Archives Act 1983

Citation
Archives Act 1983, Act No. 79 of 1983 as amended.

Overview
Access to archival records of the Australian Government is governed by the Archives Act 1983. Under the Act a citizen have a right of access to Commonwealth government records that are in the open access period. Following amendments to the Act approved by Parliament in May 2010, the open access period for Commonwealth records as defined by the Act will begin after 20 years instead of the previous 30 years. The open access period for Cabinet notebooks will begin after 30 years, instead of 50 years. The 99-year access rule for Census records remains unchanged.