National Archives must make Commonwealth records available to the public once they enter the open access period, unless the records contain information that is exempt from release.

National Archives staff review records to determine whether they contain exempt information. This is called access examination.

Download the Access Examination Framework (PDF 1.2MB)

The Access Examination Framework aims to:

• explain what the open access period is and how it relates to the access examination process
• describe how access examiners use section 33 of the Archives Act to decide whether records can be released to the public.

This is important because:

• one of the main goals of the Archives Act 1983 is to preserve important Commonwealth records and make them available to the public
• our work supports trust in democracy and improves government transparency and accountability by connecting Australians with past government decisions and actions.