David Fricker Archives

National Archives faces backlog of 20,000 access requests

By Shannon Jenkins

Federal

The National Archives has revealed that more than half of the 20,178 applications were submitted between five and ten years ago.

National Archives receives $67.7m to preserve at-risk records

By Shannon Jenkins

Communications & Technology

The funding will be used to preserve the NAA’s at-risk collection over an ‘accelerated four-year digitisation program’.

Encrypted messages are ‘grey area’ in record-keeping requirements, David Fricker says

By Shannon Jenkins

Communications & Technology

The National Archives of Australia has sought legal advice on the “pressing issue” of public servants using encrypted messaging platforms to conduct official business.

National Archives ‘struggled to fulfil its mandate’

By Shannon Jenkins

Communications & Technology

A major review of the National Archives of Australia has highlighted a range of “substantial” problems, including the deterioration of documents, a growing backlog of…

National Archives launches new commonwealth records management policy

By Shannon Jenkins

Communications & Technology

The policy, which comes into effect on January 1, sets out requirements for assisting commonwealth agencies with producing records that can be 'trusted and relied…

National Archives to save 30,000 audiovisual records with $3 million investment

By Shannon Jenkins

Culture

The organisation noted that its audiovisual collection from federal government agencies and public broadcasters spans nearly 100 years.

Insecure funding and lack of preparedness for digital transformation hindering Australia’s archives agencies, review finds

By Shannon Jenkins

Communications & Technology

Independent reviewer Dr Vivienne Thom identified cultural issues within some governments and agencies, with, for example, many not viewing archives and records authorities as integrity…

National Archives to receive digital preservation system under new deal

By Shannon Jenkins

Communications & Technology

The National Archives of Australia has signed a three-year contract to better secure federal government records digitally. Under the deal with software company Preservica, the…

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Interviews

Preserved properly, your emails and Zoom calls will help public servants in future pandemics, says David Fricker

By David Donaldson

Features

Good record-keeping will allow the story of the coronavirus pandemic to be told. The challenge is making sure data is still readable for future generations.

Archives boss looks to ‘outcomes over process’ as auditors savage ‘ineffective’ policy leadership

By Stephen Easton

Federal

The entire federal public sector is supposed to be on the cusp of a new era in information management defined by interoperability, following the earlier…

Anne Twomey: National Archives 'completely dysfunctional' for serious scholarship

By Stephen Easton

Features

Constitutional law professor Anne Twomey thinks the National Archives is nearly useless for serious academic and historical research, partly because it is “starved of funding”…

Odd logic: why the Morrison government won't mandate Essential Eight cyber controls

By Stephen Easton

Communications & Technology

In an unusual piece of logic, the federal government says it will not mandate the Australian Signals Directorate’s Essential Eight information security controls for all…

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Transformational government: the mandate for good governance

By Julian Bajkowski

Features

For senior public servants, digital transformation is a strong mandate, a big opportunity and a serious challenge. But look behind the hype, and the foundations…

Expanding open data requires social license: information mandarins

By Stephen Easton

Communications & Technology

Government agencies need to build social license before pushing ahead with open data. Two key information mandarins have concerns with reforms proposed by the Productivity…

Value public information so we can trust it, rely on it and use it

By David Fricker

Communications & Technology

FULL SPEECH: The digital age will not be kind to government if it doesn't start valuing the information it creates, says the nation's archives…