Glossary of recordkeeping terms

This glossary defines key terms and words that are used when working and interacting with public sector records.

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A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | K | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | V | W

About the glossary of terms

The purpose of this glossary is to help people understand the words and terms used when working and interacting with public sector records. 

Terms chosen are those used in the NSW public sector and the definitions reflect this usage.

A

TermDefinition
AccessRight, opportunity, means of finding, using or retrieving information.
Under part 6 of the State Records Act 1998, the public is entitled to access records over 20 years of age. Public access is authorised by public offices making access directions.
Access directions

A direction made by a public office to open or close a series, group or class of records in the open access period to public access.

An open to public access (OPA) direction allows access to anyone. A closed to public access (CPA) direction closes the records for a specified period. A CPA direction does not affect other entitlements of access. Access directions are made according to guidelines issued by the Attorney General.

Public offices can also grant early access to records that are less than 20 years old.

AccessionA group of records transferred to an archival institution, or to a collection such as the State Archives Collection, at one time from the same source. 
Active records

Records in frequent use, regardless of their date of creation, required to perform current business operations, usually easily accessible to the user(s).

Also referred to as 'current records'.

ActivityMajor task performed by a business entity as part of a function.

The second level of a business classification scheme. An activity should be based on a cohesive grouping of transactions producing a singular outcome.

The scope of the activity encompasses all the transactions that take place in relation to it. Depending on the nature of the transactions involved, an activity may be performed in relation to one function, or it may be performed in relation to many functions.

See 'Function' and 'Transaction'. See also Business activity.

Administrative recordsRecords that are created to document and support the operational or administrative activities of the agency, such as finance, human resources, communications, office organisation and other facilitative operations. Administrative records are common to most organisations.
Appraisal

Records appraisal is the process of evaluating business activities to determine which records need to be created and captured as well as how and how long the records need to be kept.

It combines an understanding of business activities and their context with:

  • the identification of business needs, regulatory requirements and societal expectations relating to records, and
  • the assessment of opportunities and risks associated with the creation and management of records.
Archival value / enduring valueThe ongoing usefulness or significance of records, based on the evidential, administrative, financial, legal, informational and historical values that justify the permanent retention of records as State archives.

Records with archival/enduring value to the State of NSW and which meet one or more of the Building the Archives Policy selection objectives, by providing evidence of:

  • authority, actions and accountability of Government and public offices
  • identity, rights and entitlements of individuals and groups
  • significant impact on individuals
  • knowledge and understanding of society and communities
  • environmental management
Archives
  • Records: records of organisations and individuals that have been selected for permanent retention on the basis of their continuing value for legal, administrative, financial or historical research purposes.
  • Repository: The name given to the building or repository in which an archival collection resides.
  • Organisation: An organisation (or part of an organisation) whose main function is to select, manage, preserve and make archival records available for use.
Arrangement and descriptionThe process by which archival material is brought under physical and intellectual control to make it accessible to users. Comprises analysing, organising and recording details about records, such as creator, title, dates, extent, and contents, to facilitate the work's identification, management, and understanding.
Authenticity

An authentic record is one that can be proven to:

  • be what it purports to be
  • have been created or sent by the person purported to have created or sent it, and
  • have been created or sent at the time purported.

B

TermDefinition
BCSBusiness Classification Scheme (see Business Classification Scheme)
Born digital

Document, record or object, that was originally created in digital form.

The term is used to differentiate native digital objects from digitised material.

Business activityAny of the functions, processes, activities and transactions of an organisation and its employees, including public administration as well as commercial business.
Business classification schemeTool for linking records to the context of their creation
Involves the identification and documentation of each business function, activity and transaction and the documentation of the flow of business processes, and the transactions which comprise them. It can be used to support a number of records management processes.
Business continuity planningDocumented procedures that allow an organisation to respond, recover, resume and restore operations following a disruption.
Typically this covers resources, services and activities required to ensure the continuity of critical business functions.
Business ProcessA set of one or more linked procedures or activities which an organisation carries out its business.
Business SystemsAn organised collection of hardware, software, supplies, policies, procedures and people, which stores, processes and provides access to an organisation’s business information and facilitates its operations.

C

TermDefinition
CaptureA deliberate action which results in the registration of a record into a recordkeeping system.

Capture is a designed process which involves incorporating a record into an appropriate system and:

a)  assigning a unique identifier (either machine generated and readable, or human readable)

b)  recording or generating metadata about the record at the point of capture

c)  creating or recording relationships between the records creators and activities they represent.

ClassificationA structured system of identifying and arranging business activities and the records generated by those activities into categories.
Closed part

Part of a file that has been separated by date range from the active file to enable ease of content discovery (or in the case of a physical file handling). When a closed part is created, a ‘closed part’ reference is attached as the last action, so that no further documents are added.

See also 'File part'.

Cloud/cloud storage

On-demand delivery of ICT services over a network, commonly over the internet, from a shared pool of computing resources. “Cloud” usually refers to where the solution is provided.

