National Archives of Australia - Annual reports

International recognitionIn May 2011 the Director-General of UNESCOannounced that the Archives had been awardedthe 2011 UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prizefor innovation in preserving digital records andheritage documents. The award, funded by the Cityof Cheongju in the Republic of Korea, recognisesthe Archives’ innovation in this area, our willingnessto share research results and our professionalleadership. The award also recognises the Archivesfor its investigation into the conservation issuessurrounding parchment documents written in irongall ink, which are vulnerable to iron gall corrosion.The effects of this ink on paper have been widelyresearched, but the effects on parchment onlyrarely investigated. Some of the most importantrecords the Archives holds are on parchment.The Archives has long been recognisedinternationally as a leader in informationmanagement. As part of a memorandum ofunderstanding between the Archives and theArsip Nasional Republik Indonesia (NationalArchives of Indonesia), in May 2011 the Archiveswas invited to present a three-day training programin Indonesia. The training program focused onthe approach the Archives takes in providinginformation management advice and services toAustralian Government agencies. Thirty participantsfrom various Indonesian government archives andagencies attended.Leadership changesThe Hon Dr John Bannon AO was appointedChairman of the National Archives of AustraliaAdvisory Council on 28 May 2011. Dr Bannonreplaced former Chairman Mr Paul Santamaria SC,who retired from the Council in December 2010.Mr Ross Gibbs PSM came to the end of his tenureas Director-General on 31 March 2011, havingserved in this position for eight years. Mr Gibbssubsequently took up the role of State Director inour Melbourne Office.Services to regionalAustraliaDuring 2010–11, the Archives and some of ourstate and territory counterparts took significantsteps towards an improved service deliverymodel. Under this model the public receivesface-to-face services to assist them to search andaccess records across federal, state and territoryjurisdictions from a single site in their capital city.The Archives co-located with the State Recordsof South Australia on 4 April 2011. During thereporting period, significant work was alsocompleted to achieve co-location with theTasmanian Archive and Heritage Office in late 2011,and plans to co-locate with the Northern TerritoryArchives Service in mid-2012 progressed.The achievement of co-located services hasbeen made possible through strong cooperativearrangements that have existed between theCommonwealth, state and territory archivesservices for many years.Our peopleDuring 2010–11, the Archives continued to invest inour people to ensure alignment with our businessneeds, changing demographics, employee needsand the competitive employment market.The Archives has continued to provideopportunities for increasing staff skills during theyear. The development of management capabilityin APS 3 to APS 6 staff through the ManagementFoundations Program is of particular note. During2010–11, the Archives reviewed its organisationpriorities and workforce to identify critical staffpositions and to predict future demands onworkforce planning capability. This review willcontribute to the development of successionplanning, recruitment and staff developmentactivities in the future.Ms Phyllis Williams, Director of the Darwin andAdelaide offices, was awarded the Public ServiceMedal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.4 Annual Reports 2010–11