Public access to records

Public access to archival records held in the Archives Office is determined by decisions made in accordance with the provisions of the Archives Act 1983.

State records (government)

With two exceptions, the access provisions of the Act are based on the principle that all State records held in the Archives Office are on open public access unless some restriction has been placed on them. This means that there is nothing analogous to a “30 year rule” used in some other jurisdictions and therefore that some records which have been transferred to the Archives Office soon after their creation may be accessible without restriction, even though they may only be a year or two old.

The two exceptions mentioned above are Cabinet records (submissions, decisions, etc) and formal records of the Executive Council, which are automatically closed for 25 years after creation unless this restriction is specifically removed by the transferring agency.

For the bulk of records which do not fall into the above categories access restrictions can be imposed by the transferring agency at the time of formal transfer to the Archives Office. The Act provides that any such restrictions will generally lapse once the record is 25 years old. There is also provision for this 25 year period to be extended up to an absolute maximum of 75 years but only if this is stipulated at the time of transfer. It is not possible for a record to be restricted for more than 75 years, nor is it possible to place a more stringent restriction on records retrospectively – ie the access decision made at the time of formal transfer can only be made less restrictive, not more so.

The extension beyond 25 years is primarily aimed at, and used for, restricting access to records which contain substantial personal details of individuals. The formal guidelines which agencies may take into account when considering access restrictions are contained in the Act and are reproduced below. It is also possible for agencies to place access conditions on records which restrict them to specified persons or classes of persons (e.g. heads of agencies, officers of the transferring agency, officers of any Tasmanian Government agencies, etc), and, as an alternative, the agency may also formally assign the determination of access restrictions, or their case by case application, to the State Archivist.

Access to State records within a restricted period

Access to records that are the subject of an access restriction can be sought from the agency responsible for the imposition of the restriction. People wishing to apply should initially contact the Archives Office to obtain contact details for the relevant authority. Written approval specifying the records to which it relates will need to be produced when the records are requested at the Archives Office.

Non-State records (non-government)

The Archives Act provides that depositors of non-State records can place restrictions on public access to records they deposit in the Archives Office under any terms they decide which are agreed to by the Office. In line with State records however any such restrictions lapse once the record is 75 years old and cannot be extended beyond this period. As a general rule very few non-State records have any access restrictions placed on them.

Guidelines Used for Determining Access Restrictions

This is a list, from Section 15(4) of the Archives Act, 1983 of the types of information or matters contained in records which may be considered when determining whether access should be restricted

information or matter the disclosure of which would involve the disclosure of any deliberation or decision of the State Cabinet, not being information or matter contained in a record by which a decision of the State Cabinet was officially published;
information or matter the disclosure of which would involve the disclosure of any deliberation or advice of the State Executive Council, other than information or matter contained in a record by which an act of the Governor, acting with the advice of the Executive Council, was officially published;
information or matter the disclosure of which would involve the disclosure of
- any opinion, advice, or recommendation given, obtained, prepared, or recorded; or
- any consultation or deliberation that has taken place, in the course of, or for the purposes of, bringing into existence a record of a kind to which subsection (1) applies; [ records of Cabinet or the Executive Council ]
information or matter communicated in confidence or on behalf of the Government of the Commonwealth or of another country or State or of a Territory of the Commonwealth or a person receiving the communication on behalf of any such Government, the disclosure of which would constitute a breach of that confidence;
information or matter the disclosure of which would prejudice relations between this State and the Commonwealth or between this State and another State or a Territory of the Commonwealth;
information or matter the disclosure of which would have a substantial adverse effect on the financial or property interests of this State or of a State authority or a local authority;
information or matter the disclosure of which would be reasonably likely to have a substantial adverse effect on the interests of this State or of a State authority or a local authority in or in relation to pending or likely legal proceedings;
information or matter the disclosure of which would constitute a breach of confidence;
information or matter the disclosure of which would -
- prejudice the enforcement or proper administration of the law in a particular case;
- prejudice the fair trial of a person or the impartial adjudication of a particular case;
information or matter the disclosure of which would involve the unreasonable disclosure of information relating to the personal affairs of a person, including a deceased person;
information or matter, including commercial or financial information, the disclosure of which would be likely to expose unreasonably to disadvantage the material interests of an industrial or trading business or undertaking.

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