How to develop retention and disposal authorities

Before you undertake work on developing an RDA (or engage a consultant to do so) contact NSW State Records to discuss the project. We are happy to meet with you to outline requirements and discuss any issues or concerns you may have. This will assist you to determine your requirements and scope and plan the project accordingly. Please email us at govrec@staterecords.nsw.gov.au or ph. 9673 1788.

Determine the disposal authorisation your organisation requires

To begin to plan and scope your project you need to determine what action is required to ensure you have the necessary disposal authorisation.

Longer retention does not need to be authorised

RDAs permit the destruction of records after the specified minimum retention periods applying to them have been met. There is no need to seek permission from NSW State Records to retain records for longer than the minimum retention period.

Be aware of the disposal coverage provided in general retention and disposal authorities

It is particularly important to have a good understanding and awareness of the disposal coverage already provided by general authorities, especially the General retention and disposal authority: administrative records. 

You do not need to seek further authorisation or permission from NSW State Records for the destruction or longer retention of records covered by a general authority. You only need to seek authorisation for records not covered by a general authority.

All current general retention and disposal authorities can be accessed on the web site. If you need advice about the scope and application of the general authorities and how they relate to your organisation specific functional authority please contact govrec@staterecords.nsw.gov.au.

Administrative change does not necessarily require development of a new authority

RDAs are designed to link records to the functions they document rather than to specific organisational or administrative structures. The movement of functions between branches or units within an agency does not require the authority to be resubmitted for approval. Similarly, when functions move from one public office to another the public office that inherits the new function may continue to use the existing authorisation. However you should contact NSW State Records to confirm ongoing use of the authority by your organisation is permitted.

Consider adopting or developing common authorisation for organisations performing the same or similar functions

If you have identified an organisation performing the same or similar functions to your own organisation and that organisation already has a current RDA for its records, consider the potential for seeking authorisation to use that organisation’s authority. This could ultimately save your organisation from having to commit the time and resources to developing its own. 

Alternatively, if you have identified that there are other organisation’s performing the same or similar functions to your own organisation and they also do not have current comprehensive retention and disposal authority coverage it may be worth considering initiation of a joint project with these organisations to develop the required authorisation. As well as being a more efficient use of resources, this will also ensure consistent retention and disposal outcomes.

Obtain senior management support

Your chief executive officer will need to sign off on the final version of the authority and take organisational responsibility for its implementation. It is therefore important at the outset to have executive support for your project. Preparing or reviewing an RDA can be a major project. Be aware that it will take time and require organisational support to develop or review and to implement.

Obtain broader organisational support

Your project will involve consultation with operational staff in relevant business areas. You should plan at the outset how best to consult with staff. You will need to talk to staff about:

• the business transactions or processes they carry out or managing
• the records they create and maintain and the business systems they use to support the management and documentation of these processes
• the requirements that impact on how long records need to be maintained and accessible
• broader information management issues that affect their daily business operations.

See Appendix 6: Interviewing business managers and action officers for a sample list of questions.

Undertake appropriate project planning

Preparing or reviewing an RDA should be undertaken using the usual project planning methods. The project timetable should allow for key stages in the development and authorisation process, such as:

• initial research and analysis
• drafting and internal review
• review of an initial draft by NSW State Records and amendment, revision or further internal consultation and research as required
• external consultation and the need for amendment or revision that may result from this
• sign off and formal submission by the chief executive of your organisation
• review and approval of the authority by the Board of NSW State Records (Board meeting are held every two months).

It is difficult to give an exact time frame for how long it will take to get an authority developed and approved as this depends on many factors including the size and complexity of the organisation, the available resources, currency and extent of existing disposal authorisation, quality and awareness of recordkeeping within the organisation, etc. Factors that can delay the process include:

• the progress of internal and external consultation, review and approval processes
• poor quality analysis and documentation
• changes in project or operational personnel
• administrative change
• lack of organisational support
• submission of non-standard documentation to NSW State Records.

To develop a retention and disposal authority you will need access to:

• corporate documents such as annual reports
• operational policies and procedures or manuals
• legislation, regulations, standards and codes of practice applying to your organisation, and
• staff with knowledge of business activities and operational processes.

