The Council welcomed the start of an independent Functional and Efficiency Review of the National Archives in April, as initiated by the Attorney-General.

Led by former Department of Finance Secretary Mr David Tune, the Functional and Efficiency Review (Tune Review) is considering and making recommendations on the enduring role of the National Archives in the protection, preservation and use of Commonwealth information. It will look at how the National Archives might best perform this role and what powers, functions, resources, and legislative and governance frameworks are needed to effectively and efficiently undertake it in the digital age.

The Council provided a submission to the Tune Review expressing concern over the deterioration in the funding position of the National Archives, diminishing its capacity to perform its functions and deliver services to the Australian Government and Australian people. The Council highlighted the need for sustainable funding to enable the digital transformation of the National Archives, together with digital capability and cybersecurity enhancements and digitisation of at-risk audiovisual collections. A new National Archives Bill would enable the operations of the National Archives to seize the opportunities of the digital age, as well as whole-of-government efficiencies through the National Archives’ leadership of information policy and management, centralised storage, preservation and digitisation strategies. The submission, along with other public submissions to the review, can be viewed on the National Archives’ website: naa.gov.au