The National Archives of Australia “holds the memory of our nation” in order to “shape our future and help safeguard our democracy.” It does this by collecting both key government documents, as well as personal papers from a range of prominent people, including most former Prime Ministers and Governors-General. However, as demonstrated in the Hocking case, researchers’ access to our history can be severely limited, or even denied, due to limitations imposed by depositors, such as former Governors-General and politicians. The restrictions on access to Sir John Kerr’s private papers have received significant coverage. However, there are similar restrictions on a range of other important papers. This paper explores how the NAA manages the deposit and access to these vital personal papers. Firstly the paper will explore the issue of which papers are considered personal – because only personal papers can have individual access restrictions placed on them. Secondly, the paper will then consider what types, and the length of, access restrictions that individuals have imposed. Finally, the paper will consider what this means for historians and political scientists.