Organisational overview

Overview

The National Archives was established under the Archives Act 1983. The Archives is a budget-funded executive agency within the Communications, Information Technology and the Arts portfolio. On 28 February 2001 the Governor-General made the Archives an executive agency under section 65 of the Public Service Act 1999.

Role and functions

The Archives maintains information about the structure of government and records created by Australian Government agencies, which form the archival resources of the nation.

The Archives therefore contributes to the maintenance and understanding of political, social and cultural values in Australia by:

promoting the role of records as evidence in supporting the rule of law;
supporting the effectiveness and accountability of government administration; and
preserving and providing access to documentation of the interaction between the Australian people and their government.

The Archives’ responsibilities are to:

play the leading role in the management of Commonwealth records;
make available to the public Commonwealth records more than 30 years old, with certain exemptions;
encourage and facilitate the use of the archival resources of the Australian Government; and
provide leadership in developing and coordinating the preservation and use of the archival resources of Australia.

Organisational structure

The Archives has offices in Canberra, all state capitals and Darwin. A list of addresses and contacts is at Appendix A.

The head of the executive agency is the Director-General, a position established under the Archives Act 1983. The Deputy Director-General position was created in 2004. The Director-General, Deputy Director-General and five Assistant Directors-General form the Executive, which is responsible for the overall management of the Archives. The Deputy and Assistants are each responsible for a branch of the Archives.

A Director heads each office of the Archives outside Canberra. Each is responsible for the effective management of the Archives and the implementation of national work programs at the state and territory level.

An organisation chart for the Archives, current at 30 June 2005, is shown at Figure 2.

Advisory Council

The National Archives of Australia Advisory Council, established under the Archives Act 1983, provides advice to the Minister and the Director-General on matters relating to the functions of the Archives. The Minister or Director-General may refer matters to the Council for advice. The Council makes its own annual report to the Parliament under the Archives Act. Its report is included in this publication.

A governance chart for the Archives, current at 30 June 2005, is shown at Figure 1.

Responsible Minister

Senator the Hon. Rod Kemp, Minister for the Arts and Sport

The Minister responsible for the Archives is Senator the Hon. Rod Kemp, Minister for the Arts and Sport. Under the Archives Act 1983 the Minister may give directions not inconsistent with the Act to the Director-General in relation to the exercise of his powers and the performance of his duties under the Act.

Outcome and output structure

Outcome

A national archival collection, preserved and accessible for all Australians; the creation and management of Commonwealth records that support accountable government.

Output 1.1

Enable and promote best practice in the management of government records from the point of creation for as long as required to support the needs of government and the people.

Output 1.2

Develop, manage and promote a visible, known and accessible national collection that engages and informs the community; and foster appreciation of the role of archives in society.

A summary of resources for the National Archives’ outcome is shown at Table 1.

Table 1 – Summary of resources for the National Archives’ outcome

	Budget* 2004–05 $’000	Actual 2004–05 $’000	Variation	Budget estimate** 2005–06 $’000
Administered expenses	0	0	0	0
Total administered expenses	0	0	0	0
Price of departmental outputs
Output 1.1 – Enable and promote best practice in the management of government records from the point of creation for as long as required to support the needs of government and the people.	35 888	28 723	-7 165	36 192
Output 1.2 – Develop, manage and promote a visible, known and accessible national collection that engages and informs the community; and foster appreciation of the role of archives in society.	52 623	43 085	-9 538	53 597
Revenue from government (appropriation) for departmental outputs	65 153	65 821	668	66 381
Revenue from other sources	23 358	5 987	-17 371	23 408
Total price of outputs	89 511	71 808	-16 192	89 789
TOTAL FOR OUTCOME (total price of outputs and administered expenses)	88 511	71 808	-16 692***	89 789

*	Full-year budget, including additional estimates.
**	Budget before additional estimates.
***	The variance primarily relates to the actual collection intake ($3.8m) being significantly lower than forecast ($21.9m).

Figure 1 – National Archives of Australia organisation governance chart as at 30 June 2005

Figure 2 – National Archives of Australia organisation chart as at 30 June 2005

Financial overview

Operating result

The Archives reported a net surplus of $2.988 million from ordinary activities in 2004–05, compared with a net surplus of $187.547 million in 2003–04. The surplus in 2003–04 included a fundamental error concerning valuation of the collections.

Revenue

Revenue decreased significantly compared to the 2003–04 financial year. Revenue for 2004–05 was at more normal levels.

Expenses

Expenses increased by 1 per cent from 2003–04 to 2004–05. A shift of expenditure between suppliers and employees occurred because some contractor expenditure was reclassified as employee expenses. Assets with a net book value of $2.1 million were disposed of in the 2004–05 period.

Borrowing cost expenses decreased as the Archives discontinued leasing IT equipment.

Assets and liabilities

Assets increased by 25 per cent in 2004–05 primarily due to:

an increase in cash held in the Official Public Account; and
revaluation of the collection as at 1 July 2004.

There was a slight increase in employee provisions during the period, and a decrease in interest-bearing liabilities due to the ceasing of finance leases.