Senate Order for the Production of Indexed Lists of Departmental and Agency Files
On the 14 November 1994, the Senate agreed to a motion by Senator Harradine requiring all Australian Government departments and agencies to produce an indexed list of files every six months for tabling before parliament. The production of the list is intended to make the operations of government more transparent to the Australian public.
As part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to give Australians greater access to relevant government information quickly and easily, the original Senate Order was amended in 1998 and now requires departments to also list these files on their Internet websites.
The lists are tabled twice a year, once in the Spring sittings and once in the Autumn sittings:
- Spring sittings - files created in the preceding July to December
- Autumn sitting - files created in the preceding January to June
In response to the senate order requirement that the list be 'indexed', the files are arranged according to the file structure established in the Institute’s record system, which is functional.
File Lists
- Indexed File list January - June 2011 (XLS 35 KB)
- Indexed File list July - December 2010 (XLS 20 KB)
- Indexed File list January - June 2010
- Indexed File list July - December 2009
- Indexed File list January - June 2009
- Indexed File list July - December 2008
- Indexed File list January - June 2008
If you have any difficulties in accessing the information provided or need further assistance with alternative formats, please contact the department using the details provided on the Contact AIFS page.
AIFS’ Indexed List of Files
In accordance with the Order, AIFS’ list of files do not include:
- files transferred to the National Archives of Australia;
- files essentially related to the internal administration of AIFS’ (staff or personnel, accounts, training, or general administrative matters);
- case related files; and
- file titles whose national security classification is Confidential, Secret or Top Secret or their equivalent.
In addition, AIFS’ lists do not include files whose titles would disclose the deliberations of Cabinet. In accordance with the Order, some information in file titles has been deleted, such as:
- commercially confidential information;
- identifiably personal information; and
- any security classified information which is disclosed in or which could reasonably be established from a file title.
How to Access AIFS’ records under the FOI Act 1982
Inquiries regarding access to AIFS records under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 1982 can be made to the FOI officer