The National Museum of Australia, which opened on Acton Peninsula in March 2001, contains some interesting items but its effectiveness as a museum is undercut by its terribly confusing design both in the hodgepodge archicture and in the exhibits themselves.   Architects Ashton Raggatt McDougall (ARM) and Robert Peck von Hartel Trethowan won an international design competition for the building in 1997.  ARM's website states, "There are two big architectural ideas that guide the building's shape: the Boolean string, which embodies our views on Australian history as tangled and incomplete, and the jigsaw puzzle, which signifies that the Museum is conceptually unfinished."  The set of buildings has a lofty concept, but for this visitor the design and layout seriously detracted from the experience of visiting the museum. 

See: 
Dmity Reed, edl.  2002. "Tangled Destinies: National Musuem of Australia."  Mulgrave, VIC: The Images Publishing Group Pty Ltd.

Jennifer Taylor.  "'What is this Place, Australia?' - The National Museum."  International Committee of Architectural Critics – CICA, July 26, 2019.

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Completely separate and independent from the National Museum, but located right nearby is Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), a national institute which focuses on "the diverse history, cultures and heritage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia (>)."
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