This charter sets out the standards of service you can expect from the National Archives of Australia if you are conducting research using our collection. We strive for excellence in our service delivery and continue to raise awareness of the rich content in our collection and to aid access to that material. The National Archives contributes to the development of Australian culture by helping Australians better understand their heritage and democracy.

The National Archives of Australia:

• helps Australian Government agencies create and manage their records
• selects the most valuable records created by Australian Government agencies to become part of the national archival collection
• stores, describes and preserves the national archival collection
• makes records in the national archival collection that are over 30 years old publicly available

On this website you can:

• find out about our collection, services, events and exhibitions
• search for records in the collection using our databases
• view digital images of records
• order and pay for photocopies or online digital copies of records
• send us an inquiry about records in our collection
• view or order copies of our publications
• listen to audio of selected events at the National Archives

Our service standard: Our website will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

We help you to find a record in our collection by:

• responding to reference inquiries received by telephone, letter, email, fax or through our website
• answering our national reference inquiry telephone service from 9.00am to 5.00pm each business day

Our service standard: We aim to respond to all reference inquiries within 30 days of receiving them.

We clear records for public access

The National Archives makes records publicly available under the Archives Act 1983. The Act requires Commonwealth records to be made available for public access once they are 30 years old and after they have been cleared for public release by the National Archives. Most records over 30 years of age are able to be released, however, some records or information cannot be released even after 30 years.

When you request us to clear a record for public access:

• our staff will examine the record to decide what can be made available and what cannot be released under the Archives Act
• we will notify you of the decision
• we will give you the reasons for our decision if we refuse you access to a record or part of a record and you will have the right under the Archives Act to request us to reconsider
• if we still refuse access to the record after reconsidering our decision, you have the right, under the Archives Act, to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal

Our service standard: We will notify you of an access decision no more than 90 days after your request. We aim to make most of our access decisions sooner, but, if another agency or government needs to be consulted in order to make the decision, it may take up to 90 days. We will provide a response within 14 days to all requests to reconsider an access decision.

Under the Archives Act we are required to release as much information as possible. If you are concerned about information that has been released, please contact:

We provide copies of records

• We provide copies of records in a variety of formats including printed copies, photographic prints and online digital images.
• We will mail printed copies to you or you may collect them from our public reading rooms in each capital city; we provide digital images of records which you can view on our website.
• We will provide you with the most legible copies possible.
• If you order a copy of a record which has not been cleared for release to the public we will examine the record to assess its suitability to be made available to the public under the Archives Act 1983.

Our service standard: For those records which the National Archives has examined and cleared for release to the public, we aim to provide printed copies within 30 days of your request, or an online digital copy within 20 working days of your request. If you request a copy of a record we have not cleared for public access, we will examine the record and notify you of a decision on its availability in no more than 90 days.

We make records available in our public reading rooms

• We have reading rooms in each capital city in Australia where you can research the Commonwealth records held there. The opening hours vary in each location. Opening hours for each office can be found on our website.
• Knowledgeable and courteous reference staff will explain our services and how to use reference tools, the collection and equipment. They will help you to order the records you want to view or to order copies.
• The topic of your research and the records you use will remain confidential.
• You will be able to view original records, free of charge, in facilities that are safe, comfortable and accessible to people with physical disabilities.
• You may use computers in the reading rooms to assist your research, to type your notes and to access the internet for purposes related to your research.
• You will be able to use your own camera to make copies of records.

Our service standard: We aim to make records which have been cleared for public access available to you in the reading room within 90 minutes of ordering in our offices, except in Melbourne where we deliver records within 48 hours. You can preorder records before your visit so they will be ready for you to look at when you arrive.

The National Archives continuously monitors its performance against its service standards and reports on how well it has met its service standards in the Annual Report. The Archives also reports in its Annual Report on the number and nature of complaints we receive.

 If you are unhappy with our service or if we have not met our standards:

• talk to the member of staff you have been dealing with or one of the staff on duty
• if you are not satisfied with the response, ask to talk to the Assistant Director in charge of the Reference Service or to the State Director in charge of that office
• if you remain unsatisfied contact the Director, Access and Information Services in our National Office in Canberra.

We maintain a record of complaints we receive to improve our service and to report on complaints in the Annual Report.

Our service standard: We aim to respond to all complaints within 10 working days of receiving them.  

We welcome your comments on the quality and range of our services and on our Service Charter. We invite you to:

• fill in a readers survey card available in our reading rooms
• complete our feedback form, or
• email your comments

For all reference inquiries:

To make a comment:

Email: yourcomments@naa.gov.au

To make a complaint: