Function and purpose
This series consists of despatches, letters, minutes, memoranda, circulars, telegrams and press cuttings and copies of the same, (some of these documents are classified 'secret' and 'confidential') relating to all matters arising from the functions of the Office of the Governor General. Also included are some items of printed matter (copies of reports, regulations, Acts of Parliament, Parliamentary White Papers, bulletins etc) mostly representing enclosures to despatches.

The correspondence consists largely of communications transmitted between the Governor General, or his Official Secretary, and the following: the Secretary of State for Colonies (later Dominion Affairs), State Governors, Colonial Administrators and other resident representatives of the Crown abroad, British diplomatic representatives and consular and other agents abroad, foreign consular and other agents within the Commonwealth, the Prime Minister, members of the public and business enterprises and institutions within Australia and abroad.

This series superceded CP78/1 and CP78/2 which together had comprised the 'general correspondence' prior to 1912. The range of subjects dealt with is therefore very wide but may be represented broadly by the following: Parliamentary proceedings, Commonwealth and Imperial defence, intra Imperial relations, international conferences, treaties and conventions, foreign consular services, the administration of Commonwealth Territories, relations between the Commonwealth and the State Governments, customs and excise, transport and communications, navigation, interstate trade, immigration, naturalisation, fiscal matters and the houses and offices of the Governor General.

The correspondence is assembled in the form of files, normally on the basis of one file for each transaction. This principle, however, was sometimes departed from through failure to raise new files when a single transaction developed into two or more. As an exception to the general rule some files were compiled in dossier form containing material relating to a broad topics (eg 1927/171 - Inter Imperial Relations) or received regularly with an established procedure (eg plague reports and copies of Acts). Another variation of the dossier is represented by the 'name card' or 'name file' files. These were first introduced in 1921 and generally contain correspondence relating to minor personal and private matters (eg missing persons, pensions and deportation). Separate files were raised for various letters of the alphabet and papers attached with relation to the surname of the person making the enquiry.

The files were registered under as an annual single number system, the numerical system being continuous from January 1912 to December 1913 and thereafter being started again in the January. The files were controlled by a system of registers (CP78/26) and cards. The registers are now incomplete and the missing volumes and the card register are thought to have been destroyed.

'Top numbering' seems to have been introduced in January 1920 and files later than this are often renumbered each year, others contain many years but retain their first number. It would seem the registry partly converted to top numbering and then stopped doing it to all files for one reason or another.

At some time after the material was transferred to Australian Archives a new listing was created but when working on the series in 1996 it was found that this register is not completely accurate. This list, as a partial control record, has been registered as CP78/22/2. In 2000, this register was listed as a separate series A11805.

System of arrangement and control
Annual single number system

Finding aids
All items in the custody of the National Archives of Australia as at October 2000 have been entered onto the item level database.

Series history
Transferred to archival custody by CA 1, Governor-General, as CP78/22 and CP78/24. The series CP78/24 consisted of files amalgamated from CP78/23 and CP78/22 for a temporary administrative purpose by the agency. The series A11803 has been created through the conversion of CP78/22 with a portion of CP78/24 being intersorted back into the original sequence.