For some years the former Australian Council of Archives (ACA) conducted an annual survey of all its members and some other institutions that have archives management programs. Following the disbanding of the ACA, CAARA member organisations conducted the Australian archival statistics survey.
The statistical database is a valuable source of comparative information for individual archives to make use of, and it provides data to support applications for funding to governments and other resource-allocating bodies.
CAARA has been collecting Australian archival statistics since 2000. The ACA was a consultative body, formally established in July 1985, open to any organisation in Australia which collected and preserved archival materials, whether produced by itself or by other bodies or persons. The ACA was wound up in 2000.
The ACA had first conducted a survey of its members in 1989 covering the year ending 1988. A survey has been conducted annually since then. Until 2001, the annual survey collected data from ACA members. Since 2002 the annual survey collects data from CAARA members only.
In 2002 CAARA agreed to conduct a periodic survey of the broader archive domain every five years. Archives Survey 2007 is the first periodic survey under this plan.
Disclosure of information collected in surveys
CAARA-administered archives surveys
- Archives Survey 2007 (conducted by State Records NSW)
CAARA-administered member only archival statistics surveys
- 2008 (conducted by Northern Territory Archives Service)
- 2007 (conducted by Northern Territory Archives Service)
- 2006 (conducted by Northern Territory Archives Service)
- 2005 (conducted by State Records NSW)
- 2004 (conducted by State Records NSW)
- 2003 (conducted by State Records NSW)
- 2002 (conducted by the Public Records Office of Victoria)
- 2001 (conducted by the Public Records Office of Victoria)
- 2000 (conducted by the Queensland State Archives)