Official access means agreement from an agency to allow a particular person to see records of that agency held by the National Archives, for an approved purpose, as set out in section 30 of the Archives Act 1983. It is different from public access because it allows access to records which may not be generally available to the public (such as records that are less than 30 years old and records that have not been assessed for public access or have been assessed and found to contain exempt information).

Official access is normally granted by agencies to enable their officers to use records held by the National Archives in a National Archives reading room. There are a number of reasons why an agency might need to authorise official access in this way. Apart from the need for staff to consult archival records to meet the ongoing needs of day-to-day administration, access may also be needed to:

• facilitate internal investigations into past events
• facilitate research projects leading to the preparation of official histories or other publications
• assist major government inquiries, including committees of inquiry or royal commissions
• facilitate ‘discovery’ exercises in relation to litigation

As well as the staff of an agency, consultants or contractors engaged or commissioned by the agency to undertake specific tasks may be granted official access. So too, where a Commonwealth agency has been privatised and records of that agency remain under Commonwealth control, the agency accepting responsibility for the control of those records may grant official access to the company that has bought the business of the privatised agency.

Sometimes it may be necessary for officers of one agency to have official access to the records of another agency. See Access to other agencies' records.

Official access must be approved by a manager in the agency controlling the records. Precisely who may authorise official access is decided within each agency, however the approval of an officer of the Senior Executive Service or equivalent level is generally required.

An official access authorisation form must be completed before the National Archives can provide a person with official access to records.

Completing the authorisation form requires the clear identification of:

• the officer who is authorised to have official access
• the officer who has provided the authorisation
• the records to which official access is approved (including any limitations on access)
• the period during which access is authorised
• whether the officer is authorised to access security classified material and to what level
• certification by the Agency Security Advisor that the officer has a current security clearance to the required level (when access to security classified material is authorised)

By completing this form you are providing the National Archives with the information we need to ensure that those authorised are given access only to the records they require for the task being undertaken. It also assists the Archives to readily identify the records that are being sought.

The official access authorisation form asks the authorising officer to nominate the date on which the authorisation should cease. Annual authorisation may be granted to officials undertaking longer-term projects, but these authorisations need to be renewed by completing a new authorisation form by 31 January each year.

Officers seeking to use official access must be able to identify the records they wish to use. In order to retrieve records, the National Archives needs series numbers and item numbers. Where this information is provided, access to records can generally be given in accordance with the standards and rules of the public reading room. Please refer to Fact Sheet 3 – Reading room rules.

The National Archives will only provide photocopies of records if this is approved on the official access authorisation form. Agencies will be charged for the copies provided. Please see Fact Sheet 51 for details of charges.