Recordkeeping Monitoring Exercise reports

State Records NSW conducts biennial Recordkeeping Monitoring Exercises with public offices in NSW. The monitoring exercise requests public offices to undertake a self-assessment using the Records Management Assessment Tool (RMAT) and rate the conformity and maturity of their records management . The results of each Recordkeeping Monitoring Exercise (RME) are published in the State of recordkeeping in NSW reports and State Records NSW’s annual reports.

Overview

The State of recordkeeping in NSW report includes the aggregate/summary results of the Recordkeeping Monitoring Exercise (RME). The results can be used for benchmarking against the rest of the jurisdiction or by ‘public office type’.

In April 2022 State Records NSW resumed whole-of-jurisdiction monitoring activities with the Recordkeeping Monitoring Exercise (RME). The RME was conducted in 2022, 2023 and 2024. In 2025, State Records NSW announced a change to the frequency of the RME, with the monitoring exercise to be conducted every second year, with the next RME to be held in 2026. This change aims to:

• increase public office capacity to develop and implement records management improvement programs
• ensure continued attention to records management performance from senior decision makers, and
• create additional opportunities for State Records NSW to engage with public offices on identified priorities and provide targeted guidance and assistance.

Key findings from the State of recordkeeping in NSW in 2024 report

289 public offices participated in the annual Recordkeeping Monitoring Exercise in 2024, up from 278 in 2023

This represents a response rate of 77%, up from 74% in 2023. Those who did not submit are listed at Appendix A of the report.

50% of participating public offices in 2024 can be identified as having achieved baseline compliance or better in their records management

This is up from 38% of public offices who participated in the 2023 Recordkeeping Monitoring Exercise. In 2024, the overall records management maturity score is 2.93 out of 5, up from 2.79 in 2023.

Nine assessment questions are now above baseline compliance

Question 2 – Information Risk
Question 3 – Senior Responsible Officer
Question 5 – Records and Information Policy
Question 7 – Capability and Capacity
Question 10 – Security and Protection
Question 14 – Systems Design
Question 15 – Create, Collect, Capture
Question 16 – Storage
Question 19 – Access Directions.

The three lowest scoring assessment questions are:

Question 8 – Outsourcing and Contracts
Question 9 – Performance Monitoring
Question 18 – Transfer to the State Archives Collection.

We would like to thank public offices for their cooperation and participation in the Recordkeeping Monitoring Exercise.