Deciding to use a consultant

Consultants may be engaged to develop or review an RDA. It is recommended you contact NSW State Records to discuss your project prior to deciding to engage a consultant. This will enable you to scope the project brief for the consultant appropriately.

If you are intending to use consultants to prepare the authority it is still important that your organisation manages the project. If engaging a consultant you need to make sure that they:

• are competent to undertake the work required
• understand NSW State Records’ requirements and conventions
• complete all of the required documentation to the standards specified in these procedures, and
• provide your organisation with all documentation necessary for you to maintain and revise the authority in future and to account for the decisions made when their contract has ended.

Consider final products that could facilitate implementation of the authority once it is approved. For example, would it be useful to have the authority in a particular format to facilitate import into your records management or business systems? You may want to specify certain ‘products’ are to be provided by the consultant as part of the contract to facilitate implementation of the authority following its approval (see Implementation and ongoing maintenance below).

Please note NSW State Records is not able to recommend particular consultants.

Implementation and ongoing maintenance

Retention and disposal authorities should be prepared and submitted in a particular format (see Appendix 3: Drafting the authority). However, you may need different formats or tools for implementation purposes.

Before you begin, it is useful to plan how you intend to implement and maintain the authority. Consider how retention and disposal requirements will be conveyed to staff within your organisation, and how the requirements will be maintained and updated.

To support implementation it may be better to convey disposal requirements through internal business unit specific procedures and guidelines which are more user friendly for staff to understand and interpret. Also consider how system functionality and background automation of processes can be utilised to apply retention and disposal decisions and support the management of records disposal processes.

More tips on implementing retention and disposal authorities are provided in the section Implementing a retention and disposal authority.

Appropriate internal business unit and management review and approval processes should also be undertaken prior to submission of the draft authority to your organisation's CEO for sign off and formal submission to NSW State Records for approval.

Note: Depending on the stage of development of the draft authority and the quality of the supporting information provided, Steps 2 and 3 may be repeated. Once an agreed upon draft has been finalised, you can proceed to Stage 2.

Stage 2: Submitting the final draft for approval

 Once the authority has been approved by the Board...

• approves the retention and disposal authority and a copy of the approved authority is forwarded to the CEO of the organisation.

Note: Once the Executive Director approves a retention and disposal authority it may be implemented without further reference to NSW State Records. See NSW State Archives and Records' Implementing a retention and disposal authority and Destruction of records for advice on implementing disposal decisions.

Factors impacting on timing

The process of submitting a retention and disposal authority for approval usually takes a few months. While NSW State Records endeavours to provide comments on draft authorities within 8 weeks of receiving the draft, this depends on:

• the stage of development of the authority when it is first submitted for review
• the quality of the documentation submitted, and
• how many draft authorities from other organisations have also been submitted for review (authorities are usually reviewed in order of receipt).

The timing of the process also depends on:

• how many changes are required to finalise the draft retention and disposal authority, and
• when a final draft authority is submitted. NSW State Archives and Records' Board meets approximately every two months. The deadline for submission of the agreed upon final draft authority is 4 to 6 weeks prior to the meeting date.

Appraisal by NSW State Records

A major focus of the review of the draft retention and disposal authority by NSW State Records is to ensure the identification and application, where appropriate, of consistent retention periods and disposal actions for similar records across the public sector and to appraise which of the organisation's records are required as State archives. This appraisal will take into consideration recommendations by the organisation, previous appraisal decisions and our stated appraisal policy objectives. Remember that NSW State Records is appraising the value of the functions, activities and records of the organisation in the context of the whole of the NSW public sector.

NSW State Records may consult with stakeholders with expertise in the areas covered by the authority as part of their appraisal.

Approved retention and disposal authorities

The final approved version of the retention and disposal authority is maintained by NSW State Records.

Details and copies of retention and disposal authorities approved by NSW State Records are available on the website.

Implementing a retention and disposal authority

Effective planning for and implementation of records retention and disposal programs will ultimately save your organisation money in storage and other management costs as well as supporting compliant records disposal practices and activities.

