Public Record Office Victoria

Public Record Office Victoria

• PROV

• State

Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) is the archives of the State Government of Victoria. Established under the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic), PROV’s objectives are to:

• issue standards regulating the creation, maintenance and security of public records including the selection and disposal of public records not worthy of preservation;
• advise and assist agencies in achieving compliance with issued standards;
• preserve public records of permanent value as the state archives; and
• ensure that the archives are accessible to the government and the people of Victoria.

Public Record Office Victoria is an agency of the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

Public Record Office Victoria has responsibility to select records of the government of Victoria that are worthy of preservation as set out in the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic).

Visit the reading room at the Victorian Archives Centre at 99 Shiel Street North Melbourne. We also have reading rooms in Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong. See our website for details.

We hold around 100kms of hard copy records and 600,000 digital records dating from 1836 to the present day.
Our impressive collection includes records of immigration and shipping, criminal trials and prisons, premiers and governors, royal commissions, boards of inquiry, wills and probates and much more. These records hold stories of the key events and decisions that have shaped the history of the State of Victoria.

Visit our website to explore our collection by topic, tips on where to start your search and more: https://www.prov.vic.gov.au/explore-collection

Victorian Archives Centre: Open Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays) 10am to 4.30pm and every second and last Saturday of the month.

See www.prov.vic.gov.au for Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong reading room times and for current Victorian Archives Centre arrangements.

Public Record Office Victoria is committed to ensuring accessibility for people with disabilities and special needs. We have a free all-day carpark, entry off Macaulay Road, which includes two disabled parking bays. There's also disabled street parking out the front of our building on Shiel Street - please note street signage for times. We have wheelchair access, lifts and disabled toilets.

Public Record Office Victoria provides a range of services and resources to assist members of the public with their research. It does not provide a research service so researchers may wish to engage a professional research agent, request advice from historical associations or societies, in order to undertake research.

Copy requests can be placed in person at our reading rooms, or online. More information can be found on our website here: https://www.prov.vic.gov.au/copying-services-public-users

At the Victorian Archives Centre we have a public reading room and gallery. More information can be found on our website here: https://www.prov.vic.gov.au/about-us

The Victorian Archives Centre, North Melbourne reading room is operated jointly by the Public Record Office Victoria and the National Archives of Australia, Victoria State Office.

Revised 10 March 2023

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