Edwards, David --- "Australia's federal record" [1998] ALRCRefJl 34; (1998) 73 Australian Law Reform Commission Reform Journal 71

• Reform Issue 73 Spring 1998

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Reform Issue 73 Spring 1998

This article appeared on pages 71 – 73 of the original journal.

Australia’s federal record

The Australian Law Reform Commission’s report Australia’s federal record: A review of Archives Act 1983 - tabled in federal parliament in July - provides a timely, none too early opportunity for us to take stock of recordkeeping standards.

David Edwards* outlines the report’s conclusions and recommendations for reform.

Whether it is events such as the Centenary of Federation, national debates on reconciliation and immigration - or even perhaps the imminent dawn of the new millennium - history and national identity has taken on a new importance for many Australians. Traditionally, when we think about historical records, we tend to think of documents like the Constitution or, perhaps, diaries of famous people such as Captain Cook.

But often it is the day-to-day records outlining the dealings of governments, organisations and private individuals, which, although not quite as spectacular, allow us to see and understand Australia’s development, and allow us to develop further.

In the Commonwealth context, these records are subject to the Archives Act 1983 and are entrusted to Australian Archives, recently renamed the National Archives of Australia (NAA).

It was this Act, and the functions of Australia’s archival authority, that were the subject of the Commission’s two-year review. The inquiry was completed in July with the tabling in federal parliament of the final report Australia’s federal record: A review of Archives Act 1983.

From paper to email

The present Archives Act was drafted at a time when Commonwealth government records were predominantly in paper format. The basic scheme of the Act envisages an orderly progression of paper records from departmental records managers to secondary storage at Australian Archives, where in due course they would be sentenced for destruction or retention as archival records.

The priority given in the earlier part of the century to recordkeeping standards has meant that Australia’s federal record, for the most part, has been well preserved.

But, like the rest of the world, Australia is in the grip of a technological information revolution at least as fundamental as the invention of paper and the printing press. This technology, which promises unlimited opportunities to gather and disseminate large amounts of information, also poses a severe threat to recordkeeping standards.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that, unless electronic recordkeeping systems are planned and managed adequately, there can be no guarantee that records, whatever their long term value, will be systematically created and maintained to a standard appropriate to their future use, including accessibility to future generations.

In addition to the new technological challenges, there have also been substantial changes to Australia’s political and administrative environment.

Increasingly, the Commonwealth is outsourcing many of its administrative support functions to the private sector. Administrative changes have blurred the division between Commonwealth and private records, government business enterprises being only one aspect of an increasingly complex relationship between the public and private sectors.

Recordkeeping is now in danger of being ignored or overlooked.

These two issues - electronic recordkeeping and changing Commonwealth administrative practices - combine to highlight the urgent need for legislative reform to provide an integrated policy and regulatory framework for Commonwealth records management.

The Archives and Records Act

The Commission has recommended that the present Archives Act be replaced by a new Archives and Records Act. The principal objectives of the new legislation would be to ensure that the Commonwealth creates records sufficient to manage current functions efficiently and accountably; record and safeguard the rights, entitlements and obligations of individual citizens; and document the history of the nation by maintaining a record of significant events, policies, movements and people.

The Act would also establish an accountable framework for the evaluation of Commonwealth records; and ensure that records are preserved for as long as they are of value to the Commonwealth or the public.

New legislation should also strengthen public access provisions, ensuring that records more than 30 years old are made available to the public unless there are compelling and appealable grounds for withholding them. Agencies would be required to put in place programs to ensure the earliest possible release of non-sensitive records, regardless of age.

The National Archives of Australia

The Commission’s recommendations outline a new structure and role for the National Archives of Australia, which would be replaced by a statutory authority bearing the same name, but having a much greater degree of independence. The new authority would be managed by a council, the members of which would be chosen to provide a wide range of relevant opinion and expertise.

There would be two principal roles for the new NAA under the Commission’s proposals. Firstly, that of a high profile and nationally recognised focus for access to records of archival value, regardless of whether such records are housed physically by the NAA or by some other institution.

This would allow the NAA to take its rightful place alongside the other major Commonwealth cultural institutions such as the National Library of Australia and the National Gallery of Australia.

The NAA’s second role would be to provide a policy framework, supported by technical guidance, for the continuum of Commonwealth recordkeeping. It would have a pivotal role in providing the Commonwealth, for the first time, with a consistent and clearly articulated strategy for the management of its records.

The NAA would continue to be predominantly budget funded, but the Commission has made recommendations for new management and charging strategies, which should reduce the total cost to the Commonwealth of providing archival services.

Standards

The Commission found that the quality of recordkeeping by Commonwealth agencies varied widely and was often inadequate. The rapid development of electronic information management and communication systems will bring great benefits if they make adequate provision for recordkeeping. However, if recordkeeping is neglected and fragmented between incompatible electronic and paper based systems the situation will worsen.

It is therefore recommended that there should be mandatory uniform standards for all stages of the continuum of Commonwealth recordkeeping from creation to disposal or archiving.

This would involve the following responsibilities:

• the NAA would be required to issue recordkeeping standards;

• the chief executive officer of each Commonwealth agency would be required to ensure that the standards were implemented satisfactorily; and

• the Auditor-General would, as a part of his or her general auditing functions, monitor the operation of the standards.

A stronger public access regime

A strengthening of the public access provisions of the legislation is a key recommendation of the Commission’s report.

Present arrangements which allow open access to most archives after 30 years should be retained, but the Commission has recommended the number of exemption categories to the 30-year rule be reduced from 15 to nine. An additional category relating to information, the disclosure of which is restricted under the customary law of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people, should be included.

The Commission is concerned that public access to Commonwealth records less than 30 years old still tends to be regarded as the exception rather than the rule. To address this problem, it advocates the imposition of a statutory obligation on all Commonwealth agencies to make records available at the earliest practicable time.

As well, the NAA should issue guidelines to encourage and facilitate the early release of records. Procedures for access by researchers to records not generally available should be streamlined and made subject to research contracts. The Freedom of Information Act, which at present applies only to records created since December 1977, should be extended to apply to all records less than 30 years old, ensuring that all government records are subject to a right of access.

Disposing of Commonwealth records

Most Commonwealth records will sooner or later be disposed of because they are no longer required for administrative purposes and they do not merit retention as archival records. An effective records disposal regime is, therefore, essential to ensure that valuable records are identified and that valueless records are disposed of as quickly as possible to avoid unnecessary storage costs. The NAA should continue to have sole authority for the disposal of Commonwealth records, but the Commission has made a number of recommendations relating to additional legislative measures to make the disposal process more efficient and accountable.

What now?

The Commission, having completed its task, urges those with an interest in Australia’s federal record - from archivists, librarians and historians, to government departments and agencies, and individuals with a personal interest in this crucial area - to put their combined weight behind this report.

There is a strong sense that the Centenary of Federation provides a unique and appropriate opportunity to capitalise on new technological capabilities, and raise Common-wealth recordkeeping to a new level of prominence and excellence, which will ensure our heritage is not only maintained, but enhanced for future generations.

* David Edwards PSM is the Deputy President of the Australian Law Reform Commission and the Commissioner with responsibility for the Archives reference.