COVID-19 safety updates
Our research centre in Canberra is currently open and our galleries will reopen on Wednesday 15 July 2020.
If you are feeling unwell, please postpone your visit. We would love to see you when you are feeling better.
We appreciate your patience and support as we work through this together.
Visiting the galleries
The Connections and Voices galleries at our national office will be open every day of the week from Wednesday 15 July 2020. Bookings are essential.
We offer two timed daily sessions: 10am–12pm and 2pm–4pm.
To explore our galleries, please make a booking through Eventbrite.
Visiting the research centre
Our national office research centre is currently open from 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday. You will need to make a booking to visit.
As a COVID-19 health and safety measure, the number of researchers allowed in the research centre at once is capped.
No time limits apply, but researchers will be asked to leave the research centre from 1.00 to 1.30pm while we perform additional cleaning.
You need to request records in advance and book a time to visit. Please complete an advance request for records online and we will contact you to confirm your research centre booking. Alternatively you can email us at ref@naa.gov.au or call us on 02 6212 3600.
Our orientation services are suspended until further notice. If you have a question about the collection please ask us a question.
Collection highlights
Our collection in Canberra is vast because most Australian Government agencies have central offices in Canberra.
It covers Cabinet, Federation, Prime Ministers and other national leaders, and most of the activities with which the government has been involved.
Many collections, such as ASIO and Royal Commission records, are popular with researchers.
Family historians find the service records of Australians who served in wars, notably World Wars I and II, invaluable.
Historians and genealogists value the migrant selection documents and naturalisation papers of millions of people who have come to live in this country. You can now search the records of refugees displaced by World War II by name.
Our copyright collection dates back to colonial times. It highlights Australia's creative and social history.
Patent and trademark records capture a unique view of Australian history.
Canberra research centre
You can view National Archives records in our research centres.
For more information visit our research centres page.
Requesting records
We deliver records to the research centre once each weekday.
If you have ordered records before midday (12pm), we aim to have them ready to view the next business day.
Requests for records sent after midday will be available in 2 business days (48 hours).
While most records are available for viewing within 2 business days, in cases where records have special preservation needs or in times of peak demand, there could be delays.