National Archives of Australia Advisory Council

Establishment and functions

The National Archives of Australia Advisory Council is established under subsection 10(1) of the Archives Act 1983. The principal function of the Council is to furnish advice to the Cabinet Secretary as the Minister responsible for the Archives, and to the Director-General on matters that relate to the functions of the Archives.

The Minister or the Director-General may refer matters relating to the functions of the Archives to the Council for advice, or the Council may in turn furnish advice to the Minister or the Director-General.

Council membership

The Archives Act provides for a Council consisting of:

a Senator chosen by the Senate;
a member of the House of Representatives chosen by the House; and
11 other members appointed by the Minister.

The membership during 2007–08 comprised:

Mr Paul Santamaria SC (Chairman)
Mr Peter Grant (Deputy Chairman)
Senator the Hon. John Faulkner (resigned)
Senator Kate Lundy
The Hon. Alex Somlyay MP
Ms Barbara Belcher (resigned)
Mr Ian Hancock
Mr David Irvine AO (from 13 March 2008)
Dr Helen Irving (from 13 March 2008)
Mr Roland Perry
Mr Aladin Rahemtula (from 13 August 2007)
Mr Tony Rutherford (until 30 August 2007)
Dr Dianne Snowden (from 13 March 2008)
Dr Jane Wilson
Professor John Williams (from 13 March 2008).

National Archives of Australia Advisory Council with Archives Director-General Mr Ross Gibbs (back row, fourth from left). Back row: Mr Paul Santamaria SC, Senator Kate Lundy, Mr Aladin Rahemtula, Professor John Williams, Mr David Irvine AO, Mr Ian Hancock and Dr Jane Wilson
Sitting: Dr Helen Irving, Mr Peter Grant, Mr Roland Perry and Dr Dianne Snowden
Absent: The Hon. Alex Somlyay MP
photographer: Kirkland Photography

In December 2007, Senator Faulkner resigned following his appointment as Cabinet Secretary. Ms Belcher resigned when portfolio responsibility for the Archives was transferred to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in May 2008.

The appointments in June 2008 of Mr David Irvine AO, Dr Helen Irving, Dr Dianne Snowden and Professor John Williams have enhanced the Council’s expertise in the areas of security and intelligence, genealogy and constitutional law.

Summary of activities

The Council met on four occasions in 2007–08:

7 September 2007 Canberra
30 November 2007 Canberra
7 March 2008 Canberra
13 June 2008 Brisbane.

Statements required under the Archives Act 1983

The Archives Act requires the Minister and the Director-General to place before the Council certain materials that specifically relate to disposal practices and special access matters.

Records disposal practices

Section 25 of the Archives Act requires the Director-General to furnish the Council with a statement setting out the particulars of the practices for the destruction or other disposal of Commonwealth records agreed between the Archives and an Australian Government agency. At each meeting of the Council, the Archives advises on records disposal actions in train.

The Council received advice that a new streamlined approach to developing Records Authorities was announced in response to the Australian Government’s Management Advisory Committee’s Note for File: A Report on Recordkeeping in the Australian Public Service, launched in August 2007.

In 2007–08, 22 Records Authorities were issued, 15 more than in the previous year. Appendix C in the main body of this report lists the Records Authorities issued.

Special access to official records

Section 56(2) of the Archives Act provides that access may be granted to the official records not available for public access (that is, records not yet 30 years old – in the ‘closed period’ – or records assessed as being exempt from public access).

Applications to access closed period or exempt records are made directly to agencies responsible for controlling them; deciding whether to grant access to the records is the responsibility of these agencies. Special access arrangements have been in place since 1988 to assist agencies to make decisions about records not yet available for public access.

In accordance with the requirements of section 56(5) of the Archives Act, at each meeting of the Council, the Archives tables a statement detailing requests for, and decisions relating to, access requested under section 56(2).

Three applications for special access to records under section 56(2) were received during the reporting period. Access was granted in two cases. A decision on the third application had not been made by 30 June 2008. One request received before the reporting period was pending a decision by the agency concerned at 30 June 2008.

Other reports

In addition to regular statements in accordance with the Archives Act, the Council is provided with regular reports by the Archives on its activities in managing archival records and its role in ensuring that the preservation of essential current Australian Government records aligns with key priorities. Specific areas of focus for the Council during the reporting period are discussed below.

Constitution Day Forum

The Council participated in a number of Constitution Day events throughout the year. On 9 July 2007, a citizenship ceremony presided over by the Governor-General, His Excellency Major General Michael Jeffery, and the inaugural Constitution Day Forum were held. The Forum was opened by Senator George Brandis SC, the then Minister for the Arts and Sport, and was attended by a number of Constitutional experts from across Australia. Council Chairman, Mr Paul Santamaria SC, was Master of Ceremonies at the Forum.