Assess your systems' capacities to implement disposal

An initial assessment of your systems' capacities to administer retention and disposal decisions in a manner that is appropriate to your operational needs and business requirements will assist in planning for and the implementation of records disposal processes and activities. Consider:

• Can the retention and disposal authorities be loaded into business systems or  records management software?
• Can retention requirements be automatically applied to records when they are created or received as part of business processes? If not, what will be required to facilitate this?
• Are systems capable of calculating disposal due dates from relevant triggers? If not, what will be required to facilitate this?
• What business rules are in place to govern the management of records in database or specific business system environments? Do these need to be developed or modified to better support compliant disposal of records from these systems?
• What system generated reports are required to support the management and documentation of disposal activities and approval processes?

Develop policies, procedures and user training

All staff in the organisation, including contractors, need to be made aware that the disposal of records is an accountable process.

Organisations should develop and document accountable and authorised processes for the management of records retention and disposal activities. Policies and procedures should clearly articulate roles and responsibilities with respect to the destruction of records and the transfer of State archives to archival custody or control.

As part of your implementation strategy you may choose to develop a training package to assist staff in understanding the organisation’s records retention and disposal requirements and their responsibilities with respect to the management of these processes.

Determine the need to review

Record retention requirements may change over time. This can occur when:

• business needs or practices change
• new laws, regulations or standards are introduced
• new technology is implemented
• government is restructured and functions are moved between entities, or
• unforeseen community expectations become apparent.

Remember, records that are not covered by a retention and disposal authority cannot be destroyed or transferred as State archives.

NSW State Records recommends that organisations routinely review their retention and disposal authority coverage at least every 5 years to ensure that the retention periods and disposal actions remain relevant.

If the retention and disposal authorisation specific to your organisation was approved 10 or more years ago the authority should be comprehensively reviewed to ensure the retention requirements outlined in the authority still meet current organisational requirements and to check the authority continues to provides comprehensive coverage for all core functional records.

If the review process confirms that the authority continues to provide comprehensive coverage for all core functions and that the retention requirements and disposal actions outlined in the authority continue to reflect the organisation’s legal, business and accountability requirements contact State Records to confirm ongoing use of the authority is permitted.

If the review process identifies a need to update or amend the authority, contact NSW State Archives and Records to discuss. Remember, if you want to reduce minimum retention periods or change disposal actions the approval of NSW State Archives and Records is required. Extending the minimum retention periods identified in an authority does not require the approval of NSW State Archives and Records.

Submit a revised retention and disposal authority

The process for submitting a revised retention and disposal authority is the same as the process for submitting a new authority. However, if the revised authority will supersede the organisation's current authority you need to ensure that the supporting documentation and justification information included with the revised authority clearly identifies:

• any new entries included to cover records not previously covered
• the consolidation, merging or removal of entries from the current authority
• the equivalent entry/ies in the organisation's current authority which will be superseded by the revised authority entry once approve
• where minimum retention periods are consistent with current approved decisions
• any proposed changes to the current approved disposal triggers from which minimum retention periods are to be calculated and the reasons for the proposed changes
• any proposed changes to the current approved minimum retention periods or final disposal actions and the reasons for the proposed changes.

See this example of a revised retention and disposal authority (pdf, 32kb) and linking table for how this information should be documented for submission to NSW State Archives and Records.

Your supporting documentation (required to be submitted with the initial draft of the revised authority) should also note any functions/activities/disposal classes in the organisation's current authority that have not been included in or carried over to the revised authority and why, e.g. because the function/activity is no longer carried out by the organisation and records of that process are no longer created or held by the organisation, either because they have been appropriately destroyed or transferred to the relevant successor organisation.

This information ensures continuity in decision making about the retention and disposal of records and assists NSW State Records in reviewing revised authorities. Importantly, it will also assist your own organisation to track or map the changes required to update existing records management, EDRMS or business systems information supporting records disposal implementation processes.

When submitting an initial draft, NSW State Records requires:

• the draft retention and disposal authority (use the template provided), and
• supporting documentation.

When submitting a final draft for approval, NSW State Records requires organisations to provide:

• the final draft retention and disposal authority (use the template provided), and
• a cover letter (use the Word template provided).

Content and presentation of supporting documentation

NSW State Records requires organisations to provide supporting documentation with the draft retention and disposal authority submission. This information assists NSW State Records to understand the role, responsibilities and operating environment of the organisation and to review and understand the basis of the records appraisal decisions outlined in the draft authority.

