We welcome donations of unpublished materials relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies, culture, knowledge, and experience. We accept photographs, sound recordings, film, video, ephemera, and print materials, including manuscripts, personal papers, diaries, field notebooks, and theses.
The Collection Development Strategy sets out our collecting priorities and preferred formats. All materials are assessed against this policy before we accept them into the collection.
By lodging your material with us, you will ensure its longevity and accessibility into the future. We regularly receive materials from Indigenous organisations and families, researchers, and the general public. We also occasionally accept offers of published print materials that are otherwise hard to source.
Making an offer
If you would like to donate material to AIATSIS, please use our online form or download and complete an Offer of Material form and email to donations@aiatsis.gov.au
If we are unable to make an assessment based on the written description, we may ask you to send us the material.
Finalising an offer
Once your material has been accepted we will ask you to complete a Deed of Gift. If you would like to transfer copyright to AIATSIS or assign a license for us to use the material in ways normally reserved by the copyright owner, you should also complete a Copyright Deed.
Sensitive content
We have a lot of experience in the ethical management of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander collections including secret/sacred material and other sensitive information. We ask all donors to alert us to potentially sensitive content to ensure it is handled appropriately.