On 12 June 2008, the Council attended the Constitution Founders Lecture at the Supreme Court of Queensland, held in conjunction with the Council meeting in Brisbane. The lecture was delivered by Chief Justice of Queensland Paul de Jersey AC and was entitled ‘A founding father: Sir Samuel Griffith and the Australian Constitution’. This was followed by an address by Justice Patrick Keane from the Queensland Court of Appeal, entitled ‘In celebration of the Constitution’. The event was organised by Council member Mr Aladin Rahemtula.

Delegates at the Archives’ Constitution Day Forum, Canberra, 9 July 2007.
photographer: Sam Cooper / Angus Kendon

National Digitisation Service

During the reporting period, the Council received progress reports on the National Digitisation Service. It noted the significant digitisation work undertaken, acknowledging that more than 19.8 million pages of records are available on the Archives’ website.

Personal Records Service

The Council received regular updates on the acquisition of personal records of current and former prime ministers, ministers and other significant individuals involved with the Australian Government. The Council recognised the value of providing recordkeeping advice and support to this important target group.

Following the federal election, the Council was advised that the Archives occupied an office in Parliament House and provided recordkeeping advice to those parliamentarians in the Personal Records Service target group. The Council noted that approximately 225 shelf metres of records from 12 current and former ministers were received, including a significant number of records from the then Prime Minister, the Hon. John Howard.

Council subcommittees

Department of Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee

The Department of Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee met to discuss the Department’s Records Authority, which was signed on 12 December 2007. The Council held numerous discussions about issues surrounding Department of Veterans’ Affairs case files, particularly the issues relating to the use of the Department’s hospital and medical case files including preservation, retention and future access. Members of the Subcommittee attended a meeting with the National Health and Medical Research Council to progress this issue in December 2007.

Members of the Subcommittee are Mr Peter Grant, Dr Jane Wilson and Mr Ian Hancock.

History Book Working Group (formerly the Publications Advisory Group)

The History Book Working Group met to consider a history of the Council for its 100th meeting. A suitable author was identified and the project commenced.

Members of the History Book Working Group comprise Mr Paul Santamaria SC, Mr Roland Perry, Mr Aladin Rahemtula, Mr Ian Hancock and former Council member Ms Nina Riemer.

Legislation Subcommittee

At the March meeting, the Council agreed to the re-establishment of the Legislation Subcommittee to review the Archives Act. At the end of the initial phase of its work, the broad conclusion was that there is scope for a comprehensive review of the Archives Act, as it came into being 25 years ago.

Members of the Legislation Subcommittee include Mr Paul Santamaria SC, Mr Peter Grant and Professor John Williams.

Financial information and secretariat services

The operation of the Council is funded from the Archives’ budget appropriation. Major expenditure items consist of members’ remuneration, travel allowances and fares to attend Council, subcommittee and other associated meetings. In addition to direct financial support, the Archives also provides secretariat and administrative services to the Council.

Table 1 – National Archives of Australia Advisory Council expenditure, 2007–08

Item	Cost ($)
Remuneration	10 416
Travel allowance	5 249
Fares	24 818
Other travel expenses	2 200
Other expenses	3 270
Total	45 953

Freedom of information

Section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) requires each agency to publish detailed information about the way it is organised, its powers, the kinds of decisions it makes, the documents it holds, the ways members of the public can obtain access to these documents, and any arrangements for public involvement in the work of the agency.

The main body of this annual report explains the establishment and major functions of the Council. This statement supplements that general information to meet the requirements of section 8 of the FOI Act.

Organisation

Secretariat and administrative support for the Council is provided by the Archives, and the Executive Officer is an officer employed by the Archives.

The Council usually meets four times each year. Members serve for terms not exceeding three years and may serve an additional term.

Powers

Under section 11 of the Archives Act, the Council is an advisory body and has no decision-making power or other powers directly affecting members of the public.

Functions

The functions of the Council are defined in section 11 of the Archives Act as follows:

The Council shall furnish advice to the Minister and the Director-General with respect to matters to which the functions of the Archives relate.
The Minister or the Director-General may refer any matter of the kind referred to in subsection (1) to the Council for advice and the Council may, if it thinks fit, consider and advise the Minister or the Director-General on a matter of that kind of its own motion.

Documents

The Council does not hold any documents that are open to public access on payment of a fee or are customarily available free of charge. The annual report of the Council is tabled in Federal Parliament. The Council secretariat maintains files containing documents about the administration of the Council, papers discussed at its meetings and correspondence on its activities.

Access

All inquiries concerning access to documents under the FOI Act may be directed during normal business hours to:

Executive Officer
National Archives of Australia Advisory Council
c/- National Archives of Australia
PO Box 7425
Canberra Mail Centre ACT 2610

Tel: (02) 6212 3908
Fax: (02) 6212 3649
Email: execoff@naa.gov.au

The Executive Officer may also be contacted regarding inquiries or comments relating to the National Archives of Australia Advisory Council Annual Report.

Facilities for access to documents are provided at the office of the National Archives of Australia, via the address listed above.

Arrangement for outside participation

People or bodies outside the Australian Government may participate in the Council’s advisory role by making representations to the Chairman or any member of the Council.