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
K26 MX52400 VOL 2 Oscar Desmond Drew 1932 - 1960
B26 RX42706 SCOTT, Andrew Hawkins 1939 - 1945
A1838 3081/2/9/3 PART 3 Papua New Guinea - Internal security - Terrorism 1977 - 1978
A3959 A2/7 Staff. RYAN, M.M. 1973 - 1976
A4243 73 Kibuka Mines Pty. Ltd. 1974 - 1976
CP71/16 WHOLE SERIES Parliamentary Joint Committee on Rural Industries. Transcripts of Evidence. 1942 - 1942
A705 42/2/197 [Compensation - Accidents in Service] - Late F/O Holtham, W - Trust account in respect of [2.5cms] 1926 - 1946
K26 MX9534 Robert McLeod 1941 - 1973
D761 160/11/2 PART 22 Quarantine health reports Port Adelaide and Port Stanvac [This is a general file containing a number of reports under section 11 regulation 20 of the quarantine act from various ships filed chronologically. Each report is accompanied by a crew and passenger list if appropriate] 1973 - 1974
PP911/1 HX41993 Brian Frederick Carlin 1948 - 1963
A10497 6 Registers of citizenship by descent - birth registers (Cairo) 1950 - 1994
D3185 154 Torrens Island Quarantine Station photograph 154 - [portion of title exempt] onset about 2 April rash about 5 April photo taken 12 April 1926 1926 - 1926
A518 A846/2/51 Nauru Ordinances - Suspension of Sentences Ordinances 1965 - 1966
M3357 RJC/400/7 Defence Facilities - briefings security 1987 - 1987
MP5/21 6 Registered Traders 1946 - 1947
A10028 800/151 PART 7 China : relations with Vietnam 23 Feb 1979 - 14 Mar 1979
A6135 K4/3/74/29 Aboriginal people and torres strait islander peoples - Types - Ayers Rock Captain - Ayers Rock corroboree child 1974 - 1974
A432 1955/4422 PART 3 Communist Party - General 01 Jan 1800 - 01 Jan 1800
A11960 1915/198 Site for Small Arms Factory Canberra 1915 - 1915
A4071 VOLUME 7 Australian Post Office Commission of Inquiry 1973 - 1974