Access to and Copying Source Sheet No.49 Building Plans

Viewing Plans

  • The City Archives holds plans of building works undertaken in the City and North Adelaide since 1924. This includes plans of alterations and additions to buildings, as well as internal fitouts and refurbishments. Plans of Commonwealth and State Government building works are not generally held by the City Archives.
  • As a general rule, plans can be made available for viewing in the Archives Search Room within a day of being requested. When asking for plans you should state the property’s location (street name and number) and an approximate date of construction or alteration.
  • There is no charge for viewing building plans. However, for security reasons, access to plans will only be permitted upon presentation of the written consent of the current owner of the building (or the owner’s accredited agent). Either a letter or a fax or email appropriately authenticated and signed by the building owner is accepted by the Archives.
  • Researchers wanting to look at plans of public buildings or infrastructure should be aware that details of the request, including your name and address, may be forwarded to SAPOL who have requested we do this in the interests of national security.

Copying Plans

  • Plans may be viewed but not removed from the Archives Search Room. Copies of plans can be made by the Archives, but again it will be necessary for you to provide the written permission of the current owner of the building and also the owner of the copyright in the plan to enable this to be done.
  • Archival material is subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act, 1968. Where the copyright ownership is not vested in the Corporation of the City of Adelaide, it will be necessary for you to obtain the written permission of the copyright owner, i.e. the architect or engineer who drew the plans.
  • Note that where an architect or engineer is no longer practising or cannot be traced, then the Archives will normally waive the copyright clearance requirement. However, the onus is on you to make reasonable efforts to locate the copyright owner (this can usually be accomplished by telephoning the SA Chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects on 8272 7044).
  • Copying of archival plans will only be undertaken where they are in good physical condition. Copying will not be done in cases where, in the opinion of the Archivist, it would be detrimental to the preservation of the record.
  • In the interests of preservation of the original drawings the copying of building plans is generally done using a large format AO plan scanner so as to place minimum stress on the documents. Only in exceptional circumstances will the Archives permit plans (or potions of them) to be photocopied. Fragile or faded plans are not to be photocopied under any circumstance.
  • In those cases where plans have previously been scanned onto the computer by the Archives, copies can generally be made available later on the same day. Where plans have not previously been copied then this process should be completed within half a day (depending on the number of plans to be copied).

Copying Costs

Digital Plan Prints (includes images attached to emails)

Print Size / Unit Cost / GST / Total Fee
Oversize >A1 / $24.00 / $0.00 / $24.00 per sheet
A1 / $18.00 / $0.00 / $18.00 per sheet
A2 / $12.00 / $0.00 / $12.00 per sheet
A3 / $6.00 / $0.00 / $6.00 per sheet

Digital Image on CD

Unit Cost / GST / Total Fee
First image on CD / $23.64 / $2.36 / $26.00
Each subsequent image / $14.10 / $1.40 / $15.50

All images scanned at 300 dpi.

Photocopies (specifications, calculations, etc)

Page Size / Unit Cost / GST / Total Fee
A4 / $0.55 / $0.5 / $0.60 per sheet
A3 / $1.10 / $0.10 / $1.20 per sheet