Guidelines for Records Management
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The following Guidelines have been created by State Records of South Australia to assist government agencies in meeting their responsibilities for Adequate Records Management within the State Records Act, 1997.
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Introduction to the State Records Act 1997
This guideline is aimed at South Australian Government employees. It provides an overview of the State Records Act, 1997 and its implications for Agencies. The State Records Act took effect from 31 October 1997 and amends the Libraries Act, 1982, the Freedom of Information Act, 1991 and the Local Government Act, 1999.
(133 KB DOC File) Introduction to the State Records Act 1997
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Record Keeping Requirements and S. A. Legislation
This guideline provides an overview of selected South Australian legislation and highlights recordkeeping implications. The guideline provides a starting point for Agencies wishing to examine legislation that is relevant to the functions and activities of their agency.
(126 KB PDF File) Record Keeping Requirements and S.A. Legislation
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Adequate Records Management - Implementation Plan
This guideline provides a generic plan for Agencies implementing an adequate records management program. Agency records management practices need to progressively achieve the identified outcomes.
(170 KB PDF File) Adequate Records Management Implementation Plan
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Adequate Records Management - Improvement Matrix
Agency assessment of their records management systems, tools, practices and resources is an important aspect of achieving 'adequate' records management State Records has developed the following guideline to assist agencies assess the status of their strategic and operational records management programs. Agencies need to demonstrate that they are making incremental improvements with the intention of achieving adequate records management by 2010.
(346 KB DOC File) Adequate Records Management Improvement Matrix
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Records Management Resourcing Benchmarks
The Adequate Records Management Improvement Matrix and Evidence Toolkit has recently been reviewed and now includes an eleventh Outcome, Resourcing. State Records has developed the Records Management Resourcing Benchmarks and Classification Equity Guideline to assist agencies meet the adequacy requirements for this Outcome. This guideline will assist agencies to determine the following: - the roles needed to deliver all required recordkeeping outputs
- the necessary qualifications for each role
- the appropriate remuneration for each role.
(146 KB DOC File) RM Resourcing Benchmarks and Classification Equity
(346 KB DOC File) Adequate Records Management Improvement Matrix
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EDRMS Procurement and Pre-Implementation Guideline
To support the formation of an Across Government EDRMS Panel, State Records has produced a guideline to assist all Agencies in the activities that need to be performed prior to implementing a new EDRMS solution. State Records has identified a number of tasks Agencies will need to undertake in order to select the most appropriate EDRMS to meet their specific business requirements. The completion of these tasks is expected to identify and in some instances address fundamental project management risks that otherwise could jeopardise the viability, stability and/or quality of an Agency's EDRMS implementation. The complexity and size of these documents will be dependant on the scope and level of risk associated with an Agency's EDRMS project. State Records has developed a toolkit to accompany this Guideline for Agencies to reference which includes the following elements: - a defined process
- a Matrix to assist in the selection of a fit for purpose solution
- a checklist of pre-implementation development and post implementation phases.
(389 KB PDF File) EDRMS Procurement and Pre-Implementation Guideline
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Management of Email as Official Records
The purpose of this guideline is to provide policy, guidelines, and technical considerations for the management of e-mail as official records. This document applies to all State and Local Government Agencies within South Australia, as defined by the State Records Act, 1997.
(268 KB PDF File) Management of Email as Official Records
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Managing Records During Administrative Change
Elections or decisions of the South Australian Government can result in 'administrative changes' to South Australian agencies. An 'administrative change' refers to a change in the responsibilities for the administration of government functions. These changes can occur as a result of: - an agency losing a function to another agency
- an agency gaining a function from another agency
- the undertaking of a new function of Government
- the abolition of a function of Government.
This guideline focuses on the management of official records during the above examples of administrative change.
(208 KB DOC File) Managing Records During Administrative Change
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Public Access Determinations Guideline
This guideline is for agencies making public access determinations for official records about to be transferred to State Records, or already in our custody. The guideline was amended in May 2007 and advises when records should be open, when they should be closed and what period of restriction should be applied. Section 26 of the State Records Act, 1997 empowers an agency to make access determinations in consultation with State Records. Those determinations may do one of three things: - declare a record to be immediately open to public access, or
- declare it to be open after a certain period, or
- declare it to be indefinitely closed.
For State Records to administer public access under section 26 of the Act, agencies need to make public access determinations, irrespective of an individual's right of access to the records under the Freedom of Information Act, 1991. Where agencies do not advise State Records of a restriction or make a public access determination for official records, public access to such records will be open. Determinations that agencies may have made prior to May 2007, in accordance with the previous version of this guideline, only need to be reviewed if the agency considers that it would be prudent to do so.
