Lifecycle of Parliamentary Documents: Australia
2. Office of Parliamentary Counsel
Separate from the parliamentary service departments, the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, which is a statutory agency established under the Parliamentary Counsel Act 1970 (Cth), is responsible for drafting Commonwealth bills and subordinate legislation; preparing compilations and reprints of Commonwealth laws; and publishing bills, laws, compilations and reprints, and information related to Commonwealth laws. It also prepares and publishes Government Notices Gazettes and maintains the Federal Register of Legislation. [1]
3. National Archives of Australia
In terms of the role of the National Archives of Australia with respect to the collection, storage, and preservation of parliamentary documents, the National Archives explains that
[i]nformation that relates directly to official government or parliamentary business, such as the role of a minister of state, parliamentary secretary or other office holder, is a Commonwealth record and subject to the Archives Act 1983. Other office holders include the presiding officers, Leader of the Opposition, shadow ministers and chairs of parliamentary committees. Commonwealth records need to be maintained as evidence of government or parliamentary business, to protect the rights and entitlements of Australians and the government, and as part of Australia’s heritage.
The most valuable Commonwealth records are kept permanently by the National Archives of Australia as part of the archival resources of the nation.[2]
It further explains that “[r]ecords not made or received in connection with the official duties of senators or members are not subject to the Archives Act, but should be managed to ensure they can be retrieved when needed.”[3] These are considered to be personal, non-Commonwealth, records of the senator or member concerned and may include, for example, information concerning electorate matters, including correspondence with or on behalf of constituents; staff, finance, and office management records; and information or records of party political matters.
4. National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia collects various parliamentary documents, including Parliamentary Papers and manuscripts (“including papers of ministers and documents relating to political parties”).[4] The National Library’s collection development policy states with respect to government publications that
- ↑ Our Functions, Office of Parliamentary Counsel, https://www.opc.gov.au/about-opc/our-functions.
- ↑ Information and Records Management for Senators and MPs, NAA, https://www.naa.gov.au/informationmanagement/records-authorities/types-records-authorities/general-records-authority-38/information-andrecords-management-senators-and-mps.
- ↑ Id.
- ↑ Australian Politics and Government, National Library of Australia (NLA), https://perma.cc/K7X5-GNPL.
The Law Library of Congress
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