National Archives of Australia

The Commonwealth agencies with which the person being described had some form of official association, eg as an employee, member, Minister, etc.

6.5.1.2. Purpose

To provide a link to the Commonwealth Agencies with which the person had a major or close association, regardless of whether there are related personal records in custody. This linkage assists in the identification and analysis of the records created by the person as well as records created by the agencies with which the person was associated.

The Agencies associated with the Person data element of a person registration has a reciprocal relationship with the Persons Associated with Agency data element of an agency registration.

6.5.1.3. Relative importance

This field should be completed for significant registrations; and may be completed in other cases (category 4).

6.5.1.4. Sources of information

Primary sources include the person or their records and secondary sources Commonwealth Directories, Parliamentary Handbooks, Commonwealth Gazettes.

6.5.1.5. Standards for content

There are four elements to this entry: start date and end date of the period of relationship, agency number, agency title, and comments.

6.5.1.5.1. Expression of dates

All dates in predetermined date fields are subject to validation to facilitate searching, sorting, validations and consistency in reports. It is not necessary to enter day, month and year if the full date is not known. Use a date qualifier only if the year is in doubt. (Unless notes are kept to indicate the part or parts of the date to which a qualifier applies, the use of the qualifier can be misleading, especially when just year ranges and qualifiers are presented in reports.)

Date range conventions
Start date qualifier (only if year is in doubt) circa by	Start date 1952 May 1952 23 May 1952
End date qualifier (only if year is in doubt) circa by	End date 1978 Nov 1978 23 Nov 1978

6.5.1.6. Amendments

Changes may be required to update the persons involvement with agencies after the initial registration is done; for example, to close off a relationship if the person changes office, or transfer unregistered links to the Registered Links field if related agencies become registered.

6.5.1.7. Application notes

Restrict entries to close and significant associations with Commonwealth bodies, that is, do not indicate references to educational, community, corporate or political and parliamentary party positions. Also, avoid references to delegations, conferences, visits and nominal memberships of committees and councils. If relevant to the persons association with the Commonwealth, these associations may be mentioned in the person descriptive note. It is not desirable to register an agency for the sole purpose of documenting a relationship with a person: use an unregistered entry instead (see below).

For Members of Parliament, the agency number of the relevant parliamentary chamber(s) should be included, together with the period of relationship, that is, the persons date of election and departure from the chamber. An entry for both the House of Representatives and the Senate should be completed if the person sat in both chambers, eg

Ministers are assumed to be members of the Federal Executive Council - this link need not be given unless the person occupied a particular office such as Secretary or Vice President. A similar procedure is adopted for members of Royal Commissions, using the format: Name of Commission - Member, eg

Be specific when identifying the person's associations with agencies. For example, a person employed by the Department of Home Affairs and Environment, State Office, Western Australia (CA3102) would be entered under that agency number and would not be listed under the Central Office of the Department (CA 3068) for the same period.

Some divisions of Departments of State (or other large bodies) have been registered as separate agencies. If a person was clearly employed by such an agency, he or she should be listed under its CA number and title, not under the CA number for the Department's central office.

After determining the relationship between the person and the agency, take note of the agency title and check the database to see if it is registered.

6.5.1.7.1. Acting positions

Where a person acted in prominent positions in the Government or agency, show the related agencies only if the acting arrangement was for a significant period, represented a major involvement by the person, or was characterised by a major event at the time.

6.5.1.7.2. Period of relationship

The period a person was associated with an agency should be given where possible. The entry consists of a start date and an end date. The start date is the date on which the person's association with the agency began, that is, the date on which the person assumed or was appointed to an office. The end date is the date on which the person's association with the agency finished, that is, the date on which the individual ceased to hold a particular office or position.

Date details for public servants and some less prominent figures are often unavailable. If full details are unavailable, enter c (circa) or by in the field which precedes the date to express a degree of uncertainty. For further detail on expression of dates, refer to the section on Expression of Dates above.

6.5.1.7.3. Comments

Use the Comments field in the Related Agencies entry to provide more detail about the person's association with the registered agency, including reference, where appropriate, to a division, section or area within the agency.

Use upper/lower case for the position occupied. Some people have held several positions within an agency, for example, Director, Assistant Secretary, Secretary. If you do not know separate date ranges for each position, given an amalgamated date range for all positions held in that agency. If the positions have been held consecutively, a general date range can be given for the entry and separate date ranges included in the Comments field, eg

Related agencies:
01 Jan 1950- by 31 Dec 1960: CA 5	Attorney-General's Department – Deputy Secretary (1950 - 1954); Secretary (1955 – 1960)

6.5.1.7.4. Unregistered related agencies

Where the person had a close association with a Commonwealth agency that has not been registered, it is possible to document such a relationship in the Unregistered Links Note.

In the Unregistered Links Note, follow the same format as for registered agencies: start date and end date of the period of relationship, agency title, and comments, eg

The Commonwealth Record Series (CRS) Manual

6.5.1. Agencies associated with Person

6.5.1.1. Definition