N a t io n a l A r c h iv National Archives of Australia e s o and National Archives of Australia Advisory Council f A u s ANNUAL REPORTS 2007–08 t r a lia a n d N a t io n a l A r c h iv e s o f A u s t r a lia A d v is o r y C o u n c il A N N U A L R E P O R T S 2 0 0 7 – 0 8 naa.gov.au National Archives of Australia and National Archives of Australia Advisory Council Annual Reports 2007–08 Published by the National Archives of Australia © Commonwealth of Australia 2008 ISSN 1440-8961 ISBN 978-1-920807-70-2 This work is copyright. You may download, display, print and reproduce the material in an unaltered form only (retaining this notice) for your personal, non-commercial use or use within your organisation. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, all other rights are reserved. Requests for further authorisation should be directed to the Publications Manager, National Archives of Australia, PO Box 7425, Canberra Business Centre, ACT 2610. Prepared by the Governance, Risk and Compliance Section and the Communications and Marketing Section Photographs by Imaging Services Section (except pages 13 and 182) Contact offi cer Requests and inquiries concerning the content of these reports should be directed to: Annual Report Coordinator National Archives of Australia PO Box 7425 Canberra Business Centre ACT 2610 Telephone: (02) 6212 3925 Facsimile: (02) 6212 3649 Email: [email protected] The cover features the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 (front cover) and the Royal Commission of Assent signed by Queen Victoria (back cover), which are permanently displayed in the Federation Gallery of the National Archives of Australia. Our reference: 2008/2311 5 September 2008 Senator the Hon John Faulkner Special Minister of State and Cabinet Secretary Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600 Dear Minister We have pleasure in forwarding to you the annual reports on the operations of the National Archives of Australia and the National Archives of Australia Advisory Council for the year ended 30 June 2008. The reports are submitted in accordance with subsections 68(1) and 68(2) of the Archives Act 1983, which require the Archives and the Advisory Council to furnish you with reports of their operations and proceedings during the preceding 12 months as soon as practicable after 30 June each year. The Archives’ annual report is also made under section 70 of the Public Service Act 1999. Subsection 70(1) of the Public Service Act requires the report to be given to you for presentation to Parliament. The report has been prepared in accordance with the guidelines approved on behalf of Parliament by the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit as required by subsection 70(2) of the Public Service Act. Yours sincerely Ross Gibbs Paul Santamaria Director-General Chairman Advisory Council Queen Victoria Terrace, Parkes ACT 2600 • PO Box 7425, Canberra Business Centre ACT 2610 tel (02) 6212 3600 fax (02) 6212 3699 email [email protected] website naa.gov.au Contents National Archives of Australia Annual Report 2007–08 1 Director-General’s review of 2007–08 3 Overview of the National Archives of Australia 9 Establishment and role 9 Outcome and output structure 10 Governance and organisational structure 13 Report on performance 19 Outcome 1 19 Output 1.1 20 Outcome 2 29 Output 2.1 30 Output 2.2 41 Management accountability 63 Corporate governance 63 Risk management 65 External scrutiny 69 Information technology and management 71 Human resources management 74 Assets management 79 Procurement 80 Financial management 81 Financial statements and supporting notes for the year ended 30 June 2008 83 Contents v Appendixes Appendix A National Archives of Australia addresses and contact numbers 134 Appendix B Publications produced 136 Appendix C Records Authorities approved 140 Appendix D Selected records transferred and described 141 Appendix E Volunteers and Work for the Dole scheme 147 Appendix F Performance against the National Archives of Australia Service Charter standards 148 Appendix G Exhibitions program 149 Appendix H Discretionary grants 152 Appendix I Consultancies, advertising and market research 154 Appendix J Occupational health and safety 156 Appendix K Freedom of information 158 Appendix L Professional engagement 162 Appendix M International engagement 167 Appendix N Ecologically sustainable development and environmental performance 172 National Archives of Australia Advisory Council Annual Report 2007–08 179 Glossary and indexes 189 Glossary of terms and acronyms 190 Compliance index 192 Figures and tables index 195 Index 198 vi Annual Report 2007–08 National Archives of Australia Annual Report 2007–08 Australian Constitution The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 is permanently displayed in the Archives’ Federation Gallery. The Archives holds many records documenting the creation and evolution of the Australian Constitution. The Constitution established the legal and political structures that continue to shape the lives of all Australians. It is a living charter providing the power for the government to make and implement laws. In 2008 the Archives joined four other agencies under the The Commonwealth of Australia Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio in an Integrity Agencies Constitution Act 1900. Group, all with common interests in accountability and integrity. Edmund Barton, Prime Minister, 1901–03. The importance of good records management in supporting NAA: A1200, L16929 good governance as well as accountable and effi cient public administration continue to be key priorities. 2 Annual Report 2007–08 Director-General’s H e review of 2007–08 id e S m ith The new Administrative Arrangement Orders following the Ross Gibbs PSM Director-General November 2007 general election were highly signifi cant for the National Archives of Australia. Initially, we were moved from the cultural agencies portfolio to become part of the Finance and Deregulation portfolio, but on 1 May 2008, new Administrative Arrangement Orders moved the Archives to the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio. Senator Faulkner, as Cabinet Secretary, was identifi ed as the Minister with responsibility for the Archives. The Archives joined other agencies under the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio in an Integrity Agencies Group, each sharing Senator Faulkner as Minister and all with common interests in accountability and integrity. The other members of the Group include the Australian Public Service Commission, the Australian National Audit Offi ce, the Ombudsman and the Privacy Commissioner. The advent of the Integrity Agencies Group model in Australia caused interest in the international archives community. It makes concrete the message I have been delivering in a number of international forums about the importance of archives seeking out ‘natural allies’ to reinforce the importance of good records management in the public sector as an enabler of good governance. Director-General’s review of 2007–08 3 Records management across public sector agencies was also in the spotlight in 2007–08 with the release of the Australian Government Management Advisory Committee’s Note for File: A Report on Recordkeeping in the Australian Public Service. The Archives responded with a suite of new recordkeeping products, including a streamlined process for obtaining a Records Authority and the release of Check-up, an interactive recordkeeping self-assessment tool for Australian Government agencies. Check-up has proven popular with agencies and has been nominated for an Australian Society of Archivists’ Mander Jones Award and the Australian Government Information Management Offi ce’s Excellence in e-Government Award. Check-up has also generated substantial interest among the international archives community. The year saw further emphasis on the importance of managing and preserving digital records. The Archives received transfers of digital records for long-term preservation, including from several commissions of inquiry. As noted in previous annual reports, the Archives has developed a prototype digital archive that demonstrates the viability of our approach to preserving the electronic business records of government. The Archives is now focused on establishing a whole-of-government digital archive. The Archives also achieved some signifi cant landmarks in providing public access to its collection in 2007–08. This was the fi rst full year of the National Digitisation Service. We now have more than 19.8 million individual pages from our collection available in a digital format on our online database, RecordSearch. We are also focusing on digitising our extensive holdings of immigration records as part of the Making Australia Home project. We anticipate that this project may be as popular with the Australian public as A Gift to the Nation, the 376,000 World War I service records that became accessible online in 2007. 4 Annual Report 2007–08