❓ Hon Julie Freeman questions the implementation status of the State Records Office's Archives Keeping Plan, highlighting concerns about archival storage capacity and the backlog of State archives awaiting transfer. The response indicates progress in some areas but significant delays and ongoing planning for long-term solutions.
AnsweredQoN 717Legislative Council
Asked
15 October 2025
Member
Portfolio
Creative Industries; Heritage; Industrial Relations; Aged Care and Seniors; Women
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the State Records Office (SRO) "Archives Keeping Plan" of November 2024, and I ask: (a) of the key issues identified, what is the current status of implementation of each of the plan's actions (e.g. “implemented,” “in progress,” “not commenced,” “awaiting resourcing”); (b) noting that the SRO has been unable to accept regular transfers of State archives from government organisations since July 2001 due to lack of archival storage capacity, what is the plan for rectifying this issue; (c) is the Government seeking alternate locations for archival storage in order for archival transfers to recommence; (d) what is the estimated backlog (in linear metres) of State archives still in the custody of government organisations awaiting transfer; and (e) at the time of the development of the plan, the Application for Concept Approval (ACA) for an Archives Management Plan for Western Australian Government had been approved by the Minister for Culture and the Arts, what is the current status of the ACA?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
18 November 2025
Responded by
Minister for Agriculture and Food representing the Minister for Creative Industries; Heritage; Industrial Relations; Aged Care and Seniors; Women
Response time
8 days
(a) The following actions are in progress:
Continue ongoing work to convert Archive Note listings into the SRO’s online catalogue to aid online searching of and access to the Collection.
Improve descriptive information for the Collection to aid client access.
Identify at-risk archives and prioritise their digitisation, including archives in machine readable formats.
Implement physical location coding for the State archives collection.
Work in collaboration with partner agencies to seek support for an ongoing preservation program. Refer to (e).
The remainder are yet to commence.
(b)(c) Refer to (e).
(d) 75 linear kilometres.
(e) The Application for Concept Approval (ACA) for an Archives Management Plan is being used to inform further consideration of options to improve storage of and access to State archives in Western Australia.
The State Records Commission is establishing a State Archives Management Committee to advise the Commission on the following to support the development of an Archives Management Plan:
· How a ‘Register of State Archives’ required under section 73 (1) (d) of the Act should be developed.
· Policies, specifications, and other guidance required for the management of State archives by State organisations.
· Advice on ongoing arrangements, including building and maintaining supporting knowledge and expertise, to enable effective management of and access to State archives across the WA Government.
Continue ongoing work to convert Archive Note listings into the SRO’s online catalogue to aid online searching of and access to the Collection.
Improve descriptive information for the Collection to aid client access.
Identify at-risk archives and prioritise their digitisation, including archives in machine readable formats.
Implement physical location coding for the State archives collection.
Work in collaboration with partner agencies to seek support for an ongoing preservation program. Refer to (e).
The remainder are yet to commence.
(b)(c) Refer to (e).
(d) 75 linear kilometres.
(e) The Application for Concept Approval (ACA) for an Archives Management Plan is being used to inform further consideration of options to improve storage of and access to State archives in Western Australia.
The State Records Commission is establishing a State Archives Management Committee to advise the Commission on the following to support the development of an Archives Management Plan:
· How a ‘Register of State Archives’ required under section 73 (1) (d) of the Act should be developed.
· Policies, specifications, and other guidance required for the management of State archives by State organisations.
· Advice on ongoing arrangements, including building and maintaining supporting knowledge and expertise, to enable effective management of and access to State archives across the WA Government.
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