The National Archives serves as the memory of our nation, collecting, preserving and providing access to Australian Government records that reflect our history and identity.

At the National Archives we value:

• Service excellence – delivering quality and responsive services that meet the needs and expectations of our clients and partners
• Leadership – striving to be national and international leaders in information management policy, digital transformation, archival collection management and creative public engagement
• Innovation – looking for new and better ways to do business and deliver digital services that are user centred and embrace the future
• Responsibility – taking responsibility for delivering the goals and priorities comprising a transformational program of work
• Collaboration – working with the public, private and civil society sectors to achieve shared goals and outcomes.

Our collection

The National Archives' collection contains records about key events and decisions that have shaped Australian history. With more than 40 million items, our collection mainly includes Australian Government records from Federation in 1901 to now. While most of our records are paper files, we also have photographs, audiovisual records, sound recordings, maps and plans, posters, objects and digital records.

Our collection is unique and cannot be replaced.

Our structure

Our organisation has four branches:

• Access and Public Engagement
• Collection Management
• Corporate Services
• Data and Digital

For more information view our organisational structure.

Locations

We have offices in each state and territory. View our locations

Working at the National Archives

Performance expectations

The Performance Expectations set out the standards expected of all staff at the National Archives, across all areas and all classification levels. These expectations are aligned with, but do not replace, the APSC Work Level Standards and the National Archives Capability Framework.

View the Performance Expectations

The Archives Way

The Archives Way is a set of cultural principles and behaviours that support and underpin our vision and mission. The Archives Way is our statement about who we are and what we want to achieve.

View the Archives Way (PDF 450KB)