Made of memories

Highlights

Collection items

More than 5,500 Collection Items are now available online, ready to explore, share and revisit. Each one sits within a wider network of stories, themes and histories.

Collection Items are the foundation of the site – individual films, recordings, photographs, documents and artefacts catalogued from the national collection and presented as authoritative primary sources. Metadata may be updated over time, but the collection items themselves remain unchanged once published, preserving their original context and integrity.

Jingles, fashions, gadgets, memes. They reveal how tastes shift, how technology lands, how identity and everyday life are recorded over time. One clip opens a wider story. An image anchors a memory. A recording captures a voice or moment that would otherwise fade.

New items are added regularly as more material is preserved, digitised and catalogued.

Sign in and you can save what you find, building your own path through the archive as you go.

AV mosaics

A gallery of Australia’s stories – visual grids that bring the collection to life, one theme at a time.

Browse a subject and you’ll see images, video and audio juxtaposed, from defining national moments to local and personal histories. Mosaics reveal patterns across time, recurring faces, sounds, aesthetics and technologies.

Some mosaics generate automatically as related material is added. Others are shaped editorially, offering a more focused view around a person, era, movement or cultural moment.

Each tile leads to the comprehensive collection item, where browsing can turn into deeper exploration and research.

Stories+

Curious, curated and collected – Stories+ is the editorial home of the collection, bringing together cultural memories, fresh reads and archival media.

Interpretation – feature articles, listicles and Deep Dives – sits alongside original collection media, with commentary and context linking directly back to the collection.

Dedicated Stories+ pages for Music, TV, Film, Advertisements and Games create focused spotlights into each area, making it easier to explore familiar territory or follow new lines of interest across the archive.

Your Stuff

Want to start your own collection? Save, organise, and share your favourite video, audio and stories with a free Your Stuff account.

Signed-in users can bookmark items, articles and collections. Turn saved items into lists organised by theme, era, artist, mood or anything that inspires you. Return to them later on any device or share them with friends and family.

You can also manage NFSA newsletter subscriptions from the same place. It’s designed for people who want to build their own collection, their way.

NFSA in Canberra

Our website helps you get more from your visit to the NFSA in Acton, Canberra.

Browse free experiences, check what’s on in our Cinema and Gallery, and book tickets in one place. Find practical details to plan your visit with confidence, including our events calendar, accessibility information, Dom’s deli & bar and venue hire.

A Visual Story is also available as a step-by-step visual and written guide to visiting the site. It supports people with disability or sensory needs, and anyone who prefers clear information before arriving.

Nangamai: a celebration of First Nations culture

Nangamai (‘Dream’ in the Dharawal language) is the NFSA’s online collection of First Nations content. It brings together film, television, music, recorded voices and archival material connected to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and creative expression.

The collection recognises the artists, activists, storytellers and communities who have sustained and shared culture across generations through song, dance, filmmaking, broadcasting and performance.

It provides a vital entry point into First Nations audiovisual heritage and continues to grow as more material is preserved, contextualised and shared.

Industry and professional services

The national audiovisual collection is also a working resource used by filmmakers, researchers, educators, cultural organisations and industry practitioners.

This part of the site provides pathways into licensing, research access, screenings and professional use of collection material. You can search the catalogue at scale, explore services and enquire about access, loans or reuse.

It supports projects at every stage, from early research to production, exhibition and education, and reflects the NFSA’s role as both archive and active partner in Australia’s screen and sound culture.

Research and innovation hub

The Research and innovation hub is where the NFSA shares the thinking, methods and collaborations that sit behind the collection.

It brings together current projects, partnerships, conference programs and published research, alongside practical insights into digitisation, preservation and emerging media. You can move from case studies and technical specifications to reports, recordings and research-led stories in one place.

The hub also connects users to professional pathways - including academic collaborations, training programs and sector initiatives - and provides a clearer view of how the collection informs research across Australia and internationally.

Events, recorded talks and project updates sit alongside longer-form research outputs, creating a space that supports practitioners, students and curious audiences to follow developments in audiovisual preservation and digital culture.

Technical preservation

The NFSA Technical Preservation Handbook provides insight into how audiovisual heritage is protected for the future.

It covers film construction, identification, storage, deterioration and damage alongside the specialised techniques used to stabilise and digitise fragile media.

Alongside it sits the Preservation Glossary, a practical guide to common audiovisual terms and processes, designed to help researchers, practitioners and curious audiences better understand how screen and sound materials are made, handled and conserved.

Together, they reveal the depth of technical expertise behind the collection and the ongoing work required to ensure these materials can be accessed, studied and experienced over time.

NFSA Player

NFSA Player is the home for full-length films, documentaries and screen works drawn directly from the national audiovisual collection.

It brings together features, shorts, documentaries and lesser-known titles from across the archive, including works from the Film Australia Collection and films by major Australian directors early in their careers. Many capture everyday life, social change and national identity as it was being recorded.

Some are familiar, others obscure, occasionally strange or surprising. All form part of the screen history that has shaped how Australia sees itself. NFSA Player offers a way to experience these works as complete pieces and encounter the archive as a living body of cinema and storytelling.

Start anywhere

Search for something specific. Follow a memory. Click on a face, a song, a moment.

You might arrive looking for one thing and leave with five saved for later.

We’re made of memories. This is where they resurface, connect and take on new meaning.