OLD PARLIAMENT HOUSE AND CURTILAGE HERITAGE MANAGEMENT PLAN 2008–2013

I0. Collection Management Policy
Part C – Implementation Tools
Old Parliament House and Curtilage Heritage Management Plan 2008–2013
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viii. Artefacts used by or given to Prime Ministers, such as gifts and awards and
collections of books and other items once owned by Prime Ministers
ix. Publicity material and other ephemera relating to election and referendum campaigns in which Prime
Ministers played a role, at any stage of their careers, including archives of opinion polls and surveys
x. The publications of think tanks and foundations which have contributed
to prime ministerial policy development and party funding
xi. Influential books and other publications which helped form the political views of Prime Ministers
xii. Subject guides and finding aids such as annotated bibliographies to assist students
of particular administrations and topics relevant to Prime Ministers
xiii. Poetry, song and other artworks in which Prime Ministers
figure, including performances and play scripts
xiv. Stories of people inspired by Prime Ministers, or whose lives have been
changed by strongly positive or negative responses to them
xv. Material in all these categories relevant to the wives and partners of Prime Ministers
3.3 Collection acquisition team
In order to create a wider appreciation amongst OPH staff of the OPH collection, and to improve the openness and
visibility of the acquisition process, all items offered to OPH for inclusion in the Heritage or Associated collections,
whether purchased or donated, must be recommended by the OPH acquisition team to the Delegate for approval before becoming
a part of the OPH collections (NB this does not include the purchase of Resource material such as books or journals).
The terms of reference for the acquisition tema are outlined in the Collection Management Procedures.
In exceptional circumstances for acquisitions requiring rapid approval, the completed Proposal
for Acquisition form can be submitted to the General Manager Content and Programs for
review and approval. This is to be tabled at the next Acquisition team meeting.
Any props occasionally purchased for Exhibition or Interpretation that are intended to become
a part of the OPH collection (the Associated collection), must go through the Acquisition
process. This can be after they have been used for Exhibition or Interpretation.
Any items acquired for the Research collection should be documented and tabled at
the next relevant meeting of the acquisition team for information purposes.
3.4 Collection development levels of authority
As outlined above, the Acquisitions team must approve all acquisitions (donations or purchases) for inclusion
in the OPH collections (unless they are reference books, ephemera, other research materials or serials).
However, due to the need to follow the Old Parliament House procurement and purchasing procedures, items
that are purchased for the OPH collection will still require sign-off by the appropriate level of authority.
3.5 Restrictions on acquisition
The following factors may weigh against an item being acquired for the permanent collection:-
■■If OPH has insufficient facilities or resources to care for the item properly. This should include
consideration of the costs and requirements for restoration, maintenance, storage, display and security.
■■If OPH has multiple examples of such an item and has no need for further duplication.
OPH will only acquire items that both fulfil the Collection acquisition categories and priorities as
defined in Section 3.2 and OPH’s generic requirements of relevance, provenance and legal title.
OPH will not collect, unless strong justifications exist for doing so, items with the following:
a. Conditional donations
b. Long term loans or ‘permanent loans’
c. Items with unknown provenance or inadequate documentation
d. Items not relevant to OPH mission
e. Items that cannot be appropriately housed or cared for
f. Duplicate items (items that already exist in the collection)