National Archives of Australia

The National Archives looks after Australia's valuable Commonwealth records dating back to Federation. The main draw card is Australia's 'birth certificate' - The Constitution and Royal Commission of Assent - along with exhibitions and displays.

The records in our collection trace the events and decisions that shaped the nation. We hold the papers of Governors-General, Prime Ministers and Ministers. We have Cabinet documents, Royal Commission files and departmental records on defence, immigration, security and intelligence, naturalisation, and many other issues involving the federal government.

The main focus of our collection is records created since the formation of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. We also have some nineteenth-century records relating to functions that were transferred by the colonies to the Commonwealth government, including shipping and post offices.