Module 6 Management of longer term recordsSeptember 2012
Explanation
This module assesses whether arrangements for the management of longer term records and the transfer of records of continuing value have been made. The module also assesses whether the public office has made access directions for records.
Longer term records are those records with long retention periods (30 years or more) or records which have been identified in retention and disposal authorities as State archives which will eventually be transferred to the archival control of the State Records Authority of NSW.
For the assessment of storage and preservation arrangements for longer term records, please see Module 3. To assess the long term preservation of digital records, please see Module 4.
Authority
The State Records Act 1998establishes requirements for the management of longer term records:
- Section 11 (1) of the Act requires that all public offices ‘ensure the safe custody and proper preservation of the State records’ it controls
- Section 27 of the Act entitles State Records to control records no longer in use for official purposes. Section 29 requires a public office to transfer records to State Records that are no longer in use for official purposes and have been identified as State archives in retention and disposal authorities.
- Sections 50 and 51 of the Act require all public offices to make access directions for State records which are 30 years old.
To assist public offices with these obligations, State Records has issued the following standards, procedures and guidance:
- Standard on the physical storage of State records (No. 11)
- Standard on the appraisal and disposal of State records(No. 9)
- Transferring custody of records as State archives (Procedures), and
- Making access directions (Recordkeeping in Brief 21).
We recommend consulting these resources before commencing your assessment.
Making your assessment
This module assesses:
- the maturity of conformity with requirements, and
- performance above minimum requirements.
You will need to assess the organisation against each criteria and determine whether your organisation has met the criteria. We have provided information about the type of evidence that you would require in order to demonstrate conformity.
Included in the module are performance criteria. These appear in the shaded boxes. Performance criteria establish if the organisation has achieved a higher degree of maturity and capability in the topic by working beyond the minimum compliance requirements set in records management standards and the State Records Act 1998.
When undertaking the assessment, if your organisation cannot demonstrate evidence of achievement of a performance criteria, this should not be considered a failure of conformity with the State Records Act. However, your organisation should consider implementing activities which will enable it to perform at the higher level and to achieve the business benefits that accompany good performance.
Compliance rating
To assist you in determining how well your organisation is conforming with requirements, we recommend that you rate your organisation’s compliance.
In each section you will need to rate your organisation according to the following scale:
Full / high compliance
Moderate compliance / minor issues
Low / insufficient compliance
Significant lack of compliance
Determining which of the above ratings you should use will be based upon the following:
Full / high compliance =you have ticked ‘Yes’ for all boxes for the section
Moderate compliance / minor issues= you have ticked ‘Yes’ to at least half the boxes for the section
Low / insufficient compliance =you have ticked ‘Yes’ to less than half of the boxes for the section
Significant lack of compliance = you haven’t ticked ‘Yes’ to any boxes in the section or only ticked ‘Yes’ to one or two boxes for the section
If you rate your organisation as having Low / insufficient compliance or Significant lack of compliance in any sections of the questionnaire, then this will indicate areas where your organisation needs to, as a priority, put more effort into meeting the requirements of the State Records Act and the associated standards.
What to do with your assessment?
Once you have completed your assessment using the questionnaire you should:
- evaluate the results
- identify which areas need improvement
- examine resources (see list below) for suggestions on how to improve
- prioritise improvements and incorporate them into your organisation’s planning processes, and
- prepare a report for senior management on your findings.
Remember to keep a record your assessment!
You do not need to forward copies of your assessments to State Records. However it is possible that State Records or other organisations interested in good records management may ask in the future to see documentation of your monitoring activities and any corrective actions undertaken as a result.
Resources for this module
State Records has produced a wide range of materials to assist public offices build their records management framework. These resources are available from
Access
Making access directions (Procedures), 2005.
Attorney General Guidelines, Making access directions under the State Records Act 1998. (2005)
Making access directions (Recordkeeping in Brief 21), 2001.
Dealing with applications for access(Recordkeeping in Brief 40), 2005.
Reviewing access directions (Recordkeeping in Brief 39), 2005.
