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Senate Order for the production of indexed lists of departmental and agency files

Governance
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As part of the government's ongoing commitment to give Australians access to government information quickly and easily, departments and agencies are required to list on their websites the titles of certain files. The Parliament of Australia website outlines this requirement on its Orders for documents page.

The lists are tabled twice a year:

  • An indexed list of files created from January to June is published by the tenth day of spring parliamentary sittings.
  • An indexed list of files created from July to December is published by the tenth day of autumn parliamentary sittings.

To index the list as the Senate Order requires, we have arranged the files under the names of our departmental divisions and then by file number. Files may include acronyms and abbreviations that we use when referring to certain topics or to division, branch, section and unit names.

If you have difficulty accessing the information or need help with alternative formats, please contact us.

In accordance with the order, our list of files does not include:

  • files transferred to the National Archives of Australia
  • files about the internal administration of the department (staff or personnel, accounts, training or general administrative matters)
  • case-related files (for example, personal representation or dealing with the personal affairs of a client)
  • files with titles that would disclose the deliberations of Cabinet.

Also in accordance with the order, we have deleted some information in file titles. This includes:

  • commercially sensitive information
  • identifiable personal information
  • any security classified information that is disclosed in or could reasonably be established from a file title.

Portfolio agency file lists

Agencies that sit within the Attorney-General’s portfolio keep their own indexed file lists on their websites. You can access them at the following links.

Courts and tribunals

Integrity and oversight

Legal services

Regulation and reform

Royal Commissions are exempt from complying with the order.

How to access records under the Freedom of Information Act

Go to Freedom of information to find out how to request access to departmental records under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).