Michael talks to David Fricker, National Archives of Australia Director General, who has welcomed Attorney-General Senator Michaelia Cash announcement of $67.7 million to the National Archives of Australia to provide a funding boost for its critical functions as the custodian of Australia’s history through the preservation of Commonwealth records.

The $67.7 million in additional funding will go towards:

·        Digitisation and preservation of the National Archives’ at-risk collection over an accelerated four-year digitisation program.

·        Additional staffing and capability to address backlogs for ‘access applications’ for Commonwealth records and provide improved Digitisation on Demand services.

·        Investment in cybersecurity and further development of the National Archives’ Next Generation Digital Archive to facilitate secure and timely transfer of records to the National Archives’ custody, their preservation and digital access.

The funding will allow for a staged and sequential implementation of the proposal to ensure the approximate 270,000 most at-risk records are digitally archived (digitised, stored, cyber-secured, preserved and catalogued).

Download this podcast here