The National Archives of Australia holds the memory of the nation and keeps vital Australian Government records safe. We do this so everyone can access evidence of government decisions and actions, making them transparent and accountable.

These records connect you with the stories and people that define the past, shape the future and help safeguard democracy.

The National Archives of Australia is a Commonwealth Government agency responsible for Commonwealth Government records. It has its national office in Canberra and offices (with reading rooms) in all State and Territory capital cities:

• New South Wales State Office, Sydney
• Northern Territory Office, Darwin
• Queensland State Office, Brisbane
• South Australia State Office, Adelaide
• Tasmanian State Office, Hobart
• Victorian State Office, Melbourne
• Western Australian State Office, Perth

The Archives’ offices in Melbourne, Darwin, Adelaide and Hobart are co-located with state archival or library institutions, providing researchers with access to both state and Commonwealth records from shared reading rooms.

The National Archives of Australia holds records covering all facets of Commonwealth Government activity since Federation in 1901, as well as some earlier records for activities that were transferred from the colonies to the Commonwealth Government.

In Canberra, the National Archives holds the records of the Federal Cabinet and the records of major Commonwealth departments like the Prime Minister’s Department, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Department of Defence and the Department of Immigration. In addition, the National office of the National Archives holds the personal dossiers of all those who served in the Australian Army during World War I and World War II.

Quantity: At 30 June 2016 the Archives stored nationally 353.6 shelf kilometres of paper and other analogue records. A total of 721.1 terabytes of digital records were also held in repositories located in Canberra and Sydney.

Postal Address:
PO Box 4924 Kingston ACT 2604

Contact the national office in Canberra via the Contact Form.