Policy for Access to Restricted Information
Managed by the Aboriginal History
Research Unit
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
2
PRINCIPLES
2
LEGISLATION
3
 Freedom of Information Act 1994
 State Records Act 2000
 Adoption Act 1994
DEFINITIONS
4
POLICY
5

Access to restricted records
 Censorship of restricted records
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INTRODUCTION
The Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA) manages a collection of historical
records that contain information about Aboriginal people. The records are:
•
Western Australian State Government records kept by various
government departments that administered Aboriginal affairs between
1886 and 1972;
•
Privately owned records that DAA manages access to in Western
Australia (the South Australian Museum’s Tindale Collection and the
University of Sydney’s Elkin genealogies); and
•
A private collection of records purchased by the Commonwealth
Government and placed with DAA (The Goodacre Collection).
Under the State Records Act 2000, access to state-archived records is
classified as open or closed.
Access to the privately owned records
managed by DAA is through legal agreements with the owners of the
material.
This paper provides policy for:
•
access to the state archives and privately owned records
managed by DAA through the Aboriginal History Research Unit
(AHRU); and
•
the censoring, upon access, of the state archives and privately
owned records managed by DAA.
The recommended policy and procedures are not contrary to the State
Records Act 2000, the Freedom of Information Act 1992 and the Adoption Act
1994.
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PRINCIPLES
This policy includes two principles:
1. Applicants for information have the right to access their own
information; and
2. Personal information will not be given to third parties.
LEGISLATION
The Freedom of Information Act 1992 (FOI Act)
The FOI Act is the principal legislation determining the majority of this policy’s
clauses.
The FOI Act determines what state and local government
information can be accessed, and the required procedures following an
appeal from an applicant who has been denied access to information.
Although the FOI Act has an emphasis on access provisions after the refusal
to disclose information, this policy applies the requirements of the FOI Act at
the initial disclosure of any information. The initial disclosure of information is
the principal activity of AHRU.
The State Records Act 2000 (SRA)
The SRA is principally designed to determine laws for government recordkeeping practices; the control of state records and archives; and access to
archived records where access is not determined by the FOI Act.
The Adoption Act 1994 (AA)
The AA needs to be considered in this policy because it provides laws about
access to information that identifies birth parents and children legally adopted
into another family. The principal component of this Act to be applied to
AHRU’s operations is Part 4 (Division 4) which establishes the right for both
biological parents and people who were adopted in childhood to place a veto
on contact by the other party.
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Own information
Information that is about the applicant.
Closest relative
There is no legal definition for the term
closest relative. This policy defines the
closest relative as: the closest living
descendant or ancestor to the subject
of the information. Where there are no
living descendants or ancestors, the
closest relative is any living sibling to
the subject of the information.
One only of the closest relatives
This means any (one) person who
meets the definition of closest relative
to the subject of the information.
Consent for access does not need to
be sought from all the people in the
equivalent relationship to the subject of
the information.
Open access information
Archived files that are more
than 100 years old.
Restricted information
Information that is not accessible until
the applicant’s right to that information
is assessed under this policy.
Personal or Family History
Applicant
An applicant seeking their own
information or that of a family member.
Native Title Researcher
Applicant
An applicant for information as defined
in DAA’s Native Title Access Policy.
General Researcher Applicant
Any applicant for information that is not
a Personal or Family History Applicant
or Native Title Researcher.
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POLICY
ACCESS TO RESTRICTED INFORMATION
______________________________________________________________
(1) An applicant can access their own information.
(2) An applicant can access information about a deceased family member
where the applicant is the closest relative to the deceased family
member.
(3) Clauses (1) and (2) apply to applicants adopted in childhood, where the
applicant knows the name of his or her birth parent/s and/or family.
(4) Where a person has been adopted during childhood and knows the
name of his or her birth parent/s, and:
a) consent for access to information is required from a birth
parent; and,
b) the birth parent/s of that person has placed a veto on contact
with him/her under the Adoption Act 1994;
AHRU will contact the Department for Child Protection and Family
Support (DCP) to advise that a person has requested information and
to get them to contact the birthparent to seek their permission before
access will be granted. Clients will be advised of this process.
(5) General Researcher Applicants can access third party personal
information with the written consent of the person who is the subject of
the information.
(6) General Researchers can access third party personal information about
a deceased person with the written consent of the closest relative to
the deceased person. This can be one only of the closest relatives in
the equivalent family relationship to the deceased person.
(7) To protect the confidentiality of the records, an applicant for information
must provide evidence of their identity.
