National Archives of Australia Digitisation Dashboard¶
The National Archives of Australia's online database, RecordSearch, includes a list of recently digitised files, but this list only includes files digitised in the last month, so it's not possible to examine long-term changes. Since March 2021, I've captured weekly harvests of this list and saved them to a GitHub repository. This dashboard aggregates the weekly harvests to display digitisation progress in the last week, the current year, and since harvests began in 2021.
A dataset containing annual compilations of the weekly harvests is available from Zenodo.
Changes to RecordSearch in May 2025 have blocked the weekly harvests and made it impossible to update this dashboard. The last data harvest was on 11 May 2025.
There have been 227 weekly harvests since March 2021. The most recent harvest was on 30 August 2026.
Files digitised last week (23 Aug 2026 – 30 Aug 2026)¶
863 files were digitised last week. Here are the number of files digitised per day.
| title | item_id | series | control_symbol | date_range | date_digitised | series_title | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | HMAS AUSTRALIA - Launching of [0.4 cm] | 821755 | MP472/1 | 16/11/4480 | 1911 – 1911 | 2026-08-29 | Correspondence files, annual single number series |
| 1 | HMAS AUSTRALIA - Docking of at Cockatoo | 822205 | MP472/1 | 16/14/5044 | 1914 – 1914 | 2026-08-29 | Correspondence files, annual single number series |
| 2 | HMAS AUSTRALIA - Changes in armament | 820583 | MP472/1 | 11/19/8218 | 1915 – 1920 | 2026-08-29 | Correspondence files, annual single number series |
| 3 | HMAS AUSTRALIA: Annual report of gunnery exerc... | 451553 | MP472/1 | 40/14/5810 | 1913 – 1914 | 2026-08-29 | Correspondence files, annual single number series |
| 4 | HMAS ALBATROSS - Endurance | 342188 | MP124/6 | 603/251/2549 | 1929 – 1929 | 2026-08-29 | Correspondence files, multiple number series (... |
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| 858 | SPAGNA Maria - Nationality: Italian - Arrived ... | 5913132 | B78 | ITALIAN/SPAGNA MARIA | 1939 – 1972 | 2026-08-24 | Alien registration documents |
| 859 | SEVERINO Orlando - Nationality: Italian - Arri... | 5911093 | B78 | ITALIAN/SEVERINO ORLANDO | 1939 – 1972 | 2026-08-24 | Alien registration documents |
| 860 | ZOTTI Rosaria - Nationality: Italian - Arrived... | 5904712 | B78 | ITALIAN/ZOTTI ROSARIA | 1939 – 1972 | 2026-08-24 | Alien registration documents |
| 861 | MANCUSO Antonio - Nationality: Italian - Arriv... | 4280062 | B78 | 1957/MANCUSO A | 1952 – 1957 | 2026-08-24 | Alien registration documents |
| 862 | Charles Eric DAVEY [14 pp] | 1115132 | B741 | V/9939 | 1932 – 1932 | 2026-08-24 | Correspondence files, single number series wit... |
863 rows × 7 columns
The files came from 180 different series. Here are the 25 series which contain the most files digitised last week.
| series | series_title | total |
|---|---|---|
| MP551/1 | Ships' drawings and specifications, together with those for two floating docks | 100 |
| SP908/1 | Application for Registration of Aliens (other than Asiatics) | 98 |
| B78 | Alien registration documents | 80 |
| A11836 | Migrant Selection Documents for Displaced Persons who travelled to Australia per General Sturgis departing Venice 17 April 1948 | 61 |
| A8746 | Photographic colour negatives, chronological series with 'KN' or 'RKN' prefix and a single number suffix | 57 |
| SP1121/1 | Applications for Registration of Aliens | 52 |
| A11902 | Migrant Selection Documents for Displaced Persons who travelled to Australia per Wooster Victory departing Genoa 6 August 1948 | 31 |
| B44 | Immigration case files, annual single number series with 'V' [Victoria] prefix | 21 |
| C321 | Case files, annual single number series with 'N' (NSW) prefix | 17 |
| A659 | Correspondence files, class 1 (general, passports) | 17 |
| A2478 | Non-British European migrant selection documents | 16 |
| SP1122/1 | General correspondence files, multiple number series and annual single number with 'N' (New South Wales) prefix | 11 |
| C123 | World War II security investigation dossiers, single number series | 8 |
| B13 | General and classified correspondence, annual single number series | 8 |
| K1331 | Alien registration documents, alphabetical series | 7 |
| B73 | Personal case files, World War I | 6 |
| SP11/2 | Applications for registration (Aliens Registration files) (Forms A1, B1 and C), alphabetical series by nationality | 6 |
| MP472/1 | Correspondence files, annual single number series | 6 |
| P1776 | Correspondence files, alpha-numeric series with "SE" (Superintendent Engineering) prefix | 6 |
| SP11/5 | Applications for registration (aliens registration files) (forms A1, B1 and C), alphabetical series - naturalized | 6 |
| C3198 | Citizenship files, annual single number series with various prefixes | 6 |
| J25 | Case files, annual single number series with or without 'Q' [Queensland] or 'QB' [Queensland Brisbane] or 'CLF' [Client Files] prefix | 5 |
| A261 | Application forms (culled from other file series) for admission of Relatives or Friends to Australia (Form 40) | 5 |
| MP1185/8 | Secret and confidential correspondence files, multiple number series | 5 |
| SP42/1 | Correspondence of the Collector of Customs relating to Immigration Restriction and Passports | 5 |
Files digitised this year (2026)¶
34,872 files have been digitised this year. Here are the number of files digitised per month.
