The files of the various Aborigines Departments of Western Australia were originally stored in a single collection held by the departments that created them.  After the creation of the Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority in 1972, the files were split into two categories; administrative files and personal files

Administrative files cover departmental business, including the selection and 'removal' of children from their parents into state institutions, 'cohabitation' between white men and Aboriginal women, or punishments inflicted on inmates at the notorious Moore River Native Settlement.  These are stored at the State Records Office of Western Australia, a repository of official archival documents of the Western Australian Government.  Files are open access until 1908.  Files from 1909 onwards are restricted access and require permission of the Department of Indigenous Affairs, WA.

Personal files, or personal dossiers - some over three hundred pages long - document personal information about Aboriginal individuals and families.  Under State legislation Aboriginal people (especially people of 'mixed descent') were watched, managed, and controlled by a single government authority.  Documents on a personal file can be as intrusive as documenting a person's sexual relationships, or a woman's dress and shoe size.  In 1988 the government began releasing photocopies of these files directly to Aboriginal  family members.