Archives hold immense power. For too long, they have been tools of colonial control used to document, regulate, and displace First Nations peoples. But today, archives are becoming instruments of truth, healing, and empowerment. This presentation explores the evolving role of archives in First Nations history, focusing on how Queensland State Archives (QSA) is working to enhance access, discoverability, and cultural safety in archival practices. Through initiatives like the First Nations Advisory Group, we are ensuring that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices shape how records are described, managed, and accessed. A powerful case study Aunty Ruth Hegarty’s experience will illustrate the real-life impact of archival access for First Nations peoples. Her journey of reclaiming personal and collective history through archival records demonstrates the necessity of ethical, culturally informed record-keeping. As we look ahead: The Tandanya Adelaide Declaration states First Nations people have the right to be recognised in archival representational systems. This declaration recognises First Nations languages of place, social and spiritual value must become valued components of archival vocabularies and descriptions of colonial records and that these archival records enable self-determination. QSA poses the question how is this achieved? This session will provide insights, challenges, and a call to action for researchers, policymakers, and community members alike.

The Berndt Museum is an Indigenous-led institution that holds one of the most significant collections of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural material in the world. Based in the School of Indigenous Studies at the University of Western Australia, the Museum cares for extensive collections of material culture and art, along with archives containing documents, photographs, sound and film recordings, and a reference library. Established in 1976 the Berndt Museum archive accumulated anthropological and related works created with Indigenous communities across Australia, the Pacific and Asia. The archive contains the professional and personal archive of Ronald and Catherine Berndt, as well as collections deposited by many other anthropologists, linguists and Indigenous community members. In 2024 the 30 year embargo on the Berndts' fieldnotes ended, and for the first time families and communities are able to access the information of their Elders and ancestors. Having recently appointed their inaugural archivist, the Berndt Museum is working towards connecting the archive and museum collections in ways that facilitate and support community access. As such the archive is transforming from anthropological research collection to community archive. This transformative work builds on existing relationships between the museum and communities across Australia. I will introduce the contents of the Berndt Museum archive and outline the opportunities and challenges that arise as part of the transformative process.

As the custodian and recordkeeping authority for Queensland's public records, Queensland State Archives holds an essential role in supporting the integrity, transparency and access to government records. Some of the records in the custodianship of QSA are subject to closure periods, determined by the responsible public authority, whereby public access is restricted under various legislative reasons. This balance between record closure periods, set by public authorities, and the right to information for the people of Queensland, creates a complex relationship QSA must navigate. In December 2024, Queensland's new Public Records Act 2023 commenced. Key legislative changes from the former Public Records Act 2002 delivered new requirements for public authorities in how they manage and respond to public requests for access to restricted records. To support this, the new laws also enhanced the monitoring, auditing, and investigative powers of the Queensland State Archivist. Provided with increased visibility and oversight, QSA faced an increased workload and significant advisory role in how access to restricted records is coordinated. QSA therefor undertook an extensive body of work to support key stakeholders in adapting to the new Act and to achieve improved outcomes for end users. Enhanced transparency around access to restricted records aims to strengthen the connection between individuals, communities and public authorities and our shared stories. This presentation will explore how QSA developed and adopted a new approach for managing access to restricted records within the new legislative landscape. This project drew on significant cross-collaboration within QSA as well as extensive liaison with Queensland's public authorities. Through an analysis of the challenges and benefits encountered, this presentation will delve into the complexities of restricted records and public access and provide implications for future archival practice.

Blue Shield International is an independent, non-government, international organisation which works to protect heritage during armed conflicts and disasters across the world. The work of the Blue Shield is informed by the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its two Protocols, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. Blue Shield International advises UNESCO on the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict. In 2025 we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Australian national committee of the Blue Shield. Our national committee comprises four non-governmental organisations ('pillars') representing professionals active in the fields of archives, libraries, monuments and sites, and museums, and members from the Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage, Australian Museums and Galleries Association, Federation of Australian History Societies, and the Pacific Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives. This lightning talk will provide background on the work of Blue Shield International and the Australian national committee, the current focus and challenges of Blue Shield Australia, and how you can get involved in the work of Blue Shield Australia.

Kim Burrell, Victoria University Archives

What has been the societal impact of archives and archival practice over the past 50 years? How is this changing over time? How should it be changing? These are hard-ball questions when we investigate the world of the Victorian mental asylum. Considering these institutions only closed their doors a few decades ago, and not under ideal circumstances, there continues to be an afterthought that maybe it's best we keep that part of history behind closed doors. However, the world and its societal understandings have expanded enormously and “crazy” skeletons in closets are crying out to have their stories told just as much as “normal” ones. Archives possess a critical role in being portholes into the past, promoters of education, and agents of societal change. Archives also strengthen communities, foster creativity and innovation, and offer solutions to current social problems. This is particularly poignant when we think about audiences and who is missing. In keeping with the Conference theme, I would like to give a 10-minute show and tell PowerPoint presentation (consisting of 10 slides) regarding a soon to be released book, ‘Form of Insanity’. Much of Ararat Mental Asylum archives are today housed in the ‘insanity’s archive’ section of the Public Records Office (Victoria). Large clinical casebooks filled with patient admission notes and observation materials remain from the nineteenth-century psychiatric institution. The presentation will discuss how I utilized the archives of one hundred mothers and children who were Ararat Lunatic Asylum patients between 1867 and 1907. The presentation also looks at how local groups such as Friends of J Ward and the Ararat Historical Society contribute to archival history giving a broader and richer interpretation of past lives and events. Other topics include social responsibility as well as privacy, ethical, and cultural considerations.