To see Commonwealth government records which have not previously been made public you will normally need to apply for access under either the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) or the Archives Act 1983.
Use the FOI Act if you want access to records created since 1 December 1977. You only have a right of access to records created before 1 December 1977 if they relate to your personal affairs or if they are necessary to help you understand records to which you have already had access. You may also use the Act to request the correction of your personal information in government records if it is incomplete, incorrect, out of date or misleading. The FOI Act applies to the records of most Commonwealth government agencies, but the records of the intelligence agencies are a significant exception. Send your application to the agency holding the records. Agencies must notify you of a decision within 30 days and you may appeal if access is refused. There is a $30 application fee and other charges. These make broad-based research using the FOI Act expensive. Once records are 30 years old the Archives provides access free of charge.
There is currently no right of access to records that were created before 1977 but which are less than 30 years old, but you are free to approach the agency holding the records direct to request access. Note that the agency is under no obligation to release the records.
Use the Archives Act if you want access to records that are over 30 years old. The National Archives administers the Act and to obtain access you must apply to the Archives, even if you think the records may still be with the department or agency that created them. There is no application fee and access is provided without charge. You only pay if you want copies of the records. The Archives may only refuse you access on grounds set out in the Archives Act. More information about obtaining access under the Archives Act is given in the following fact sheets.
The Archives Act also provides for accelerated and special access. Accelerated access is public access granted to classes of records before they are 30 years old. It is granted at the discretion of agencies and is rarely given. Special access is a type of privileged access given to approved individuals. Those who meet the necessary criteria are given access to records that are not available for general public access. For more information ask to see the leaflet about special access.
The Privacy Act 1988 does not provide a right of access to records. This is already provided by the FOI and Archives Acts. What the Privacy Act does is impose strict controls on the way government agencies may handle personal information. It also regulates the handling of tax file numbers and the practices of credit reporting agencies. The Act imposes legal obligations on agencies and gives you the right to complain to the Privacy Commissioner about how your personal information is collected, stored, disclosed, amended and used. The Act also reinforces your right (provided by the FOI Act) to request the correction of your personal information if it is incomplete, incorrect, out of date or misleading.
Comments or other feedback can be sent to archives@naa.gov.au
updated December 2006