This review, headed by former senior public servant David Tune, looked at the workings of the NAA, which had been criticised for taking a long time to deliver information, which was largely due to waiting for advice from other agencies, in particular sensitive records and those related to national security, before it is able to decide whether to declassify records and release them.

Another issue is the deterioration of many records in storage, leading to potential be breaches of Part 5 Section 24 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.

In 1998 the Canberra reading room, galleries and public areas of National Archives moved into a heritage-listed building known as "East Block" in the Parliamentary Triangle.

Over the years East Block housed various government departments and served as Canberra's first post office and telephone exchange.

[17] In 2014, the National Archives of Australia announced its Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) to foster better relations with its Indigenous population, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The RAP is a multifaceted approach to drawing attention to the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, engaging and illustrating their culture respectfully, and providing improved access to their historical records.

A main feature of this initiative is the Bringing Them Home name index, which leverages the National Archives' collection of records to facilitate genealogical research for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The policies of Digital Continuity 2020 issued by the authority of the National Archives apply to the whole of the Australian Government and seek to improve efficiency and access of all services.

The NAA started a fundraising campaign after the government initially failed to commit to funding the project, but in June 2021 announced that the full amount would be provided, in order to digitise the at-risk collection by hiring additional archivists and enhancing its cybersecurity.