Preservation of census forms (Added 30 June 1998) Media release from Australian Society of Archivists, 5 June 1998 A Parliamentary inquiry has recommended that name-identified information from future censuses be kept for the benefit of future generations. The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs has reported on the first major public examination of the practice of destroying name identified census forms conducted since the Census was first taken in Australia. In its unanimous report, the Committee recommends that the forms completed by Australians every five years when the census is taken be kept under strict protection by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Australian Archives. They have further recommended that the information contained in the forms only be released for researchers 100 years after the census was taken. The Australian Society of Archivists (ASA) has expressed strong support for the Committee's conclusions and has written to the government commending the report and calling for speedy endorsement of its recommendations. According to ASA National President Kathryn Dan, "This report recognises the crucial importance of keeping a full record of Australian life today to benefit future research on Australian society. Taking the census is a huge investment for the Australian people and we should make sure that the full benefits of that investment are realised by future generations." "The value of the information contained in the census forms is unparalleled. It gives us a picture of ordinary people and their lives. It would be a terrific waste to abandon that research resource." The committee has also made provision for strong protection from unauthorised access to this information. The Australian Society of Archivists supports these recommendations on security. "We are very pleased that the committee has recognised the importance of long term protection for this sensitive information," said Ms Dan. "Professional archivists have a long history of providing protection to sensitive information of all kinds and have strong codes of practice in this area." "This report brings us hope that information on Australian society in 2001, the centenary year of Federation, will survive to tell our story to Australians in another century." Further information: >>Inquiry into the retention of Census data (Parliament website) >>Australian Society of Archivists (Archives of Australia website)

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