Closed access

Overview

Under the Australian Archives Act 1983 most Commonwealth records are opened to public scrutiny after twenty years (this was reduced from thirty years in 2010). But the Act also defines ‘exempt’ records that can be withheld from the public for a variety of reasons, including the defence of national security, and the protection of individual privacy. Access under the Act is not an inevitable destination, but a process that may result in records with the access status of ‘closed’.

Here you can explore these closed files. Why can't we look at them? How old are they? What are we really being protected against?

14370

closed files

on 1 January 2016
28

reasons

why these files have been closed
58

years

is the average age of these files
based on their date of their earliest content
1128

series

contain closed files

BE WARNED! This is a work in progress. It's part of an ongoing research project by Tim Sherratt (@wragge). As a result, this interface is likely to change. That said, pretty much everything should work, so feel free to poke around and see what you can find. Have fun!

Here's some examples…

Series Control Symbol Title Contents dates
B503 W95 BROWN, Ronald Edmund - WX12335 [6pages] [Prisoners of War Trust Fund application] 1969 - 1969
A1209 1957/5847 SEATO. Manila Conference Report 1955 on unconventional warfare 1955 - 1955
PP18/1 R8141 TOZER, Thomas Edgar - Service Number - 932 1919 - 1954
A705 7/1/2220 Yuendumu Mission [Northern Territory] - aerodrome 1952 - 1952
A10028 201/3 PART 1 China : Government - national leaders 1973 - 1974
AWM54 179/1/13 [Chemical Warfare - General:] LHQ Gas School, Bonegilla. Staff Officers School, 18-19 Aug 1942 - "The Application of Meteorology to Chemical Warfare" 1942 - 1943
MT99/2 1945/399 Staff - Mr F Hood - Diver 1943 - 1945
A6135 K1/12/72/53 Scenic - Northern territory - Oenberna Aboriginal Burial ground 1972 - 1972
A6119 565 Phyllis LATONA 1949 - 1961
A1838 3000/2/8 PART 16 Indo China - General - Regional matters 1978 - 1978
M1268 363 [Personal Papers of Prime Minister Fraser] Miscellaneous file of sensitive papers on Foreign Affairs or security matters 19 Jan 1976 - 09 Jan 1983
B73 M115272 CLARK, Richard 1955 - 1964
PP946/1 MKM39771 JOHNSON, Leslie Charles - Service Number - 5/410034 1952 - 1983
A1209 1957/4662 PART 1 Australian transport policy defence committee review 1957 - 1957
A10028 800/1/1 PART 1 China - foreign policy and relations with third countries - foreign policy general 1976 - 1978
A1209 1981/391 Australian/Soviet relations 1974 - Soviet proposal for joint space tracking station 1981 - 1981
A12989 W.P.69 Senate Select Committee on Water Pollution - General Documents - 6 Port Phillip Bay Anti-Sewage Pollution Committee Material 1967 - 1968
A461 B327/1/6 PART 3 Remission of Sentences. Applications for. Period 1946-1950 1946 - 1950
A432 1929/793 Attorney-General's Department: Income Tax Assessment Act 1922-1928 - Taxability of Pensions paid to Ex - employees 1929 - 1929
B26 HX207357 SYKES, William Lucas 1972 - 1978