It is responsible for storing, managing, protecting and providing access to the official records of the South Australian Government, as well as providing South Australian state and local government agencies with advice about records management, freedom of information and information privacy.
In 1915, George Cockburn Henderson put forward a proposal, and in October 1918 the South Australian Parliament granted 700 pounds to the Public Library Board to adapt the former Armoury building on North Terrace, Adelaide, as the Government Store for archives.
This situation was further consolidated in 1967 when the Archives, which incorporated both public and private records, moved to the basement of the building of what by 1967 was called the State Library of South Australia on North Terrace.
[4] Another major change occurred on 1 October 1985, when the South Australian Archives separated its government record holdings and private collections.
[6] Progressively from December 1987, the Public Record Office staff and collection left the State Library basement.
[8] The Public Reading Room was operated from the Norwich Centre building, King William Road, North Adelaide from December 1987.
The City Research Centre, in the heritage listed Bickford North Building[17] in Leigh Street, Adelaide, opened to the public on 26 October 2004.