Disposal of original paper records after digitisation

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Can we destroy original paper records after digitisation?

Some organisations establish digitisation projects with the intention of destroying the original paper records and keeping digital images in their place. Often business cases will justify the costs of digitisation by comparing them to cost savings achieved by the reduction in paper storage. However, it is important to be aware that you cannot always destroy original paper records.

The disposal of records of NSW public offices must be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the State Records Act 1998. In most cases authorisation is given in approved retention and disposal authorities issued by State Records. For more information about disposal see Retention and Disposal and the General retention and disposal authority: original or source records that have been copied.

A. Are the records covered by a retention and disposal authority?

Before any original paper records can be destroyed after digitisation, you need to first establish if the records are covered by either a general or functional retention and disposal authority approved for use by your organisation. For more information about disposal and retention and disposal authorities, go to the Disposing of records page on our website.

If the records are covered by an approved retention and disposal authority, the authority will specify the retention requirements for the records and whether or not they are required as State archives.

If the records are not covered by an approved retention and disposal authority, you cannot destroy them after digitisation. Contact State Records NSW to discuss how to obtain disposal authorisation.

B. Do any exclusions in the General authority for original or source records that have been copied apply?

The General retention and disposal authority: original or source records that have been copied contains a list of exclusions. If any of the original paper records in question fall into one of these categories, you are NOT authorised to destroy them. These include:

• original or source records that were created prior to January 1, 1980 and are required as State archives or required to be retained in agency
• State archives that have been retrieved or are on loan from State Records or its regional repositories
• records subject to a legislative or Government policy requirement that the original record not be destroyed
• records that are considered to have intrinsic value in their original format
• records documenting special circumstances personal information of high personal value to the subject of the record

C. Have the conditions in the General authority for original or source records that have been copied been met?

The General retention and disposal authority: original or source records that have been copied is the key authorisation for the destruction of original paper records that have been digitised. It lists a number of conditions that need to be met before any destruction of original records can proceed.

State Records has specified these conditions to ensure that digital images can be relied upon as evidence in place of originals for as long as they may be required. It is crucial to conduct appropriate project planning and risk assessments of the relevant records when determining how to meet these conditions.

The conditions and how to meet them are contained in the table below:

Condition	How to meet condition
Copies are made which are authentic, complete and accessible	Plan the digitisation project well Establish routine digitisation and registration processes, document these in policies and procedures authorised by senior management and make them known to relevant staff Establish and document benchmarks specific to the project Establish and document required metadata for the ongoing management and control of the records Establish and document technical specifications specific to the project and which use standard formats for images Establish and document quality assurance procedures and processes to verify images are accurate and complete reproductions of originals Ensure quality assurance procedures and processes are implemented and that any problems identified are addressed as soon as possible Maintain thorough systems documentation, including descriptions of image enhancement techniques Store digital images appropriately with security controls and audit trails to prevent loss or alteration Manage digital images as part of your organisation's records management framework and document planning for their accessibility for as long as required
Copies become the official records and are kept for the authorised retention period	Be aware of retention periods that apply Manage digital images as part of your organisation's records management framework and document planning for their retention and accessibility for as long as required
Originals are kept for quality control purposes for an appropriate length of time after copying See When should disposal take place? in this section	Determine and document a time period for retention of originals after digitisation based on your own digitisation, quality assurance checking and recordkeeping processes Include this in procedures and training Note: State Records recommends a minimum retention period of six months. See When should disposal take place? for more information.

If any conditions are not met, destruction must not take place.

D. Are the records required as State archives or to be retained in agency in a current retention and disposal authority?

Records required as State archives or to be retained in agency

If the records are required as State archives or to be retained in agency in a current retention and disposal authority, see section E.

Records authorised for destruction in a current retention and disposal authority

If the records are not required as State archives or to be retained in agency in a current retention and disposal authority the original may be destroyed after copying providing that all conditions have been met.

Final authorisation must be obtained from the relevant senior manager before any records are destroyed. Details of records destroyed should be recorded, including what was destroyed, when, by whom and the disposal authority/ies used.

The digital images must be retained for the full retention period specified for the original paper records in retention and disposal authorities.

E. Were the records created before 1 January 1980?

Records required as State archives or to be retained in agency and created before 1 January 1980

If the original paper records were created before 1 January 1980 and are required as State archives or to be retained in agency they have ongoing value either to the State or to the organisation and cannot be destroyed. Records should be stored in a recordkeeping system for management and retrieval purposes and kept for their full retention periods.

