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2000
HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
ISBN 0 642 42868
9
CENSUS INFORMATION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL
2000
OUTLINE
The main purpose of the Bill is to
ensure that name-identified 2001 Census information, relating only to those
households which provide explicit consent, will be stored by the National
Archives of Australia to be preserved for release for future genealogical and
other research after a closed access period of 99 years. The Bill also changes
the name of “Australian Archives” to “National Archives of
Australia” which is dealt with in this Bill for efficiency.
All
name-identified information from past Censuses has been destroyed, once the
statistical processing was completed. The Government agrees with the Standing
Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs report, Saving Our Census and
Preserving Our History that saving name-identified census information
“for future research, with appropriate safeguards, will make a valuable
contribution to preserving Australia's history for future generations”.
This is particularly true for the 2001 Census coinciding as it does with the
Centenary of Federation.
However, in keeping with good privacy practice
and to ensure that the current high levels of public confidence and cooperation
in the Census are maintained, the Government considers such information should
only be kept for those households which explicitly consent on the Census form,
rather than kept mandatorily for all households as recommended by the Committee.
Also, for privacy reasons and to encourage households to consent, the Government
considers that the name-identified information should not be available for any
purpose within a 99 year closed access period, including access by a court or
tribunal. The retention of Census records from future Censuses will be
considered in the light of the 2001 experience.
The Bill ensures the
2001 name-identified Census information, for consenting households only, is
retained by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and then transferred to the
National Archives of Australia in a form suitable for archiving. In relation to
the Census information, a closed access period of 99 years, instead of the usual
30 years for most archive material, is specified in the Archives Act
1983. The information will be protected from release for any purpose in the
closed access period and an explicit non-disclosure provision is being included
in the Archives Act 1983 to ensure this. An explicit provision is also
being included in both the Census and Statistics Act 1905 and the
Archives Act 1983 to provide protection from compulsory disclosure to a
court or tribunal.
FINANCIAL IMPACT STATEMENT
The cost of
the proposal is $11.0 m over four years, including the costs of an extensive
public education campaign and the transfer of information to an appropriate
archival format.
NOTES ON CLAUSES
Clause 1: Short
Title
1. Clause 1 is a formal provision specifying the short title of
the Bill.
Clause 2: Commencement
2. The Act will commence
on the day it receives the Royal Assent.
Clause 3:
Schedule(s)
3. A machinery provision to allow the specific amendments
to be grouped in two schedules, one relating to the retention of 2001 Census
information, the other relating to the name change of Australian Archives.
Clause 3 puts the various amendments to the Census and Statistics Act
1905 and the Archives Act 1983, so specified, into
effect.
Schedule 1 - Amendments relating to the 2001
Census
Archives Act 1983
Item
1
4. Item 1 defines the term “2001 Census Information”,
for the purposes of the Archives Act 1983, as the information
that the Australian Statistician will be required to
transfer to Archives under Item 5, Section 8A (see below).
Item
2
5. Item 2 provides Archives with special custody responsibilities
specific to the 2001 Census information. Subsection (1) sets the closed access
period as 99 years beginning on the 2001 Census day - the Census day is defined
in Subsection (3). Subsection (2) makes it clear that the normal 30 year open
access period for Archives’ records (specified in Subsection 3(7),
Archives Act 1983) does not apply to the 2001 Census records and that
arrangements for special or accelerated access (Section 56, Archives Act
1983) also do not apply.
Item 3
6. Item 3 inserts new
provisions to ensure that the 2001 Census information is completely protected
throughout the 99 year closed access period. Subsection 30A(1) removes any doubt
that Archives officers may not release the Census information in the closed
access period, and Subsection 30A(4) ensures the Director-General is included.
Subsection 30A(2) protects the 2001 Census information in the custody of
Archives from disclosure under compulsion of a court or tribunal and prevents
the information being provided voluntarily by Archives in evidence before a
court or tribunal. Subsection 30A(3) ensures that this provision prevails over
Section 58 which would otherwise allow Archives to disclose the Census
information where it was proper to do so or required by law.
Item 4
7. Item 4 defines the term “Archives”
for the purposes of the Census and Statistics Act, 1905.
Item
5
8. Item 5 inserts a new provision which requires the Australian
Bureau of Statistics to transfer the 2001 Census information to Archives. As
the information is being transferred for a non-statistical purpose (i.e.
genealogical and other research), this specific provision ensures that the
transfer is a legitimate function of the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Subparagraph (a) defines the information which is subject to transfer as that
which is on the 2001 Census form. Subparagraph (b) provides that the transfer
can only occur where a person has consented to the transfer on the 2001 Census
form. The provision requires that the Statistician transfer the information in
a form and manner agreed with the Director-General of Archives, which is to
ensure that it can be effectively archived but the format in which the
information will be transferred will not affect its protection from access
during the closed access period.
Item 6
9. Item 6 inserts
a new subsection into the secrecy provision of the Census and Statistics Act,
1905 (Section 19) with specific application to the 2001 Census information.
As for the similar provision proposed for the Archives Act 1983 (see Item
3 above), it protects the 2001 Census information in the custody of the
Australian Bureau of Statistics from disclosure under compulsion of a court or
tribunal and prevents the information being provided voluntarily in evidence
before a court or tribunal. These protections are in addition to the more
general protection from inappropriate release, provided under Section 19.
Paragraph (2) provides a definition of the term "2001 Census day" which was not
previously required in this Act.
Schedule 2 - Amendments to change the
name of the Archives
Archives Act
1983
10. The Items in this schedule change the name of
“Australian Archives” to “National Archives of
Australia” and make the consequent changes throughout the Archives Act
1983.
11. Item 1 repeals the former definition of “Archives” and
substitutes a new definition incorporating the new name “National Archives
of Australia”.
12. Item 2 repeals the former definition of “Council” and
substitutes a new definition incorporating the new name “National Archives
of Australia”. The Council will continue with its existing
membership.
13. Items 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 omit all current references within
the Archives Act 1983 to “Australian Archives” and substitute
the new name “National Archives of Australia”.