Please note: Do not send any material to us (via Australia Post, courier or other means), as we are unable to guarantee its safety. Please refrain from delivering material to any of our offices in person. 

Instead, you can download and complete a Collection Offers form (see below) and submit to collection@nfsa.gov.au. We appreciate your understanding.

What are you offering?

We would love to know more about what you are offering. To assess your offer, we require the following information:

* a comprehensive written list of the material on offer – including the title of the item(s), who is donating it, its history or provenance and its current condition

* photos of the material – for our experts to further assess its condition

* a completed collection offer form attached to the email – Download: Collection offers form

Please note we will be unable to consider your offer if the above is not supplied. 

We also strongly recommend consulting our Collection Policy to ensure we are the appropriate institution for your offer – Download: Collection Policy.

Our main collecting focus is on master and unique material rather than copies (film prints, commercially available tapes or recordings etc). We strongly recommend you review any material on offer against our online catalogue to check whether it is already part of the collection.

Once you have completed the steps above, including completing the collections offer form, you can submit your information via the collection@nfsa.gov.au email address. We endeavour to respond to collection offers within 10 business days. 

Read more about how our curators decide what is accepted into the NFSA collection and what materials we might have to exclude.

Acquisition of new material

The NFSA acquires new material in accordance with its collection policy and statement of curatorial values.

Download: Collection Policy

Download: Statement of curatorial values

If your production has funding under a Delivery Deed, please refer to the following:

Download: Information for Funded Deliverables

How we acquire collection material

Donation

Donations to the NFSA are permanent gifts of collection items. The NFSA welcomes donations of works that match our acquisition criteria. Unlike works on deposit, the NFSA acquires title to, and control over, the physical items. The intellectual property of works not in the public domain remains with their legal owners. The NFSA respects both the privacy of donors and the legitimate interests of copyright holders.

Deposit

The owner of a work may wish to transfer it to the NFSA for preservation or storage purposes while retaining title, intellectual property rights, and a degree of control over the material. Ideally, the NFSA should receive fair value in exchange for providing such preservation and storage services and will seek funds to offset any incremental operational costs incurred because of the deposit.

Purchase

In evaluating a proposed acquisition for purchase, the NFSA seeks to ensure that it:

• acquires the works it intends to acquire;
• acquires clear title to the works;
• pays a fair price, and
• obtains the works on carriers of appropriate format and condition.

Bequest

Living artists, producers, collectors and others may wish to name the NFSA as an intended recipient of works or other property upon their death. Many such bequests have been made known to the NFSA during the donor’s lifetime. When there is a long-standing professional relationship, or when the NFSA has participated in the development of the terms and conditions surrounding the bequest, the expectations and requirements of both parties are well known to each other. In these instances, the NFSA can confirm the relevance of the bequest material to the collection and hence verify the benefits of the bequest for all concerned.

Unsolicited gifts and portfolios

NFSA reception staff are unable to accept unsolicited donations under any circumstances. Potential donors should first complete the collection offers form and all other steps outlined above (under What Are You Offering?).

The NFSA cannot take responsibility for unsolicited works it receives. The NFSA reserves the right to accession such unsolicited material into the collection, to return to sender if practical to do so, or to dispose of the material if it does not meet the NFSA acquisition criteria.