The Archives Act 1983 (the Act) provides a public right of access to Commonwealth records in the 'open access period’. The open access period for Commonwealth records (except for Cabinet notebooks and census information) is 20 or more years old.

The National Archives of Australia is the government body authorised to manage and make decisions on access to these records. The National Archives website provides information on submitting an access application online using RecordSearch. 

If you have an urgent enquiry, please contact:

Phone: +61 2 6212 3600
Email: ref@naa.gov.au

The Act also allows certain categories of researchers’ special access to Commonwealth records not publicly available. For information regarding eligibility for special access, please check the National Archives website.