Monitoring compliance

State Records' role | Monitoring framework | Monitoring tools | Survey Reports

State Records' role

The State Records Act places a number of obligations on public offices. Two of these are:

• to make arrangements with State Records for monitoring and reporting on its records management program (s.12(4)), and
• to give State Records access to its records to monitor compliance with the requirements of the Act (s.15).

State Records may report to the Minister responsible for a public office on a failure to comply with the requirements of the Act or on any matter of concern relating to a public office's obligations and may report about failures to comply in its annual report.

Section 13 of the Act permits State Records to approve standards and codes of best practice for records management by public offices.

Requirements from the standards have been introduced according to a timetable.

Monitoring framework

In 2004 State Records developed a monitoring framework for the State Records Act 1998 to formally communicate to NSW public offices the monitoring roles and responsibilities which are undertaken in relation to the Act, and to assist public offices in planning and establishing goals for their records management programs.

The framework was revised in 2006 and again in 2009.  The current revisions were made to ensure that the framework remains useful and relevant.

This revised monitoring framework and arrangements come into effect from 1 July 2009 and will be in effect until 2013.

Click here for the Monitoring framework or PDF (47kb).

Monitoring tools

There are a range of tools which public offices are able to access to assist in monitoring records management programs and recordkeeping performance.  Click here for guidance on monitoring recordkeeping.

Survey Reports

Since 1996, State Records' primary means of monitoring recordkeeping has been through self assessment surveys.  State Records distributed periodic records management surveys to NSW State Government agencies, local government councils, universities, and area health services to acquire information about records management practices and to provide a baseline against which State Records could measure improvements in government recordkeeping over time.

State Records has undertaken a range of surveys:

• 2004 survey of compliance with records management obligations of the State Records Act 1998
• 2008 survey of records storage and disposal, and  
• 2010 survey of digital recordkeeping.

Click here for survey reports.

Survey reports prior to 2004 are available from State Records upon request.