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From: "Cathy Dunn" <>
Subject: Fw: Today's discussion re privacy and research
Date: Sun, 15 Oct 2000 10:06:33 +1000


----- Original Message -----
From: John Graham <>
To: <>
Sent: Saturday, October 14, 2000 6:02 PM
Subject: Today's discussion re privacy and research


> Here is the message originally posted to AUSTRALIA-L:
>
> ______________________________X-Message: #7
> Date: Sun, 8 Oct 2000 23:30:49 +1000
> From: "E. A. Roberts" <>
> To:
> Message-Id: <>
> Subject: Threat to historical research in NSW and Australia
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
>
> Threat to Research in NSW and Australia
> We could see the closure in the very near future of any government record
> in which people are named.
> If Australia is to trade with the European Economic Union it has to have
> privacy laws in place.
> The problem is in drafting these privacy laws it has been forgotten that
> the tools of trade of historians are records.
> Already the Intestate records for 1880 to 1914 have been closed. These are
> records about people who died 86 to 120 years ago.
>
> In NSW the relevant acts are:-
> State Records Act - Access provisions
> and
> Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act
>
> State Records Act - Access provisions:
> Problem:- There is no Appeal mechanisim if records are closed they stay
> closed (Act only provides for a 5 year review) Public servants are
> conservative, if in doubt close. Decisions are not made by staff at State
> Records, they are make by staff at the department where the records are
> generated. Public servants are using the provisions of the draft privacy
> act to close records. The Act says something like Records can only be
used
> for the purpose they were made for. No records are ever made for the
> purpose of informing historians. ( they would be very suspect if they
were)
>
>
> Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act
> Problem:- the draft code for research using governemnt records ignores
> access for community researchers. Under the draft guidelines researchers
> have to submitt proposals for research to an ethics board like medical
> research. A bit much if you want to know if Great Granddad got the cane at
> school.
>
>
> To protect access to government records ACTION is NEEDED NOW
> write to the minister responsible with a copy to your local state member
of
> Parliament
>
> Relevant NSW Ministers
> State Records Act :- The Hon R.J.Carr M.P. Premier and Minister for the
> Arts
> Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act Attorney General
> Responsible Department:- Privacy NSW facsimile 02 92685501
> e-mail
>
> As draft Commonwealth Privacy leglisation is before the Federal Parliament
> send copies of your letters to your local Federal Politician also.
>
> People in other states need to check what is happening there.
>
> There used to be a thirty year rule, ie no access was allowed to any
record
> until thirty years had passed.
>
>
> Elizabeth A. Roberts
> N.S.W. Genealogical and Historical Research
> Wahroonga NSW
> Just back from the RAHS conference Yass
>
>
>
> John Graham
>
> GENEALOGY FROM GERRINGONG - http://www.ozemail.com.au/~johngrah/
>
> SYDNEY DPS - http://www.ozemail.com.au/~johngrah/dps.html
> (home of the "Herald" and "Telegraph" Death Indexes)
>
>
>
>
> ==== DPS-SYDNEY Mailing List ====
> Sydney DPS Web Site is at http://www.ozemail.com.au/~johngrah/dps.html
> Check the indexes to Sydney newspaper deaths and obituaries.
>
>

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