This series consists of files arising from war time legislation - including legal opinions and prosecutions under it - in particular, matters coming under National Security Regulations.

The files also relate to censorship, conscription, seizure of enemy vessels, patents and Japanese war crimes.

All files relating to patents - policy and particular instance - were top-numbered into A475, Correspondence files, single number series with 'P' [Patents] prefix after 1945. Some, but not all, of this top-numbering of particular instance files is noted in subject and index cards in A478 and some of the policy files in the subject and index cards in A474. There is also an instance of top-numbering into A432 (the main correspondence file series of Attorney-General's Department) being noted in the subject and index cards in A474.

Files relating to Communism, Jehovah's Witnesses and the Australia First Movement have been top-numbered into A467, to Special Files 42-44.