Each year on 1 January, hundreds of archival records are released to the public as part of Public Record Office Victoria (PROV)’s annual Section 9 openings.

Under Section 9 of the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic), records containing personal information – such as capital case files, criminal trial briefs and divorce records – are temporarily closed to prevent the violation of privacy. Learn more about the 2026 Section 9 openings.

This year, for the very first time, Victorian Cabinet records closed under Section 10(1) of the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic) have also been opened.

Cain and Kirner

The Cabinet records span the period of the Labor Government of John Cain Jr (8 April 1982–10 August 1990) and Victoria’s first female Premier, Joan Kirner (10 August 1990–6 October 1992).

The 1982 election win saw the Labor party gain power after 27 years of Liberal Government. Labor went onto win three consecutive elections, remaining in power for a period three times longer than any previous Labor Government.

Robert Murray, in 50 Years of Spring Street, described this time as ‘a rollercoaster period of both financial boom and bust and rapid social and technological change.’

This period in Victoria also saw significant modernisation of the public service, including the introduction of the Cabinet Office and Cabinet recordkeeping.

The system of Cabinet recordkeeping in Victoria was introduced following the election of Premier John Cain in April 1982 – 9 years after the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic) was established. Prior to this, there was no formal process for documenting Cabinet submissions or deliberations. Additionally, no provisions existed regarding access to or closure of Cabinet records.

In the absence of specific access provisions, the Cain and Kirner Cabinet records were closed under Section 10(1) of the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic). This section permits records transferred to PROV to be closed for a specified period, not exceeding 30 years from the date of transfer, irrespective of the records’ age.

The Cain and Kirner Government Cabinet records were transferred to PROV during 1996. As of 31 December 2025, their closure period has ended.

The records opened cover Cabinet matters of the 1980s and early 1990s such as:

• Liquor law reforms
• Women's safety, sexual assault and family violence 
• Decriminalisation and legislation of sex work 
• The introduction of Freedom of Information  
• Equal opportunity legislation 
• Aboriginal land rights and cultural heritage
• Changes to gun laws 
• The development of the Tennis Centre, Southbank and Docklands Authority
• Licensing of poker machines and early discussions of Victoria getting its first casino 
• Occupational health and safety reforms 
• Introduction of the Victorian Certificate of Education 
• Establishment of Land Care and spaces for National Parks 
• Legislation for native flora and fauna
• The unsuccessful bid for the 1996 Olympic Games
• Changes in tobacco advertising and sponsorship
• 150th anniversary of Victoria celebrations
• The 1983 bushfires (Ash Wednesday)
• Victorian Football League grand final games at the Melbourne Cricket Ground 
• The collapse of Tricontinental, Pyramid Building Society and sale of the State Bank of Victoria 
• De-registration of the Builders’ Labourers Federation
• The Community Protection Act (Garry David Webb)
• Prison security reviews
• And much, much, more…

The records now open to public view span across 22 series, each representing the original recordkeeping sequence in which the documents were created. Each series is uniquely identified in the PROV catalogue by a Victorian Public Record Series (VPRS) number. These series equate to 332 archival boxes and 2 electronic databases:

Cabinet Record/Decisions

• Cabinet Record, Cain/Kirner Government, 1982-1992
• Register of Cabinet Decisions (Database Output), Cain/Kirner Government 1982-1992
• Register of Cabinet Decisions (FOI), Cain/Kirner Government, 1983-1988 
• Internal Index to Register of Cabinet Decisions (FOI), Cain/Kirner Government, 1983-1992 

Submissions

• Cabinet and Cabinet Committee Submissions, Cain/Kirner Government, 1982-1992 
• Register of Cabinet and Cabinet Committee Submissions (Database Output), Cain/Kirner Government, 1982-1992
• Register of Cabinet Submissions, 1982-1986
• Submissions Relating to Appointments, Cain/Kirner Government, 1982-1984
• Registers of Submissions Relating to Appointments, 1982-1986
• Submissions to the Economics Committee of Cabinet, Cain/Kirner Government, 1982-1986
• Submissions to the Rural Affairs Committee of Cabinet, Cain/Kirner Government, 1985-1986
• Submissions to the Priorities, Planning and Strategy Committee of Cabinet, Cain/Kirner Government, 1985-1986
• Submissions to the Social Development Committee of Cabinet, Cain/Kirner Government, 1985-1986
• Submissions to the Natural Resources Committee of Cabinet, Cain/Kirner Government, 1986-1986
• Submissions to the Urban Infrastructure Committee of Cabinet, Cain/Kirner Government, 1986-1986
• Register of Submissions to Cabinet Committees, Cain/Kirner Government, 1985-1986

Other Cabinet Records

• Agenda and Premier's Briefing Papers, Cain/Kirner Government, 1982-1992
• Premier's Briefing Papers on Specific Issues in Cabinet Submissions, Cain/Kirner Government, 1982-1990
• Cabinet Committee Records, Cain/Kirner Government, 1982-1992
• Departmental Cabinet-in-Confidence Working Records, Various Departments, Cain/Kirner Government, 1982-1992
• Correspondence Files, Parliamentary Secretary of Cabinet, Cain/Kirner Government, 1982-1989
• Cabinet Handbook, 1982-1987

See interactive data visualisation of the Cabinet record series' below. We've selected 1992 as an example of a year you can research. To delve into other years during the Cain/Kirner era, enter a year in the 'year' box. 

These records can be ordered online for viewing in the Victorian Archives Centre’s Reading Room, located at 99 Shiel Street, North Melbourne.

Some of the series listed above are filed either by date or submission number. To begin your research, we suggest reviewing the outputs from the submissions and decisions databases and noting down dates and submission numbers of interest.

The Register of Cabinet Decisions (Database Output) allows you to locate decisions as they appear in the official Cabinet record.

The Register of Cabinet and Cabinet Committee Submissions (Database Output) helps you to identify submissions of interest, including their submission number and date. These submissions were prepared for matters scheduled to be discussed at meetings of the Cabinet or its committees.

A sample

Take a look inside the boxes, with a small preview of the records displayed below:

The Cabinet records for the governments of Jeff Kennett (6 October 1992 – 20 October 1999) and Steve Bracks AC/John Brumby AO (20 October 1999 – 2 December 2010) are due to be opened on 1 January 2032 and 1 January 2041 respectively. The records for both governments were closed on the same basis as those of the Cain/Kirner governments.

In 2042, records from the Government of Ted Bailieu AO will be opened to the public, marking the beginning of annual releases 30 years after the creation of Cabinet records.