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Retention and Disposal

Retention and Disposal Overview

The State Records Act 1998 creates a statutory framework for authorising the disposal of State records and for deciding which records will be retained as State archives. Under the Act, State Records, through the State Records Board, can give permission for the disposal of records. State Records may require records to be retained as State archives, permit the destruction of records or, in certain specific cases, permit the transfer of records from NSW Government ownership to private or other ownership.

Disposal is usually authorised through retention and disposal authorities issued by State Records following their approval by the State Records' Board.

Digital disposal

Retention and Disposal Authorities cover records and information regardless of the medium or format in which they are created. With many organisations now conducting their business in a fully digital environment, digital disposal is a core component of disposal. As with disposal of paper records, digital disposal requires thorough analysis and documentation. However in the digital environment it must be conducted across a very broad range of systems and technologies, often on a large scale and with compressed timeframes.

Normal administrative practice

The State Records Act provides a number of means to lawfully dispose of State records. Generally this is through the retention and disposal authorities issued by State Records. Another means is in accordance with the normal administrative practice provisions of the Act which allow for the disposal of certain types of facilitative and duplicate records. Please see Schedule 2 of the State Records Regulation 2015 for more information on what constitutes normal administrative practice in a public office.

Destruction of records

The destruction of State records should always be authorised. This means the destruction of the records is either permitted under a current retention and disposal authority issued by State Records or under the 'normal administrative practice' provisions of the State Records Act 1998.

These guidelines have been prepared for personnel in New South Wales public offices who are responsible for arranging the destruction of State records as part of a program of authorised records disposal in accordance with Part 3 of the State Records Act 1998.

Implementing a retention and disposal authority

The implementation of retention and disposal authorities is important to support the efficient and effective management of government records in all forms. Regular and systematic use of retention and disposal authorities will result in benefits to public offices and to Government by:

reducing the costs of records storage
reducing the time and cost associated with finding specific records when they are needed and
minimising the risks arising from illegal or unmanaged destruction of records and from inadvertently keeping records that should be destroyed.

Records designated as State archives, and which are no longer in use for official purposes in the agency, should also be routinely and systematically transferred to State Records' care to ensure their preservation as part of the State's heritage.

Planning a sentencing project

Sentencing of records is an activity that should be part of every NSW public offices' Records Management Program.

Estrays: recovering State records that have strayed

Government records held in private ownership or possession without appropriate authorisation are referred to as ‘estrays’. The State Records Act 1998 provides for the recovery of estrays back to official control.

Keeping publications and promotional materials and records

In this context, a publication includes any form of information which is published, intended to be made available to the public or able to be accessed by the public. It also includes published information issued or made available to staff within the organisation, e.g. a procedure manual published on the organisation's intranet. Publications can be hardcopy, online or in another format, and with or without an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) or International Standard Serial Number (ISSN).

XML schema for retention and disposal authorities

State Records is working to unlock the information contained within retention and disposal authorities by adopting XML as the preferred format for drafting and publication.

Disposal alerts

From time to time State Records may also issue disposal alerts or advice about disposal freezes.

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Recordkeeping / Advice / Retention and Disposal

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https://www.records.nsw.gov.au/recordkeeping/advice/retention-and-disposal

Resources & Advice

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