The files came from 1,001 different series. Here are the 25 series which contain the most files digitised so far this year.
| series | series_title | total |
|---|---|---|
| A907 | Ships' Passenger Lists - Inwards (Form P2) | 16,887 |
| MT1139/1 | First World War munition workers dossiers | 2,125 |
| M5197 | Colour photographic (kodachrome) slides illustrating the life and career of Sir Keith Charles Owen Shann CBE | 1,124 |
| D4878 | Alien registration documents, alphabetical series | 1,019 |
| A8746 | Photographic colour negatives, chronological series with 'KN' or 'RKN' prefix and a single number suffix | 862 |
| MP551/1 | Ships' drawings and specifications, together with those for two floating docks | 775 |
| D4881 | Alien registration cards, alphabetical series | 650 |
| A705 | Correspondence files, multiple number (Melbourne) series (Primary numbers 1-323) | 617 |
| B78 | Alien registration documents | 477 |
| A11841 | Migrant Selection Documents for Displaced Persons who travelled to Australia per Svalbard departing Bremerhaven 21 May 1948 | 473 |
| A11836 | Migrant Selection Documents for Displaced Persons who travelled to Australia per General Sturgis departing Venice 17 April 1948 | 424 |
| D1989 | Application forms, medical examination documents and related papers of British and Foreign Immigrants (including Ex Service) in receipt of free and assisted passages, chronological order of ship arrival. | 399 |
| A11753 | Migrant Selection Documents for Displaced Persons who travelled to Australia per Fairsea departing Naples 21 September 1949 | 396 |
| A11944 | Migrant Selection Documents for Displaced Persons who travelled to Australia per General Black departing Bremerhaven 20 March 1948 | 391 |
| B3114 | Photograph albums | 385 |
| SP908/1 | Application for Registration of Aliens (other than Asiatics) | 342 |
| A11938 | Migrant Selection Documents for Displaced Persons who travelled to Australia per General Stewart departing Bremerhaven 13 January 1948 | 319 |
| A11902 | Migrant Selection Documents for Displaced Persons who travelled to Australia per Wooster Victory departing Genoa 6 August 1948 | 232 |
| A1337 | Applications for Registration of a Design | 211 |
| P1556 | Files containing Antarctic Station Reports with Station Log Books interspersed, chronological series | 200 |
| A11519 | Migrant Selection Documents for Displaced Persons who travelled to Australia per Volendam departing Rotterdam 11 December 1948 | 191 |
| A2478 | Non-British European migrant selection documents | 179 |
| A8763 | Photographic colour negatives, single number with 'KN' [Colour Negatives] prefix | 133 |
| B44 | Immigration case files, annual single number series with 'V' [Victoria] prefix | 112 |
| D5582 | Agency consignment lists, numerical series with variable alpha prefixes | 100 |
Files digitised since 4 February 2021¶
1,437,502 files have been digitised since 4 February 2021. Here are the number of files digitised per year.
The files came from 3,039 different series. Here are the 25 series which contain the most files digitised since 4 February 2021.
| series | series_title | total |
|---|---|---|
| B883 | Second Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1939-1947 | 313,110 |
| B884 | Citizen Military Forces Personnel Dossiers, 1939-1947 | 284,175 |
| A9301 | RAAF Personnel files of Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) and other ranks, 1921-1948 | 189,820 |
| A2571 | Name Index Cards, Migrants Registration [Bonegilla] | 162,204 |
| A2572 | Name Index Cards, Migrants Registration [Bonegilla] | 101,983 |
| A9300 | RAAF Officers Personnel files, 1921-1948 | 33,908 |
| A6135 | Photographic colour transparencies positives, daily single number series with 'K' [Colour Transparencies] prefix | 19,624 |
| A13150 | Specifications, examiners reports and correspondence relating to the Registration of Victorian Patents - Second system | 17,472 |
| A907 | Ships' Passenger Lists - Inwards (Form P2) | 16,939 |
| A714 | Books of duplicate certificates of naturalization A(1)[Individual person] series | 13,603 |
| D3481 | Photographs (black and white, colour) of buildings, installations, sites, etc | 13,389 |
| D874 | Still photograph outdoor and studio negatives, annual single number series with N prefix (and progressive alpha infix A-K from 1948-1957) | 12,329 |
| A1500 | Photographic colour transparencies [positives], single number series with 'K' [Colour] prefix | 11,868 |
| A705 | Correspondence files, multiple number (Melbourne) series (Primary numbers 1-323) | 10,649 |
| A7109 | "Dead" card index of Registered Aliens | 10,618 |
| A14435 | Stanley Fowler photographs showing the Australian fishing industry and coastline, numerical series with ‘LA’prefix | 10,512 |
| E607 | Negative film of photographs taken of every lot of Darwin after Cyclone Tracy, two number series | 9,510 |
| J853 | Architectural plans, annual single number series with alpha (denoting Papua New Guinea and discipline) prefix and/or alpha/numeric (denoting size and amendment) suffix | 8,962 |
| A13149 | Applications for Registration of Victorian Patents - Second system | 8,852 |
| MT1486/1 | Applications to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force | 7,999 |
| A1 | Correspondence files, annual single number series [Main correspondence files series of the agency] | 7,621 |
| AP476/1 | Petitions for South Australian Colonial patents with specifications. | 6,484 |
| D1423 | Original plans (negatives), single number series with alpha prefix denoting discipline | 4,722 |
| K1145 | Certificates of Exemption from Dictation Test, annual certificate number order | 4,550 |
| D1051 | Original drawings, plans and prints of National Estate properties | 4,484 |
Created by Tim Sherratt for the GLAM Workbench.