Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) This section applies to:
(a) the records kept by a Royal Commission, whether the inquiry commenced or was completed before or after the commencement of this Part; and
(b) the records kept by a Commission of inquiry.
(2) The Commonwealth is entitled to the possession of records kept by a Royal Commission, or by a Commission of inquiry, that are no longer required for the purposes of the Commission, and all such records shall be deemed to be Commonwealth records for the purposes of this Act.
(3) Records referred to in subsection (2) shall be kept in such custody as the responsible Minister directs and the Archives is not entitled to the care of any such records except in accordance with such a direction.
(4) A direction given by a Royal Commission, or by a Commission of inquiry, prohibiting the publication of any document or matter does not apply to the provision of public access under this Act to any records that are in the open access period or to the publication by any person of any records that are available for public access in accordance with this Act.
(5) For the purposes of this Act:
(a) the Minister administering the Royal Commissions Act 1902 is taken to be the responsible Minister in relation to the records of a Royal Commission; and
(b) the Agriculture Minister (within the meaning of the Biosecurity Act 2015 ) is taken to be the responsible Minister in relation to the records of the Commission of inquiry within the meaning of the Quarantine Act 1908 (as in force immediately before its repeal); and
(c) the Minister administering the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 is taken to be the responsible Minister in relation to the records of a Commission of inquiry within the meaning of that Act.
(6) Where a Royal Commission has conducted an inquiry by virtue of a commission issued by the Governor of a State in conjunction with its inquiry under a commission issued by the Governor - General, subsections (2) and (3) apply only to such of the records of the Royal Commission as are determined by agreement between the Commonwealth and the State.