20.
relation to, or arrangements relating to the custody of, material that forms part of the archival resources of the Commonwealth"[1].
48 Part V of the Archives Act governs the management and preservation of Commonwealth records. Within Pt V, Div 2 is concerned with dealings with Commonwealth records and Div 3 is concerned with access to Commonwealth records.
49 Division 2 of Pt V contains a general prohibition against "the destruction or other disposal of a Commonwealth record", "the transfer of the custody or ownership of a Commonwealth record" and "damage to or alteration of a Commonwealth record"[2] except as "required by any law", "with the permission of the Archives or in accordance with a practice or procedure approved by the Archives", "in accordance with a normal administrative practice" not disapproved by the Archives, or "for the purpose of placing Commonwealth records that are not in the custody of the Commonwealth or of a Commonwealth institution in the custody of the Commonwealth or of a Commonwealth institution that is entitled to custody of the records"[3]. It imposes a duty on "[t]he person responsible for the custody" of a Commonwealth record that is "in the custody of a Commonwealth institution other than the Archives" to "cause the record to be transferred to the care of the Archives in accordance with arrangements approved by the Archives" if the record is determined by the Director-General to be part of the archival resources of the Commonwealth[4].
50 Division 3 of Pt V centrally imposes a duty on the Archives to cause a Commonwealth record, other than an "exempt record", that is in the "care" of the Archives or in the "custody" of a Commonwealth institution to be made available for public access once the record is within the "open access period"[5], and confers a corresponding entitlement on "any person" to access such Commonwealth
