Guidelines for Handling Personal Records Collections Containing Commonwealth Records
National Library of Australia and Australian Archives
1. Both the Australian Archives and the National Library of Australia acquire collections of personal records.
2. Responsibilities of the Australian Archives
The Archives has, since 1984, had a legislative responsibility to manage the custody, access, disposal and storage of all Commonwealth records, including those in personal records collections. As a matter of policy the Archives does not seek to collect personal of corporate records other than for the purpose of fulfilling this responsibility. Thus it seeks to obtain the personal records collections of current and former Federal Ministers, Parliamentarians, senior public servants, members of the judiciary, and others who have been closely associated with Commonwealth government at a senior level, in order to retain in the Archives' custody any Commonwealth records contained in the collection, or to restore them to custody where the person has left office. Potential donors or depositors who do not fall into these categories will be referred to the Library as a potential place of deposit.
3. Responsibilities of the National Library
The Library acquires significant collections of personal records, as part of its responsibility under the National Library Act, 1960 to collect books and other material by Australians or relating to Australia. It does still collect personal papers of former Parliamentarians, but usually some years after their departure from Parliament. Some of the collections already held contain Commonwealth records, as will, almost inevitably, some of the collections acquired in the future.
4. Records Already in the Custody of the National Library
Any Commonwealth records held in the Library prior to the proclamation of the Archives Act, 1983 on 6 June 1984 are exempt from the provisions of the Archives Act.
5. Arrangements for Dealing with Commonwealth Records in Personal Records Collections
Commonwealth records the Library no longer accepts into its custody comprise:
- original records of Commonwealth institutions, especially
registered files (as distinct from copies supplied to the person, eg for their
information) (Commonwealth institutions' is defined in the Archives
Act, s3(1));
- Cabinet or Executive Council documents (including copies, and
related Cabinet-in-Confidence material);
- original or copies of records with a high security classification
(secret or above), or of other particularly sensitive records, especially those
having defence or national security significance;
- official records maintained by a current or former Federal Minister or their office.
6. On being informed by the Library about records in the first three categories above that may be in a collection, the Archives will either return them to the institution, or add them to those records of the institution which are already in the Archives' custody. In the case of records in category 4, the Archives will take them into custody as records of the person concerned. In all instances, the Archives will notify the Library of the current custodian of each record transferred, together with any other necessary control information (eg, person and series registration numbers and titles), for inclusion in the Library's finding aids or other documentation as required.
7. When the Library is offered or informed about a collection containing records in any of the categories in paragraph 5, it will notify the Archives so that the two institutions and the potential donor or depositor can jointly consider the appropriate location, or locations, for the collection.
8. When the Archives is offered or informed about a collection consisting entirely or predominantly of records falling outside the categories listed in paragraph 5, it will notify the Library, so that the two institutions and the potential donor or depositor can jointly consider the appropriate location, or locations, for the collection.
9. When there is doubt about the need to transfer a particular record or group of records to the Archives, Library staff will discuss the mater with relevant staff at the Archives.
10. Access to Commonwealth records retained by the Library will be governed by the access provisions of the Archives Act, 1983. The Library will consult the Archives concerning any requests it received for access to any Commonwealth not previously cleared for public release. The purpose of this consultation will be to ensure that access decisions are made in accordance with arrangements with the relevant controlling agency under section 35 of the Archives Act, 1983 and that the applicant has a right of appeal in the event of exemptions being applied to the records. Details of the Commonwealth records in the Library's custody for which access decisions have been made will be entered into the Archives ANGAM II database.
Last updated 1983