(8) Individuals providing consent to a General Researcher Applicant to
access their personal records must provide evidence of their identity.
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(9) An applicant who wishes to engage another person to receive:
•
•
their information on his or her behalf; or,
information about a deceased family member for which he or
she has access rights to,
must give written consent to that person. This consent must include
whether the applicant requires posted material to be addressed to the
person they give consent to.
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM RECORDS
(10) All material from the South Australian Museum collection accessed by
applicants for information must have a statement attached to it that
informs the recipient:
a) that the accessed information is owned by the South
Australian Museum;
b) that copyright of the information is held by the South
Australian Museum;
c) that the copy of the accessed information is released for the
purpose of genealogical research;
d) that application for any other use of the information must be
placed with the South Australian Museum;
e) should the information be used for any other purpose, that no
further information will be released to the applicant; and
f) contact details of the South Australian Museum.
(11) An applicant for information can access information about his or her
own genealogical record from a South Australian Museum genealogy
where any of the people named on the genealogy are direct ancestors.
Genealogies can then be accessed in their entirety.
(12) Where a South Australian Museum genealogy is accessed, the
document must be accompanied by the following, clearly stated
information to the applicant. Example as follows:
© The Museum Board of South Australia 1952.
Board for Anthropological Research AA 346/4/20/1
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TINDALE PHOTOGRAPHS
(13) Prior to access, DAA staff must take into consideration cultural
restrictions on some Tindale photographs.
(14) Eligible applicants can receive a copy of a photograph of him or herself,
or a deceased family member in the Tindale collection. Copies of
photographs of family members can expand to the applicant’s:
a) lineal ancestry;
b) siblings; and
c) the siblings and cousins of each of the generations in (14a).
(16) DAA will provide copies of Tindale photographs (maximum 3 of each
photograph requested) to eligible applicants.
(17) Tindale photographs accessed by applicants for information must have
a statement attached to it that informs the recipient that:the longevity of the received photograph is not known and that it
is advised to copy the photograph (with SAM’s permission) in
the future to ensure its survival.
(18) Tindale photographs accessed by applicants for information must have
a statement attached to it that informs the recipient that:for copyright reasons, permission to copy photographs must be
obtained from the South Australian Museum.
ARCHIVED FILES
(19) Access to information from restricted archived files will be given
according to the assessment of each file by AHRU at the time of
application. This assessment will be made regardless of the file’s
previous classification as closed.
NATIVE TITLE RESEARCHERS
See Native Title Access Policy attached to this document.
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CENSORSHIP OF RESTRICTED MATERIAL
_____________________________________________________________________
(20) No information that is about the applicant, or about a person whose
information the applicant has access rights to, will be censored.
(21) Where an applicant’s information is of a medical nature, and the
Manager – AHRU is of the opinion that disclosure of the information
to the applicant, or a person who has given consent to a general
researcher for access to their information may have a substantial
adverse affect on the physical or mental health of that person, the
Manager – AHRU will liaise with DAA’s Co-ordinator of Corporate
Information about enacting the procedures of section 28 of the
Freedom of Information Act 1992.
(22) Third party medical information will be censored from information
accessed by applicants for information.
(23) Third party personal information will be censored from information
accessed by applicants for information.
(24) Information that refers to a third party in the context of his/her duties
as an officer of a government agency will not be censored.
(25) Where an applicant applies for information, and the disclosure of
the information to that applicant is considered to be a potential
breach of Aboriginal tradition, AHRU staff will assess, on a case by
case basis, whether to disclose the information to the applicant. If
required, the assessment will include consultation with the
appropriate Aboriginal people/groups considered by DAA to be the
owners of the tradition referred to in the information.
(26) AHRU officers can use discretion to determine what is personal,
and what is third party information in the context of information
being disclosed to each applicant.
(27) Deletions to records are to be kept clear so that should an applicant
wish to pursue access to the deleted information, he or she can do
so under the Freedom of Information Act 1994.
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(28) Where an applicant is denied access to a whole record, or part of a
record, the applicant will be advised in writing and where possible,
verbally of:
a) the reason for the deletion/s; and,
b) the applicant’s option to appeal the deletion/s under
the Freedom of Information Act 1992.
GENERAL RESEARCHERS
(29) Where it is considered by the Manager – AHRU that the disclosure
of information to a General Researcher Applicant is in the public
interest, and the information contains third party personal records,
the information can be accessed by the General Researcher with
any information identifying the third party deleted from it.
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