DIRKS and the State Records Act
- Mandatory records management standards
- Maintaining accessibility to electronic records
- Disposal and archiving requirements
- Public access requirements
Mandatory records management standards
Implementing DIRKS can however also help you to meet some of the mandatory requirements issued under the State Records Act.
For example, it can help you to address the key requirement outlined in section 12(1) of the Act which states 'each public office must make and keep full and accurate records' of its activities, and that outlined in section 12(2) which states 'each public office must establish and maintain a records management program'.
Full and accurate records must be maintained in recordkeeping systems and records management programs must develop and administer such systems. The manual provides comprehensive guidance about developing recordkeeping systems.
- See Step C: Identification of recordkeeping requirements to help identify organisational recordkeeping needs
- See Step D: Assessment of existing systems to assess the capacity of your current systems to meet your recordkeeping needs
- See Step E: Identification of strategies for recordkeeping to determine ways in which you can better meet your needs
- See Step F: Design of a recordkeeping system to develop recordkeeping systems that will meet your needs, and
- See Step G: Implementation of a recordkeeping system to roll out new or redesigned recordkeeping systems.
The manual can also help public offices to comply with the other mandatory records management standards issued by State Records under section 13 of the Act. It is particularly beneficial in facilitating compliance with: Standard on digital recordkeeping and Standard on Counter Disaster Strategies for Records and Recordkeeping Systems
- See Doing DIRKS to ensure the creation and capture of records
- See Doing DIRKS to develop new systems with adequate recordkeeping functionality
- See Doing DIRKS to Specify and apply recordkeeping metadata
- See Doing DIRKS to manage your vital records
Maintaining accessibility to electronic records
Section 14 of the Act states that public offices must maintain the accessibility of their technology dependent records. This manual can help you to implement strategies to meet this key business requirement.
- See Step C: Identification of recordkeeping requirements to help identify those records that require longer term retention
- See Step D: Assessment of existing systems to determine the capacity of your current systems to manage records for as long as you need them
- See Step E: Identification of strategies for recordkeeping to determine different ways in which you can meet your requirements to maintain accessibility to records
- See Step F: Design of a recordkeeping system to develop recordkeeping systems that will meet your long term accessibility needs, and
- See Step G: Implementation of a recordkeeping system to roll out new or redesigned recordkeeping systems.
Tip: Further guidanceThe following State Records publication can also be of assistance:
Disposal and archiving requirements
Under section 21 of the Act, all public offices need to have complete disposal authorisation for their records. No record can be destroyed without such authorisation. Working through DIRKS will help you to develop and implement disposal authorities which will enable you to meet this requirement.
Records that are identified as State archives in disposal documentation must be retained indefinitely. This manual can help you design strategies for records' long term retention and implement procedures to enable their transfer as State archives.
Tip: Further guidanceThe following State Records publications can also be of assistance:
Public access requirements
Under Part 6 of the State Records Act, public offices are required to provide public access to records that are over thirty years of age. Working through DIRKS can help you consider how this requirement can be managed.
Tip: Further guidanceThe following State Records publication can also be of assistance:
