ensure that they do not contain exempt information.
Most records (97.5%) are wholly released for public access while 2% are released with some exempt information deleted. Only 0.5% of records are wholly withheld because they consist entirely of exempt information.[2] Most of the information exempted is withheld to protect personal privacy; defence, security and intelligence sensitivities are the next most common reason for exemption.
Certain Archives staff are delegated under the Act to examine records and make decisions about whether they can be released. Sometimes this is done in consultation with departments and agencies.
Under the Archives Act we are required to release as much information as possible. If you have concerns about information that has been released, contact the Director, Reference and Information Services, National Archives of Australia (PO Box 7425, Canberra BC ACT 2610).
While most examination is completed within a month, it may take up to 90 days and sometimes longer to examine some files. We will let you know if there are delays. If we have not given you a decision within 90 days we are deemed to have refused you access and you may appeal (see Fact Sheet 12 – What to do if we refuse you access).
If the records that you have applied to see are exempted from public access, either in part or in whole, we will send you a written statement of reasons which tells you what information has been exempted, the exemption category that applies and why it applies. Details of all records containing exempt information are listed on the Archives online database RecordSearch. The ‘Access decision' will show CLOSED or OPEN WITH EXCEPTION and the ‘Reason for restriction’ will give the exemption category or categories under which we have exempted the information.
You can apply to have the decision reviewed by the Archives. If we confirm the decision you may appeal to the independent Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) to have our decision reviewed. See Fact Sheet 12 – What to do if we refuse you access for more information.
You only pay if you want copies of records (see Fact Sheet 51 – Copying charges). There is no charge for obtaining access or for applying to us to review our decision. If you appeal to the AAT an application fee applies.
The information we exempt from public access falls into two broad areas:
Personal information – Most personal information has lost all sensitivity after 30 years but some may require exemption for at least the lifetime of the individual (eg medical histories or details of personal relationships).
Information about the security of the Commonwealth and its residents – Information is withheld if its disclosure could adversely affect Australia's defence, security or international relations (eg details of the design and construction of weapons, or records about intelligence-gathering, or information passed to the Australian Government in confidence by a foreign government).
More information is provided in Fact Sheet 46 – Why we refuse access.
Information about how to obtain access to records and how to appeal against our refusal of access is provided in:
updated June 2009