When you submit the initial draft of the retention and disposal authority for review you are required to provide us with the following information:

Note: You do not need to consider or provide information about records that your organisation has already transferred as State archives.

Note: If no external consultation was undertaken, provide an explanation as to why no consultation was performed.

Templates

NSW State Records has developed an application for drafting and transforming authorities in XML. The Authority Editor is a program that supports the development of draft authorities that are compliant with NSW State Archives and Records requirements. Organisations are encouraged to draft and submit authorities using the Authority Editor. More information is available from the XML schema for retention and disposal authorities page on our website.

Draft authorities can also be submitted using the following templates:

• Draft retention and disposal authority template (doc, 56kb)
• Draft retention and disposal authority - template (xls, 59kb)
• Covering letter for submitting a draft authority for approval  - template (doc, 34kb)

Note: This example supporting documentation is for a small agency with a limited number of functions. Larger, more complex organisations may need to produce a more extensive document.

NSW State Archives and Records' requirements and conventions for retention and disposal authorities

• Authority Editor
• Format and layout
• Content and structure
• Expression and wording

This appendix provides an overview of State Records' requirements and conventions for the layout and wording of retention and disposal authorities to guide organisations when drafting an authority. For more information about identifying and scoping functions, activities and disposal classes, and determining retention and disposal requirements, see the Methodology for developing a retention and disposal authority section.

NSW State Records' Authority Editor

NSW State Records has developed an application for drafting and transforming authorities in XML. Authority Editor is a full implementation of NSW State Records’ XML schema. It includes a form entry view with tree navigation for simple inputting of data, a 'review view' that provides a readable view for easily navigating and reviewing XML documents, and a transform engine that applies XSL stylesheets to authorities to generate HTML, MS Word or edited versions. The Authority Editor makes the drafting process easier as it automates sorting, numbering and styling of authorities, simplifies the addition of internal and external see references, and contains drop down menus of sample justifications that can be used.

Format and layout

If the Authority Editor is not being used, Appendix 1: Overview of documentation requirements and templates provides links to the templates organisations should use when drafting a retention and disposal authority. Appendix 4: Example of a retention and disposal authority provides an example of the standard format and layout of an authority.

Content and structure

Table of contents

If the retention and disposal authority is covering a large number of functions and activities, NSW State Records recommends including a list or basic table of contents to provide an overview of the functions and activities covered and to guide users through the authority. The Authority Editor generates this list automatically.

Dates of coverage

In general the date range can be left open. However, in some circumstances, it may be appropriate to nominate dates to indicate limitations on the date range of records to which the authority can be applied. Surveying your organisation's records holdings and systems will assist in identifying the potential need for this (for example to address records of predecessor organisations or changes in business processes impacting on how records have been created and maintained). The supporting documentation submitted with the draft authority should provide a summary overview of your organisation’s records holdings and management systems. This will assist NSW State Records to consider and advise if the application of date range limitations is appropriate.

Structure

The standard format is for the authority to be structured around Function and/or Activity terms presented alphabetically in the authority.

See Appendix 4: Example of a retention and disposal authority for examples of standard conventions for the layout and structure of an authority.

Function and Activity descriptions

Function and Activity descriptions should be clear and concise, providing a plain-English explanation of the scope of processes covered. They do not necessarily need to reproduce thesaurus, taxonomy or business classification scheme descriptions in their entirety. Where the analysis of recordkeeping requirements has identified similar or equivalent retention and disposal outcomes for related Functions and Activities, it may be beneficial to consider combining terms in the authority and modifying the descriptions accordingly.

See references

See references should give appropriate guidance to help users of the authority make the best decision about how to sentence a particular class of records. General protocol:

• See references to other functions should be placed at the end of the relevant function description.
• See references to other activities should be placed at the end of the relevant activity description.

See Appendix 4: Example of a retention and disposal authority for examples of standard conventions for the inclusion of see references.

Disposal classes

Disposal class descriptions should provide a clear and concise description of the particular business or transactional processes covered by the class to indicate the extent or limits of the scope of its coverage. Disposal classes should be able to stand alone. Ideally they should not rely on referral to a function or activity scope note or on an examination of other classes for their interpretation.

Disposal class descriptions generally start with the phrase 'Records relating to...' or ‘Records documenting…’

The inclusion of some examples of records intended to be covered by the class is recommended to assist users in applying the authority. The listing of examples does not have to be exhaustive, it is indicative only. The disposal class description detail or examples should not be too focused on or limited in their application to specific record formats. 

