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
A6122 554 CPA - [Communist Party of Australia] Victoria Propaganda Committee 1949 - 1949
A1200 L8605A Aboriginal people and torres strait islander peoples - Implements and weapons - Bullroarer and explanation of bullroarer 1947 - 1947
A13014 F.2.4 Follow-up on Committee Reports - Alternative Delivery Systems for Commonwealth Public Works 21 May 1980 - 28 Oct 1981
A705 7/1/2214 Ardagardaga Station [Northern Territory] - Aerodrome - Note: Each folio in file records the name as Argadargada 1952 - 1952
A1838 3081/12/3 PART 8 Papua New Guinea defence and intelligence arrangements with Australia 1976 - 1976
F1 1952/1041 State Children's Council for Northern Territory Ryan Colin 1951 - 01 Jan 1951
M3357 RJC/57/1 Papua New Guinea 1985 - 1988
A3959 A1/37 Visits to Canberra : 19-20 March 1975 and 28 May 1976. 1975 - 1976
A1838 3123/1/5 PART 11 Korea - Briefing material and parliamentary questions 1984 - 1985
MT2046/1 VOLUME 13 Returned soldiers war gratuities register, 1914-1918 War. 1922 - 1936
A2065 J J MANNION JJ MANNION 1935 - 1967
A6122 838 Communist Party of Australia - (South Australia) Queenstown 1949 - 1957
AWM54 179/1/25 [Chemical Warfare - General:] Laboratory Section, 98th Chemical Composite Company, APO 565 C/- Postmaster, San Francisco, California: Monthly Summary Reports, Nos 13 and 14, 1945 and Captured Materiel Technical Reports [Japanese Gas Detector B; Japanese Gas Mask Repair Kit; Japanese Very Type Smoke Signal Cartridges; Japanese Horse Gas Mask; Japanese Mark 3 Decontaminating Agent; Japanese Horse Leggins; Japanese Repair Kit for anti-gas equipment; Japanese Hand Carried Smoke Candle] 1944 - 1945
A13147 NSR 528 National Security Act Regulations & Ordinances - National Security (Industrial Property) Regulations. Revocation Order No 1036-1422 05 Sep 1944 - 12 Jul 1945
A1838 1495/3/2/11/5 PART 3 Antarctica - Antarctic Treaty Arrangements Conservation of Living Resources 1964 - 1965
A518 852/1/20 New Guinea - AW Ardie - Surveyor [0.25cm] 1927 - 1937
C605 LA547 Headquarters staff - Miss Z Zillman 1944 - 1944
PP946/1 MKM39648 STEPHENSON, Charles John - Service Number - NN 1924 - 1993
A1838 189/7/1 PART 2 Pakistan - External foreign policy - general 1949 - 1956
J1087 2321 Aboriginal and Islander Community Health Service - Sport scholarship for Teresa Ann Holmes 1989 - 1989