Regular monitoring of records management, and an organisation-wide program for information governance (encompassing records, information and data), is beneficial for all public offices.
Public access to the records of Government is a fundamental right in a democratic society. The State Records Act 1998 promotes the principles of accountability and access by providing for the creation, management and protection of State records and for public access to those records. The access Provisions of the Act establish a 20 year open to public access period and provide for authorising longer periods of protection for sensitive records through the making of access directions.
This page provides advice on choosing a format/codec for digitising different types of audio and video recordings.
Creating and capturing records to document activities facilitating the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009, including the processing of formal applications, handling of informal requests, conducting of internal reviews and the release of information, enables your organisation to demonstrate that the process was undertaken transparently and accountably.
Records provide an audit trail that can support organisational decision-making and provide transparency. As a number of decisions are reviewable under the GIPA Act, the organisation should build requirements for records creation into procedures for GIPA activities and make sure that all staff are aware and familiar with the requirements.
This guidance has been prepared to enable records managers to understand the relationship between records management and the GIPA Act, the search process, and to inform and assess recordkeeping processes in relation to GIPA. It has been prepared in consultation with the Information and Privacy Commission (IPC) as the agency with oversight for the GIPA Act.
From time to time State Records NSW may also issue disposal alerts or advice about disposal freezes.
Digitisation refers to the conversion of non-digital material to digital form. There are many reasons why your organisation may consider converting existing analogue recordings to digital. If your organisation decides to digitise analogue audio and video recordings, there are a number of factors to consider.
Archival appraisal is perhaps the most important — and certainly the most final — decision-making function that an archives institution undertakes. A decision not to keep records as archives is forever: once the records are gone, they cannot be brought back. A decision to keep records as archives is also forever: it involves an explicit commitment to apply the resources needed to preserve them — and to keep applying resources — for as long as the archives survive.
The purpose of this document is to establish a policy framework for the conduct of records appraisal in the NSW public sector and to state fundamental objectives to guide the identification of State archives.
This Advice provides some information around questions NSW State Records has received in relation to Council amalgamations.
Records held by NSW Government organisations are a valuable resource for NSW Government and the community. Records are a core strategic asset and need to be protected and managed appropriately through any form of administrative change.
All Administrative Requirements are available via the Administrative Requirements Portal. This Portal can also be accessed on the websites of the Public Service Commission, the Treasury, Office of Finance and Services, State Records and the NSW Government.