Disposal class descriptions should carefully define any distinctions made, such as those between 'major' and 'minor', 'significant' and 'routine', etc.

Disposal class descriptions should avoid use of 'jargon' or specific references to legislation, for example, that could date or unintentionally limit the application of the authority

See Appendix 4: Example retention and disposal authority for examples of disposal class descriptions.

Case records

Where records relate to the management of a particular case, program or project (for example) it is important to assess whether:

• the records should be treated as a single class with the same retention and disposal requirements or
• the records should be described as separate classes in the authority with specific retention requirements depending on the particular process or aspect of the case/program/project management they document and support.

Treating the records as separate classes depending on the specific aspect of the process or activity they document may be appropriate if your organisation wants to move away from case based file management systems, and if different retention periods can apply to the records depending on what aspect of the case/program/project management process they document. This can have benefits in terms of storage or system migration costs savings and also has the potential benefit of ensuring that records are only kept for as long as needed and then promptly destroyed.

Databases

Don't forget to include records contained in databases and business systems when developing your disposal coverage. The authority does not just apply to records in hard copy format. The retention and disposal decisions will apply to records of the functions, activities and business processes covered by the authority irrespective of the format in which they are maintained. Increasingly, records and information of key organisational business is created and maintained in digital or electronic format and systems, and it is crucial to ongoing organisational accountability that these systems and the records held in them are appropriately managed. Determining how long these records need to be maintained to meet your organisation’s business needs and requirements is essential for their ongoing management. Knowing retention requirements will mean appropriate plans can be put in place for the ongoing maintenance or migration of the database or business system.

When you know what systems exist and the business they perform, you can start to look at how long this information needs to be kept. You can then ensure the systems are appropriately covered in the retention and disposal authority. IT staff can then develop plans for system maintenance or migration to ensure that the information within the database will be accessible and useable for the entire retention period.

Records that do not need to be included in the disposal authority

Organisations generally will not need to provide disposal coverage for records already covered by general retention and disposal authorities. For example, records of COMMITTEES, GOVERNING BODIES (such as Boards, Trusts, etc), CONTRACTING-OUT or TENDERING processes are covered in the General retention and disposal authority: administrative records.

The destruction of certain duplicates, drafts, working papers, back up tapes, systems logs and transaction reports, etc., is permitted by the normal administrative practice provisions of the State Records Act, therefore specific coverage for these types of records does not need to be included in the organisation’s function authority.

The General Retention and Disposal Authority - original or source records that have been copied also permits the destruction of certain original records after copying (for example to a digital image or microfilm format), provided the conditions listed in the authority have been met. Specific coverage for these types of records does not need to be included in the organisation’s function authority unless permission is being sought with respect to an excluded category of records.

Disposal actions

Disposal actions specify what should happen to a record. A disposal action is either:

• an authorisation to destroy records after a specified retention period expires (e.g. 'Retain minimum of 10 years after action completed, then destroy'), or
• the identification of records as State archives ('Required as State archives').

Standard conventions for expressing disposal actions

Justifications

Justifications explain how or why the retention periods and disposal actions have been determined.

Justifications do not have to be extensive but they must be clear, considered and specific. Justifications need to provide definitive, measurable statements that give a clear rationale or basis for the identified minimum retention period or the recommendation to retain the records as State archives.

To assist NSW State Records in reviewing retention decisions, provide as much detail as possible about the source or basis of the decision, including references to sections of legislation, standards, rules, guidelines and other documentary or external sources.

If adequate justifications are not provided in draft retention and disposal authorities or the associated supporting documentation, organisations may be asked to resubmit their documentation with revised justifications for each disposal recommendation before State Records undertakes any assessment.

Expression and wording

Acronyms and jargon

Although acronyms and jargon may be commonly used and understood in your organisation, you should avoid using these in retention and disposal authorities. Retention and disposal authorities are documents that generally remain current for a number of years, and terminology such as acronyms and jargon and even classification or taxonomy terms can date and become meaningless within a short time frame.

• Acronyms should be avoided, or, if used, spelled out in full.
• More widely understood terms should be used in the place of jargon.