Distributed management agreements
Distributed management of State archives (Recordkeeping in Brief 13), 1999.
Storage
Standard on the physical storage of State records (No. 11), 2012.
Solutions for storage: Guidelines on the physical storage of State records (Guideline 11), revised 2012.
Handle with care (Recordkeeping in Brief 14), 2012.
Outsourcing records storage (Recordkeeping in Brief 31), 2004.
Records in transit(Recordkeeping in Brief 15), 2012.
Introducing the revised Standard on the physical storage of State records(Recordkeeping in Brief 60), 2012.
Storage of State records with service providers outside NSW (Recordkeeping in Brief 54), 2009.
Transfer of State archives
Making still in use determinations (Procedures), 1999
Transferring custody of records as State archives (Procedures), 2004.
Standard on the appraisal and disposal of State records (No. 9), 2007. See Principle 5: Implemented
State Records Authority of New South Wales1
Module 6 Management of longer term recordsSeptember 2012
Control and custody of recordsCriteria / Evidence / Your assessment / Comments & actions to be taken
1 / Are records identified as State archives in authorised retention and disposal authorities stored in appropriate storage conditions and transferred to archival control and custody?
Source: State Records Act; Appraisal standard, compliance requirement 5.3; Storage standard, compliance requirement 3.3 /
- Records designated as State archives are transferred to archival storage conforming to requirements of the Standard on the physical storage of State recordsonce they are no longer active.
- There is a regular cycle of transferring State archives to State Records’ control and custody.
- Organisation makes ‘Still in Use’ determinations for State archives which are over 25 years old and still in official use in the organisation as appropriate.
2 / Does the organisation review ‘Still in Use’ determinations?
Source: State Records Act /
- There is a regular program of review of ‘Still in Use’ determinations.
Not applicable
3 / Does the organisation store State archives?
Source: State Records Act /
- Where the organisation has determined that it wishes to store, manage and provide access to State archives on State Records NSW’ behalf, the organisation has a distributed management agreement with State Records NSW.
Not applicable
4 / Has the organisation made arrangements for records identified as State archives which were created by a predecessor organisation?
Source: State Records Act /
- Plans and strategies are in place to identify ‘legacy’ records (ie records of a predecessor agency) that are required as State archives.
Not applicable
- Legacy records are retained and managed for as long as required.
Not applicable
- Arrangements have been made to transfer legacy records that are identified as State archives to State Records NSW’ control and custody.
Not applicable
Using your responses to questions 1 - 4 how would you rate your organisation’s compliance for the control and custody of longer term State records?
Full/high compliance
Moderate compliance / minor issues
Low / insufficient compliance
Significant lack of compliance
Performance criteria
The following question does not have compliance ratings as it is designed to assess whether your organisation has achieved a greater level of maturity and capability with the control and custody of longer term State records.
5 / Has the organisation identified all records that are required to be kept as State archives?
Source: Performance /
- Organisation has identified all records which are over 25 years old and identified as State archives in authorised retention and disposal authorities
Public access to State records
6 / Have access directions been made for all records 30 years and older?
Source: State Records Act /
- All records required to be retained for 30 years or more have access directions which are listed in State Records NSW ‘Register of Access directions’.
Not applicable, no records older than 30 years
- All records transferred to State Records NSW as State archives are covered by an access direction.
Not applicable, no records older than 30 years
- Procedures are in place to respond to requests for access to records which are not covered by access directions.
Not applicable, no records older than 30 years
7 / Are CPA access directions reviewed?
Source: State Records Act /
- There is a regular review cycle of all CPA (Closed to Public Access) directions to ensure that they are still appropriate.
Using your responses to questions 6-7, how would you rate your organisation’s compliance for managing public access to State records?
Full/high compliance
Moderate compliance / minor issues
Low / insufficient compliance
Significant lack of compliance
Performance criteria
The following question does not have compliance ratings as it is designed to assess whether your organisation has achieved a greater level of maturity and capability with the management of public access to State records.
8 / Has the organisation made early access directions?
Source: Performance /
- Access directions have been made for records that are less than 30 years old.
State Records Authority of New South Wales1