Particular issues

In addition to considering regular statements provided in accordance with the Archives Act, the Council receives regular reports from the Archives on its activities in managing archival records and its role in ensuring the preservation of the essential current records of the Government.

Specific areas of focus for the Council during the year include the following.

Census 2001 – Time Capsule Project

The Council has long held the view that name-identified records of the population census should be preserved and, ultimately, made publicly available. Consequently, the Government's initiative, the Centenary of Federation Time Capsule Project, was of particular interest to the Council. This initiative allowed census respondents to determine whether their name-identified information would be retained and be made publicly available by the National Archives after 99 years. The Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Archives released information about participation rates in the Time Capsule Project on 20 June 2002. The national participation rate was 52.7 per cent - that is, 9 998 428 Australians elected to have name-identified data preserved. It is worth noting that 15.4 per cent of respondents did not answer this question, as it was not compulsory. This means that only 31.9 per cent of Australians opted out of the Time Capsule Project. The Council believes that the fact that more than half of census respondents elected to have their name-identified census information preserved is positive. The Council argues that the figure would have been higher had the question been framed in such a way that it required respondents to 'opt out' rather than to consciously 'opt in'.

Promoting recordkeeping

The Council strongly supports the work done by the Archives to promote good recordkeeping and to assist Commonwealth agencies to best position themselves to implement and maintain reliable recordkeeping. Without this work there is every likelihood that modern records will not be preserved for future generations.

Consequently, the Council was briefed about the redevelopment of the recordkeeping training offered to agencies. The Council probed the issue of agency attendance, seeking information about the agencies participating and the appropriateness of the staff representing them. The collaboration between the Archives and the Australian National Audit Office on the Assurance and Control Assessment Audit of recordkeeping was endorsed by the Council as a key strategy in raising the awareness of recordkeeping at the most senior levels in the Australian Public Service. The Council welcomed the Archives' forthcoming survey of recordkeeping, and suggested ways by which agency responses could be encouraged.

Given the contribution of the Archives, and of the Australian recordkeeping community as a whole, to the development of ISO 15489 Information and Documentation – Records Management, the Chairman was pleased to launch the International Standard in Australia on 16 October 2001 at the Museum of Victoria.

Amending the Archives Act to provide a better basis for recordkeeping

The Council has a keen interest in the operation of the Archives Act 1983 and advocates the strengthening of the legislation in key areas to provide a legislative basis for the recordkeeping role of the Archives. At the August 2001 and May 2002 meetings, the Council was provided with information about the consultation process for the proposed amendments and updates on progress.

Digitising the collection

The Council has championed the need to increase the public presence and community appreciation, and use, of the National Archives. The Council recognises that the digitisation on demand service is a most significant initiative in making the collection accessible to Australians wherever they may be. The 1.2 million images accessible on the Archives website constitute a remarkable achievement. The Council visited the digitising team to better understand the variety of material digitised and the processes involved.

Publishing program

The National Archives publishing program began in earnest in 1993. As the program nears the conclusion of its first decade, the Council considered a report on the program noting its range of achievements and discussing the major issues. The Council established a subcommittee to look at these issues in greater detail. The publishing program incorporates the Archives websites, which are the single most significant communication vehicle for the organisation. For this reason the Council took particular interest in evaluations of the websites and progress with implementing changes.

Exhibitions program

The Council also began a discussion of the exhibitions program, noting the number, variety and reach of exhibitions and considering several key questions about how best to identify and focus on the strengths of the collection.

Prime Ministers' Papers Project

The Council was briefed on the progress of the Prime Ministers' Papers Project. Members had the opportunity of reviewing a prototype of the website, Australia's Prime Ministers, hearing about its intended audience, and considering its content and functionality.

Bringing Them Home Index

In this final year of Government funding for the Bringing Them Home Index the Council was pleased to receive an overview of the project's achievements. Members were disappointed that some two years of work remains to be completed even though the four-year funding, provided by the Government in response to the 1995 Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's Bringing Them Home report, concluded on 30 June 2002. The Council has encouraged the Archives to continue the project, at a more modest pace, if at all possible.

Preserving Commonwealth records created in digital form

In August 2001, Council members received a presentation on the Archives' approach to the preservation of records in digital form. A proportion of the electronic records created by Commonwealth agencies will be selected for inclusion in the archival collection. The Council heard about the thinking underpinning, and the processes involved in, the conversion of these records from their proprietary format to an 'archival' format for long term preservation and access. The Council also discussed the approaches adopted by other organisations in Australia and overseas as it recognises that this is a major issue facing archives internationally.