Public Access to Official Records
On This Page
State Records Act and access to official records
One of State Records roles is to provide access to official records in its custody. Sections 20 and 26 of the State Records Act, 1997, deal with the question of access to records by the public.
Go to Top
The Act and public access to official records
Section 20 of the State Records Act, 1997 (the Act) says that a government agency must advise State Records about specific laws that will prevent or restrict the public from accessing the records the agency is transferring to our collection. These laws are put in place to prevent information becoming available that is particularly sensitive and are intended to protect the privacy of individuals. Examples include: - Children's Protection Act, 1993
- Adoption Act, 1988
- Guardianship and Administration Act, 1993.
Section 26 of the Act permits a government agency, in consultation with State Records, to decide at what point the record can become available for viewing by the public. These decisions are called access determinations. An access determination may do one of three things. It can: - declare an official record open to public access immediately
- declare it to be open to public access after a specified number of years since its creation
- declare it to be closed to public access indefinitely.
Records may be closed to public access until a specified number of years have passed because they contain information of commercial value or personal information. The more sensitive the personal information the longer it will remain closed to public access. Records may be closed indefinitely as a result of legislation (see the note above about Section 20 of the Act) or because they contain information that is covered by legal professional privilege. State Records Research Centre staff can provide advice about any restrictions on access to specific records.
Related Information:
Go to Top
Fragile records
The State Records Act, 1997 permits the Director of State Records to close a record to public access if the record is too fragile to be handled and in need of conservation.
Go to Top
Viewing records open to public access
Many records in State Records collection can be viewed by the public on request, without charge, at a State Records Research Centre. Members of the public seeking access to official records can ask Research Centre staff for assistance or alternatively, if the reference number for the record is known, can email or write to State Records requesting a copy be made and sent to them. Customers will be charged for copies. Records can be ordered at a Research Centre or customers can search ArchivesSearch, an on-line collection catalogue available from our website, to identify records and to place an order on-line for viewing at a Research Centre. Note, to be able to order records, customers will first need to complete the public user registration form that is attached to ArchivesSearch.
Related Information:
Go to Top
Clicking certain links on this page will transfer you, in a new window, to a non-State Records of South Australia Web site that is solely under the control of a party unaffiliated with State Records of South Australia. State Records of South Australia shall not be responsible for any content, product, or service offered on such Web sites.
|