Commonwealth of Australia Gazettes – Fact sheet 22
Why use the Commonwealth Gazette?
Are you trying to establish:
- when a Commonwealth department, body, or commission was established?
- when, and on what subject, Orders in Council were made?
- when someone was appointed to, transferred within, promoted or resigned from the federal public service?
- when proclamations, public notices or circulars were issued about various subjects?
- when a Commonwealth Act and Regulations were assented to?
- when, and to whom, honours and awards were made?
- when tenders were called and contracts accepted by the Commonwealth?
- when tariff decisions were announced?
The Commonwealth of Australia Gazette may be the quickest way of finding out.
What is the Commonwealth Gazette?
The Gazette is a printed publication of the Commonwealth Government. The Gazette is the main publication through which the executive arm of government (as opposed to the legislature, that is the Parliament; and the judiciary, that is the courts) announces its decisions and actions of interest to the public.
Publication of the Commonwealth Gazette began well after the gazettes of the colonies. For example, the New South Wales and Western Australian Government gazettes were first issued in the 1830s. By 1873 when the Northern Territory Government Gazette began publication, all of the colonies and territories were publishing gazettes (the states and Northern Territory continue to do so).
The first Commonwealth Gazette was published on 1 January 1901. The Gazette is published weekly. Each gazette is numbered and each calendar year the numbering begins again at number 1.
Using the Commonwealth Gazette
The weekly instalments for any one calendar year are often bound into one or more volumes. An index is prepared for each year and is usually bound after the last gazette for December. There is no cumulative index to all Commonwealth gazettes.
The annual index is the best place to start. The way in which the indexes are structured and prepared has varied over the years. The first few times you use the gazettes it is worth taking time to look at the relevant index to understand the way it has been laid out and the headings, or indexable terms, it uses.
Changes to the Commonwealth Gazette
In 1974 because the gazette had become a very large and unwieldy publication it was split into four separate publications:
Public Service Gazette
The Public Service Gazette is published weekly and contains determinations under the Public Service Act, notices about examinations, vacancies, transfers and promotions within the Australian Public Service and services of the Australian Postal Corporation. Public Service gazettes have a PS before their number, eg PS42.
General Gazette
This gazette is now known as the Government Notices Gazette. It is published weekly and contains all legislation, proclamations and government department notices. These gazettes have a G or GN before their number, eg G17.
Special Gazette
A Special Gazette is issued if a notice requires urgent publication. The contents of special gazettes are normally distributed by inclusion in the Government Notices Gazette or one of the other gazettes as appropriate. These gazettes have an S before their number, eg S8.
Periodic Gazette
The Periodic Gazette contains lengthy notices of a non-urgent nature, for example, notices about holders of import licences and tariff quotas; notification by the Australian Securities Commission of intention to deregister defunct companies. The Periodic Gazette is issued irregularly. These gazettes have a P before their number, eg P22.
After 1974 the indexing of gazettes ceased to be comprehensive. Only notices in the government notices, special and periodic gazettes are indexed. Indexes are issued quarterly. Since 1974 the range of gazettes issued has varied and increased – it now includes issues titled business; Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC); tariff concessions; chemical; food standards; and Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA).
Where can you find Commonwealth gazettes?
The National Library of Australia, as well as state and territory libraries, and some university libraries, should hold copies of Commonwealth gazettes.
The Australian Government provides online access to Commonwealth gazettes, including the Government Notices Gazette and the Australian Public Service Gazette, as well as gazettes relating to specific subjects.
Comments or other feedback can be sent to archives@naa.gov.au