With records that are to be retained in agency your organisation can contact State Records to discuss whether authorisation can be obtained to destroy the original paper records after digitisation.

With records that are required as State archives, your organisation can contact State Records to discuss the transfer of the original paper records after digitisation.

Records required as State archives or to be retained in agency and created after 1 January 1980

If the original paper records were created after 1 January 1980, and the records are required as State archives or to be retained in agency, they may be destroyed after digitisation providing you have met all other conditions outlined the General retention and disposal authority: original or source records that have been copied.

Final authorisation must be obtained from the relevant senior manager before any records are destroyed. Details of records destroyed should be recorded, including what was destroyed, when, by whom and the disposal authority/ies used.

The digital images must be retained for the full retention period specified for the original paper records in retention and disposal authorities.

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When should destruction take place?

Once all the requirements for retaining original paper records have been assessed and fulfilled, the original paper records are ready for destruction.

However, destruction should not take place immediately. The original paper records should be kept for a period of time for quality control purposes. This is to allow quality checks of the images and provides an extra safeguard in case of loss of digital images in the copying or registration process.

Your organisation should determine an appropriate period for retaining originals for quality control purposes. This period should be based on an assessment of the:

• level of assurance that full and accurate records have been created
• level of assurance that digital images are being well managed in a recordkeeping system
• robustness of digitisation processes, including quality assurance processes
• level of assurance that the records' authenticity is being maintained (determined through results of QA processes)
• need for access to the original paper record for other purposes such as legal proceedings. [1]

This assessment should be:

• based on an understanding of your own digitisation and recordkeeping processes
• suitable for the type of business to which the records relate
• determined in consultation with relevant business units.

A minimum retention period of six months is recommended. For low risk records this may be reduced to one or three months.

Where original paper records are destroyed, the digital images must be retained for the records full retention periods, as required in the relevant retention and disposal authority.

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Secure methods of destruction

For information about the secure destruction of original paper records and digital images, please refer to Destruction of records.

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Documentation of disposal

Disposal decisions, including those to destroy or transfer original paper records, must be authorised. Actions to destroy or transfer records must also be accountable. For accountability purposes, it is essential that both authorisations and actions for records disposal are documented. See the Standard on records management for more information.

See Metadata requirements for more information on the capture of metadata about specific processes performed on records, including their disposal..

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Monitoring and review

Public offices are responsible for monitoring their recordkeeping and records disposal practices. This includes:

• monitoring the currency of retention and disposal authorities and reviewing them when required
• ensuring that digitisation policies and procedures, systems and practices remain current and in keeping with best practice
• ensuring that any changes to digitisation procedures or recordkeeping practices still ensure that all of the requirements of General retention and disposal authority: original or source records that have been copied are being met.

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Common questions

See relevant parts of this section or Frequently asked questions for answers to the following questions:

• Can I destroy original paper records after I have digitised them?
• Can I destroy original paper records that were digitised before General retention and disposal authority: original or source records that have been copied was issued?
• If I can destroy the original paper records, how long should I keep them after digitisation before destroying them?
• I do not have a recordkeeping system, so am I able to destroy the originals once digitised?

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Checklist

Disposal of original paper records	Yes	No
Are the records covered by a current retention and disposal authority?
Do any of the exclusions in the General retention and disposal authority: original or source records that have been copied apply to the records planned for digitisation?
Can all of the conditions in General retention and disposal authority: original or source records that have been copied be met? i.e.: can copies be made which are authentic, complete and accessible? Can the digitisation processes, quality assurance processes and recordkeeping system ensure this? Can the technical specifications and metadata requirements chosen ensure this? can copies be kept for the authorised retention period, i.e. can our storage system support their retention for as long as required? are originals kept for quality control purposes for an appropriate length of time after copying?
Are there procedures in place to identify original paper records that are required as State archives or to be retained in agency and how these should be managed according to the General retention and disposal authority: original or source records that have been copied?
Has the organisation determined, documented and communicated to staff a standard period of time to retain the original paper records (which are authorised for destruction) for quality control purposes?
Are destruction practices for original paper records and digital images secure, authorised and in line with best practice?
Are disposal practices for original paper records adequately documented for accountability purposes?
Are records disposal practices regularly monitored and reviewed?

Footnotes

[1] Queensland State Archives, Digitisation Disposal Policy Toolkit, Quality Assurance Guideline, May 2010, section 3.

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