National Archives of Australia - Annual reports

Appendix HFreedom of informationMost records held by the Archives are agencyrecords that upon reaching the open period canbe examined and, subject to the exclusion ofexempt information, are made available under theArchives Act 1983. The Archives also holds its ownadministrative records, which are accessible underthe Freedom of Information Act 1982.From 1 May 2011, Australian Governmentagencies subject to the Freedom of InformationAct are required to publish information as partof the Information Publication Scheme. Thisrequirement of the Freedom of Information Acthas replaced the former requirement to publisha section 8 statement in an annual report.An agency plan showing what information ispublished in accordance with the InformationPublication Scheme requirements is available onthe Archives’ website.Prior to 1 May 2011, section 8 of the Freedom ofInformation Act required each agency to publishdetailed information about the way it is organised,its powers, the kinds of decisions it makes, thedocuments it holds, the way members of the publiccan obtain access to these documents and anyarrangements for public involvement in the workof the agency.This Annual Report includes information about theorganisation and major functions of the Archives.The following general information supplements thatprovided in this report to conform with section 8 ofthe Freedom of Information Act as it existed priorto 1 May 2011.FunctionsThe Archives is responsible for broad managementof all records generated by the AustralianGovernment between Federation and the presentday, and of colonial records transferred to theCommonwealth at the time of Federation. Underthe provisions of section 5 of the Archives Act, incarrying out this responsibility, the Archives:• develops and provides policy advice onmanaging Commonwealth records• promotes and ensures preservation ofCommonwealth records for as long as theyare needed• determines which categories of recordsshould be retained for use and which shouldbe destroyed• provides storage and preservation servicesfor records of enduring value• provides personal and corporate recordsservices for people or organisations closelyassociated with the Australian Government• assembles and makes available managementand descriptive information about recordsand the current and former agenciesresponsible for them• gives effect to public rights of access andappeal relating to records that are within theopen period• provides reference and information servicesto agencies and the public• facilitates awareness and use of records bythe public.PowersUnder the provisions of section 6 of the ArchivesAct, the powers of the Archives that can directlyaffect members of the public are the:• determination of custodial and storagearrangements for Commonwealth recordsthat are of enduring value• authorisation (with the concurrence of theagency whose records are involved) of theretention or destruction (after a specifiedperiod) of records• regulation of public access to records inaccordance with the Archives Act and inconsultation with the agencies concerned• determination of the standards of referenceand advisory services provided to the public,including reading room hours, levels ofreference assistance and documentationprovided.126 Annual Reports 2010–11