Under the Archives Act 1983, for most Commonwealth records, the date the records were created, determines whether they are open for public access or not. Once records fall in the Open access period, that is 20 years after the date of the creation of the record, they become open for researchers to look at. Some records, however, continue to be subject to restrictions for various reasons. Other records are only closed because they have not yet been examined in detail by Archivists.
On Recordsearch, the search engine of the National Archives, you can see if a record is open or not and whether it has been digitized. Sometimes you will see the phrases 'Not yet examined' or 'Open with exception' under the name of the record. In these cases researchers need to contact the National Archives to ask for them to be examined with the possibility of being opened for access or to apply for access to closed records. The National Archives website provides further information about applying for access to records
This very large series of Correspondence files was created by the Northern Territory Administration when the Northern Territory was under the control of the Commonwealth Government. It was the main series of administrative correspondence and policy files for the Administration. The files contain letters, memoranda, reports and other documents passing between the Administration, Commonwealth departments and other outside agencies. The series includes many files relating to the welfare of children, both Aboriginal and non Aboriginal. These include records of the State Children's Council and its successors.
We do not currently have any records linked to this organisation, but records may exist. The Find & Connect Support Service can help people who lived in orphanages and children's institutions look for their records.
Last updated:
17 May 2023
Cite this: http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/guide/nt/YE00187
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
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