Managing records of Commonwealth persons

Collection of personal records

The National Archives collects the personal records of governors-general, prime ministers, ministers, judges and departmental secretaries who have been in prominent positions in the Commonwealth. These records complement those created by government departments and agencies and may include official records as well as private records created whilst in official positions. Our Personal Records team is available to provide advice and assistance to individuals who are in our target group for collecting.

Ministers

The Archives usually deals directly with ministers or with ministerial offices in order to acquire their personal records, particularly when there is a change of government or Cabinet reshuffle. However, sometimes when a minister leaves office, he or she will return records to their department for safekeeping.

Senior public servants

In the past, when systems for managing records were paper-based, it was common for senior public servants such as secretaries, ambassadors and agency heads to collect and retain their own sets of records. The contents were often duplicated in the official departmental records. Where there is strong evidence that this is not the case, the Archives may acquire the personal records of senior public servants to ensure that unique and important material that is not included in the departmental records management system is retained by the Australian Government.

The official records of current senior public servants should be incorporated into departmental recordkeeping systems.

Further information

Staff of Australian Government agencies may find records of ministers or senior staff in their custody after elections, retirements, or when moving offices. For further advice on how such records should be treated, please contact the Manager, Personal Records shirley.sullivan@naa.gov.au