The National Archives of Australia Advisory Council advises the Minister and the Director-General on matters that relate to our role and services. The Council was created under the Archives Act 1983 (Subsection 10(1)).
We update the Council on our projects and Council members use their expertise to advise and guide. We seek advice from the Council on matters from drafting legislation to new strategies and plans.
The Council usually meets 4 times a year.
What we report on
We report to the Council on:
- Records disposal: how we handle them and who else handles them across government departments (Required under Section 25 of the Archives Act).
- Special access to official records: we table requests for special access at each Council meeting (required under Section 56(5) of the Archives Act).
Selecting council members
There are 13 Council members. Here's how they are chosen:
- The Senate chooses a Senate member.
- The House of Representatives chooses a House member.
- The Minister chooses 11 other members.
Members serve a term of no more than 3 years. They can serve more than 1 term, and serve 2 or more terms in a row.
Current Advisory Council members:
- Dr Paul Grimes PSM (Chair)
- Professor Frank Bongiorno AM
- Mr Troy Bramston
- Ms Rachel Connors
- Dr Anthony Dillon
- Ms Suzanne Hampel OAM
- Ms Amanda Heyworth
- Ms Nicola Laurent
- Mr David Smith MP
- Senator Dean Smith
- Ms Alice Spalding
- Dr Kirsten Thorpe
Need more information?
Please contact us with any enquiries about the Advisory Council.