ACT Government records older than 20 years are available for public access*. These records are stored and managed by the agency that has responsibility for them. There is no single archives repository for ACT Government Records.
ACT Government Archives are those records deemed as Retain as Territory Archives (RTA) according to the authorised Records Disposal Schedules. To assist researchers, the Territory Records Office has compiled an index listing all the RTA classes:
2.32Mb)Note, a small number of ACT Government records are closed to the public under Section 28 of the Territory Records Act 2002. You may apply to access these records as well as records created within the past 20 years via each agency's Freedom of Information Officer. More information on FOI can be found at Freedom of Information.
To gain access to ACT Government records you must fill in a request form describing your research topic. ArchivesACT will attempt to provide you with relevant records to assist your research.
Note, the ACT Education Directorate manages access requests for student records of former ACT Public School students. If you are a former ACT public school student seeking records available about yourself, please use the Education Directorate Public Access Requests form and see the list of other referrals below - for example, Year 10 certificates. For other requests for Education records that are 20+ years old continue to use the Place a New Request button below.
*Before submitting your request, take the time to check the links below. These relate to a variety of records that ArchivesACT cannot supply. There are also links to several ACT Government self-service resources.
- Accessible Executive Documents
- ACT Court Records
- ACT Health Records
- Births, Deaths and Marriages
- First Nations Births, Deaths and Marriages Information
- Block and Section Numbers in the ACT
- Citizenship/Naturalisation Papers
- Contaminated Sites in the ACT
- Land Titles
- Lease & Development Conditions Register
- Student Records & Graduation Certificates for ACT Students
- Water, Sewerage and Drainage Plan Search
Section 28 Exemptions Register
A small number of ACT Government records are closed to the public under Section 28 (S28) of the Territory Records Act 2002. A register of S28 exemptions is available to assist researchers.
Freedom of Information
From October 2011 to December 2017, certain information provided by the ACT Government to applicants under the Freedom of Information Act 1989 was also released for general public access on the Open Government website. Since January 2018, agencies have been required to publish documents released under the Freedom of Information Act 2016 via a disclosure log made available on their agency website.
Requests for personal information are not published on the disclosure log. Medical Records are also exempt from release under freedom of information in accordance with the Health Records (Privacy and Access) Act 1997.
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2016, agencies are also required to proactively publish certain categories of information for public access. The Open Access website is a searchable repository of information on agencies functional arrangements, policies and grants administration. It also contains links to other important sources of ACT Government information such as legislation, budget documents and open data.
Accessible Executive Documents
Cabinet documents become accessible to the public after ten years under Part 3A of the Territory Records Act. Under section 31C of the Act, the list of records that are available must be published electronically every Canberra Day.
The Canberra Day Lists of Accessible Executive Documents are available on the Open Government website:
Accessible Executive Documents requested by members of the public are reviewed by a Principal Officer, in accordance with the Act, to determine if the exemptions applicable under the Act apply to the executive document. Decisions made from 1 May 2022 on the release of an Executive Document, and the associated released Executive Documents, are available online on ArchivesACT's database, ACT Memory.
ACT Court Records
For Court records on cases heard by the ACT Civil & Administrative Tribunal.
For Court records on cases heard by the ACT Magistrates Court, Children's Court and Coronial Inquests.
For Court records on cases heard by the ACT Supreme Court.
For divorce records, go to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.
ACT Health Medical Records
Health records are confidential documents and remain the property of ACT Health. Copies of health records are not released to consumers or third parties without a written request and signed authorisation from the patient.
Requests to access health records are assessed under the ACT Health Records (Privacy and Access) Act 1997 and fees apply.
Births, Deaths and Marriages (BDM)
The Births, Deaths and Marriages unit operates within Access Canberra. They register births, deaths, marriages, adoptions, changes of name and deaths that occurred within the ACT.
For divorce records, go to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.
First Nations Births, Deaths and Marriages (BDM) information
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Births, Deaths and Marriages Access Policy, recognises kinship relationships and reduces barriers to accessing certificates for First Nations families born in the ACT. For further details, please refer to:
Block and Section Numbers in the ACT
ACTmapi is a web-based tool for viewing maps and geographic information about Canberra and the ACT. It allows you to view, interact with and query a range of different types of information in graphic form, including block and section maps, and historic aerial imagery. The tutorials section has useful guides on using ACTmapi.
Citizenship/Naturalisation Papers
Citizenship/Naturalisation records are held by the Commonwealth Government.
Contact the National Archives of Australia for naturalisation records up to 1962.
For more recent naturalisation records, contact the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.
Contaminated Sites in the ACT
Contaminated sites contain concentrations of hazardous substances above safe levels that pose an immediate or long term risk of harm to human health or the environment. Under Section 21A of the Environment Protection Act 1997 , the Environment Protection Authority is required to keep a Register of Contaminated Sites.
Land Titles
Land Titles are responsible for the registration of transactions of land under the Land Titles Act 1925. The office also provides access to Land Titles searching that provides access to ownership, encumbrance and survey data for all registered land in the ACT.
Lease & Development Conditions Register
The Lease and Development Conditions Register provides specific information about developing blocks of land in the ACT. The register includes information on where you can build, restrictions on the height or appearance of the building and fencing and responsibilities for tree preservation, servicing, landscaping. Development conditions must also be considered for any future building work such as home extensions.
Student Records & Graduation Certificates for ACT Students
ACT student records including those older than 20 years are closed to the public under Section 28 of the Territory Records Act 2002. You can apply to access your own records under the Freedom of Information Act 2016
Use one of the following links for details on how to access specific record requests.
- Student Records (Attendance & Grades)
- Year 10 Replacement Certificates
- Year 12 Certified Academic Transcripts
- Apprenticeship Completion Certificates
Water, Sewerage and Drainage Plan Search
This component of the Environment and Planning Website is under development. It is possible that you may not find the tie information that you are seeking. This may occur as a result of incorrect entry of block and section details or incorrect address. Additionally, it may be possible that the scanned copy of the tie information is not yet available.