(118 KB DOC File) Public Access Determinations Guideline
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Appraisal of Official Records
This guideline outlines the policy of State Records for the appraisal of official records and the fundamental objectives used to identify records of ongoing value to the State of South Australia.
(138 KB DOC File) Appraisal of Official Records
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Native Title and the Separation of Families
This guideline considers the disposal of records in relation to Native Title and Separation of Families issues. Records which shed light on these two issues should not be disposed of, even if they are contained within a series or records that otherwise have only temporary value. Native Title and the Separation of Families must be considered in relation to the disposal of any official record.
(104 KB PDF File) Native Title and Separation of Families
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Identifying Records Relevant to Native Title
This guideline is to be used as a guide for identifying records that may be relevant to Native Title claims. It is by no means an exhaustive list but is illustrative of classes and types of records that may be relevant. Actual relevance is a matter to be determined by officers of the Crown Solicitor's Office.
(104 KB PDF File) Identifying Documents Relevant to Native Title
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Re-sentencing of Records Guidelines
This guideline provides Agency staff with advice and a step-by-step guide and checklist, which list the actions to be taken when re-sentencing records.
(135 KB PDF File) Re-sentencing of Records Guidelines
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Management of Temporary Value Records
This guideline provides an overview of the management of records that have been sentenced to be of temporary value. The principles in this guideline are to be adhered to wherever the temporary value records are stored. The guideline cover all types of hard-copy record formats (e.g. paper, tapes, disks) but does not currently cover the storage of electronic records.
(212 KB PDF File) Guidelines for the Management of Temporary Records
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Digitisation of Official Records
Many Agencies in South Australia are currently digitising official records by using scanning or imaging technologies. Typically the records created and captured by imaging are managed using a database or an Electronic Document and Records Management System (EDRMS). This guideline deals with the digitisation of paper source records and the subsequent management and disposal of these and their digitised counterparts. It does not currently relate to other forms of conversion or migration of official records 'born' electronically. The guideline primarily addresses the application of digitisation technologies when integrated with electronic document and records management systems (EDRMS). It aims to minimise the risks to Government (State and Local) in terms of records of longer-term temporary or permanent value being lost or destroyed without limiting the application of digitisation technologies for efficient office administration or other purposes. The guideline and the complementary General Disposal Schedule No 21 (GDS 21) do not authorise the destruction of any source documents that have been deemed to be of permanent value in accordance with an approved and current disposal schedule.
(197 KB PDF File) Digitisation of Official Records
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Developing a Thesaurus
A thesaurus is an alphabetical listing of terms derived from a classification scheme and arranged in a hierarchical manner that shows relationships between the terms. It prescribes what terms can and cannot be used when classifying records. A thesaurus helps to ensure that an Agency uses a uniform set of terms to classify records. This cuts down confusion when searching for records and saves time and money. This guideline has been developed to assist Agencies in complying with Outcome 5 of the Adequate Records Management Meeting the Standard - 'Records can be found'. This guideline has been developed by State Records to provide Agency staff with an outline of the steps and issues inherent in developing a functional thesaurus.
(175 KB PDF File) Developing a Thesaurus
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The Records Management Adequacy Audit is a management control designed to examine and evaluate the degree to which outcomes detailed in Adequate Records Management: Meeting the Standard 2002 (Adequacy Standard) are being met across South Australian Government agencies and authorities. The purpose of the auditing program is to establish records management audit standards in government in South Australia and to provide a guide for its conduct across agencies and authorities. Specifically, it will determine the degree to which agencies and authorities comply with the ten outcomes comprising Adequate Records Management. State Records has developed this guideline for the Audit Program. It is comprised of four parts: - Audit Policy - which prescribes State Records requirements
- The Audit Plan - which describes the expected scope and conduct
- Work Instructions - which assist the conduct of the processes involved in auditing
- The Audit Report - which documents the results.
(266 KB PDF File) Adequate Records Management Audit Policy
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Records Management Disaster Planning
State Records has issued this guideline in accordance with section 7(g) of the State Records Act, 1997. Disaster planning is an important component of an adequate records management program. Planning for disasters is a benchmark for Outcome 7 in Adequate Records Management: Meeting the Standard (2002) and is also identified as part of a high quality recordkeeping system in the national Australian Standard AS ISO 15489 - 2002: Records Management. The purpose of the guideline is to assist South Australian Government agencies in developing and maintaining a Disaster Plan for records and recordkeeping systems. Agencies are encouraged to use this guideline in conjunction with the Records Management Disaster Planning Toolkit.
(383 KB DOC File) Records Management Disaster Planning Guide
(463 KB DOC File) Records Management Disaster Planning Toolkit
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