EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Minister for Administrative Services
Subject Archives Act 1983
Archives Regulations (Amendment)
Section 71 of the Archives Act 1983 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Act.
Under sub-section 3 (1) of the Act, material which is exempt for the purposes of the Act includes material included in the memorial collection within the meaning of the Australian War Memorial Act 1980, other than material to which a regulation under sub-section 3 (6) applies.
Sub-section 3 (6) of the Act provides in part that the regulations may provide that specified records of which a Commonwealth institution has, or is entitled to have, possession are to be deemed to be Commonwealth records for the purposes of specified provisions of the Act.
The Australian Archives and the Australian War Memorial have, after discussions, agreed to include some records held by the War Memorial, and not covered by the Act, under certain provisions of the Act.
The proposed Regulations will enable the public access and review provisions of the Act to apply to certain records from Commonwealth government agency sources which are held in the memorial collection of the Australian War Memorial.
The proposed Regulations insert a new regulation 7AA in the Archives Regulations to provide that records held in the memorial collection of the Australian War Memorial, other than records specified in new schedule 1AA, are taken to be Commonwealth records for the purposes of the access and review provisions of the Act. Schedule 1AA exempts certain records in the memorial collection from coverage as Commonwealth records. These records have been exempted because they contain material that has been received from private sources.