Members of the Advisory Council at its 61st meeting held in Canberra in May 1999.

Standing (left to right): Senator the Hon John Faulkner, Mr Martin Bonsey, Mr Alex Somlyay MP, Mr Ian Hancock, Ms Nina Riemer, Dr Helen Irving.

Seated (left to right): Professor James Walter, Mr Patrick Morgan, Mr George Nichols (Director-General), the Hon Jim Carlton (Chairman), the Hon Peter McGauran MP (Minister for the Arts and the Centenary of Federation), Mr Bill Blick PSM.

Establishment and Functions

The National Archives of Australia Advisory Council is established as the Advisory Council on Australian Archives, under subsection 10(1) of the Archives Act 1983.

The principal function of the Council is to furnish advice to the Minister and 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.

Advisory 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 of Representatives; and
• eleven other members appointed by the Minister for the Arts and the Centenary of Federation.

The Hon. Jim Carlton (Chairman)
Ms Susan Pascoe (Deputy Chair)
Senator the Hon. John Faulkner
Mr Ian Hancock
Dr Helen Irving
Professor James Walter
The Hon. Alex Somlyay, MP, from 2 December 1998
Dr Gregory Pemberton, to 21 December 1998
Mr Ron McLeod, AM, to 23 November 1998
Mr Martin Bonsey, to 28 May 1999

Summary of Activities

Meeting venues have been selected to enable members to extend contact to individuals and organisations with an interest in the Council’s work. Meetings held outside Canberra provide members with opportunities to meet users of archives around the nation. The Council met on three occasions this year, as follows:

Statements required under the Act

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

The Council received no statutory reports under subsection 25(1) of the Act.

Although no statutory reports under subsection 25(1) of the Act were received, the Council has continued to take a great interest in the disposal practices of the National Archives. The Council has received regular briefings on disposal practices in general.

The Council formed a subcommittee in May 1998 to examine the National Archives discussion paper Making Choices: Deciding which records to keep for posterity. This subcommittee has also examined issues relating to the appraisal of records to determine their continuing value and continues to maintain an interest in the development and practice of an appraisal philosophy within the National Archives.

At each of their meetings Council members noted reports prepared by the Archives on requests for, and decisions relating to, access under subsection 56(2) of the Archives Act. From time to time members queried the reasons for delays in responding to applications and sought clarification when applications were denied by Departments.

A summary of applications received by agencies for access to records under subsection 56(2) of the Archives Act for the reporting period 1998–99 follows.

There were three access applications still under consideration at the beginning of the reporting period. These three applications have been approved and there are no cases still under consideration.

Particular Issues

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

Specific areas the Council addressed during the year include the following.

The final report of the Australian Law Reform Commission was tabled in Parliament on 2 July 1998. The Council has been briefed on the recommendations of this report.

The Council has supported the view that there should be increased legislative support for the Archives in its role as a standards-setter and source of best practice advice in current recordkeeping practices across the Commonwealth. The Council supported the work of the Archives in ensuring that modern records in whatever format or location are preserved for future generations.

Council members have been briefed regularly on developments relating to the celebration of the centenary of Federation.

The Advisory Council has expressed its strong support for work already completed by the Archives in celebrating the centenary of Federation.

The Council has received reports on exhibitions, publications produced and public awareness activities of the Archives. The Council has always supported a greater public presence for the National Archives and has expressed its satisfaction with the initiatives taken by the Archives in broadening public perception of its role in the community.

On 22 March the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade presented its Report on the loss of HMAS Sydney to the Senate. The Department of Defence is coordinating the Government response to the Committee’s Report.

Members of the Council have been briefed on the recommendations of the Committee’s Report and on the Archives’ submission to the Government response to the Report.

The Council has for some time held the view that name-identified census records should be kept and ultimately made available to the public. Members have been concerned by the current practice of destroying census forms after information has been extracted from them. They believe a major source of historical information is being lost to the nation.

In May 1998 the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs presented a report entitled Saving Our Census and Preserving Our History, which recommended that legislation to retain name-identified census records be enacted. The Council welcomed the recommendations of the report and has written a letter to the Treasurer and the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts in support of the findings of the House of Representatives.

Secretariat Information

Funds for operating the Council are provided from funds allocated to the Archives. Major expenditure items consist of members’ remuneration (a per diem fee) and travel allowances and fares to attend Council and subcommittee meetings.

Major expenditure items for 1998–1999 were:

In addition to direct financial support to the Council, the Archives provides secretariat and administrative services from within its budget. Secretariat work involved two staff members in a part-time capacity.

Section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the 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 body of this Annual Report explains the establishment and major functions of the Advisory Council. This statement supplements that general information to meet the requirements of section 8 of the FOI Act. It is correct as at 30 June 1999.

Secretariat and administrative support for the Council are provided by the National Archives of Australia. The Executive Secretary is an officer employed by the National Archives.

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

The functions of the Advisory Council are defined under section 11 of the Archives Act 1983, as follows:

(1) The Council shall furnish advice to the Minister and the Director-General with respect to matters to which the functions of the Archives relate.

(2) 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.

As an advisory body, the National Archives of Australia Advisory Council has no decision-making or other powers directly affecting members of the public.

The National Archives of Australia Advisory Council does not hold any documents which are open to public access. The annual report of the Advisory Council is tabled in Parliament. The Secretariat maintains files which contain documents relating to administration of the Council, papers discussed at Council meetings and correspondence relating to the activities of the Council.

All inquiries concerning access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 may be directed during normal business hours to:

Executive Secretary

National Archives of Australia Advisory Council
c/- National Archives of Australia
Queen Victoria Terrace
Parkes ACT 2600
PO Box 7425
Canberra Mail Centre ACT 2610

Telephone (02) 6212 3643
Facsimile (02) 6212 3931

The Executive Secretary 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, Queen Victoria Terrace, Parkes ACT. Decisions on whether original documents or copies will be made available will be made in consultation with the applicant.

Persons or bodies outside the Commonwealth administration may participate in the Council’s advisory role by making representations to the Chairman or any member of the Council.

[contents] [corporate overview] [performance reports] [financial statements] [appendix a] [appendix b] [appendix c]
[appendix d] [appendix e] [appendix f] [appendix g] [appendix h] [advisory council] [compliance index]