The State Archives and Records Authority of New South Wales (NSW State Archives and Records) are the custodian of the archives of the NSW Government, the State Archives Collection. The Collection documents the Government’s activities and functions from 1788 to today.

The Collection is located primarily at Kingswood in Western Sydney. It is the largest collection of records relating to the history of NSW and the lives of its people. It comprises over 14 million items or 85 linear kilometres and grows by 2-3 linear kms every year.

The records in the Collection are arranged firstly by the Government agency (a department, branch, office or official) that created them, then into series of records, then into items (bound volumes, files, documents, or objects) within the series. Examples of their records can be found in their Galleries.

• Kingswood and Regional Archives Centres: Most of the State Archives Collection is still in its original form and needs to be viewed in their Reading Room at Kingswood. Some records of regional significance are held in their Regional Archives Centres.
• Other locations: Many of their popular records have been copied onto microform and are available atCommunity Access Points throughout Australia and several international locations, as part of the Archives Resources Kit (ARK). The Archives also hold these copied records in their Reading Room.
• Online: A small percentage of the State Archives Collection has been digitised and is available online by searching their catalogue, and their Flickr page, as well as on third party websites (such as Ancestry, FamilySearch, and FindMyPast).
• Copy service: For those unable to visit their Reading Room, the Archives offer a copying service for certain types of records.

Get the most research out of your day when you visit the Archives by pre-ordering records in advance. Pre-ordering gives the Archives time to process your requests and have the records ready before you arrive.