Key characteristics of cloud-based services are:

  • on demand self-service
  • broad network access
  • resource pooling
  • rapid elasticity
  • measured service with unit-based pricing.
ConservationSee 'Preservation'
ConsignmentA group of records that are transferred to an archival collection at the same time and  belong to the same sequence, need to be kept for the same length of time or have the same storage requirements.
ContextThe information necessary to understand a record’s meaning or evidential value. Context describes the 'who, what, when, where and why' of records creation and management.
Continuing valueA record of a public office which has ongoing administrative, business, fiscal, legal, evidential or historic importance, as assessed by that public office.
Control

Section 6 of the State Records Act states that a person or public office has control of a record if the person or public office has possession or custody of the record or has the record in the possession or custody of some other person or public office.

An entitlement to control of a record is an entitlement to possession and custody of the record (including by having it in the possession or custody of some other person).

Controlled vocabularyA prescribed list of terms, headings, or codes each representing a concept used in describing records or information in an organisation.
ConversionProcess of changing records from one format to another.
Counter-disaster plan

A plan for measures to be taken for disaster prevention, disaster response and recovery and the protection of high-risk high value records.

The objectives of a counter disaster plan are to:

  • mitigate risks affecting records (e.g. storage, access etc.)
  • prioritise records for protection and salvage
  • outline what to do in different disaster situations
  • consider how damaged records may be recovered or treated.
CPA direction

Closed Public Access direction

See 'Access Directions'.

Critical records

Records including data that is critical to an organisation's service delivery. Critical records incorporate information in all formats, including all information files that provide inputs to, and in some cases, outputs from critical business applications identified in a risk analysis. Also includes information entities such as data dictionaries, definitions of relationships, and codes used in computer applications

See also 'Vital records'.

CullingCarrying out the instructions (disposal actions) contained in a retention and disposal authority. See 'Sentencing' and 'Disposal'
Current recordsSee 'Active records'.
CustodyThe responsibility for the care and management of archives, based upon their physical possession. Custody does not always include legal ownership, or the right to control access to records.

Under ss. 11 and 30 of the State Records Act , 'each public office must ensure the safe custody and proper preservation of the State records that it has control of'.

The Act entitles Museums of History NSW to control State records, but does not require it to take custody of such records.

See 'Control'. See 'Distributed management'.

D

TermDefinition
DeaccessioningThe process by which an archives, museum or library officially and permanently removes accessioned materials from its holdings.
DescriptionSee 'Arrangement and description'.
Destruction

Process of physically destroying, eliminating or deleting records beyond any possible reconstruction.

Destruction of State records needs to be documented.

Digital archiveA designated repository for the storage of digital archives, which ensures that archives are managed and protected, and able to be made accessible.
Digital preservation

The processes and operations necessary to ensure the continued survival of, and access to, digital records for as long as they need to be kept, protecting them from media failure or technological change.

This can involve activities such as the ongoing monitoring, migration and storage of records and metadata management.

Digital recordsInformation in any format created, received and maintained by digital means, used as evidence of business transactions and activities, or retained because of legal obligations or other operational requirements.
Digital signatureData which, when appended to a digital document, authenticates its origin and integrity.
Digitisation

1. Conversion

conversion of an analogue document (paper, microform, film, analogue audio or audio-visual tapes) to digital format for the purpose of preservation or processing

2. Business process

routine incorporation of analogue records into business information systems where future actions take place on the digitised record, rather than on the non-digital source record

3. Back-capture (project)

retrospective, back-capture of existing sets of non-digital records to enhance accessibility and maximize re-use

Disaster planSee 'Counter disaster plan'.
DisposalThe processes associated with implementing records retention, destruction or transfer decisions as documented in retention and disposal authorities issued by State Records NSW.
Disposal action

A disposal action in a retention and disposal authority is a statement of the disposal decision for example, "retain a minimum of 7 years after last action, then destroy," or "required as State archives".

A disposal action may also be considered to be the implementation of disposal decisions or the activity of disposal.

Disposal authoritySee 'Retention and disposal authority'.
Disposal class/entryDefined categories of records within a retention and disposal authority. Each class relates to a discrete activity or group of transactional processes with the same minimum retention period and disposal action.
Disposal triggerThe event from which the disposal date is calculated, for example, "last action," "expiry of contract," or "x years after date of birth".
Distributed management

Distributed management is a strategy whereby a public office, or other person, can enter into an agreement with the Museums of History NSW to have possession or custody of State archives.

Museums of History NSW retains control of the archives, while they are held in the custody of the public office or person, ensuring their proper management and care through the terms of the agreement.

Document

Document means any record of information, and includes:

  • anything on which there is writing, or
  • anything on which there are marks, figures, symbols or perforations having a meaning for the person qualified to interpret them, or
  • anything from which sounds, images or writings can be reproduced with or without the aid of anything else, or
  • a map, plan, drawing or photograph.

E

TermDefinition
DRMSElectronic Document and Records Management System
Electronic Document and Records Management System (EDRMS)An automated software application designed to facilitate the creation, management, use, storage and disposal of a range of both physical and digital documents and records. Essentially it manages unstructured records and information. An EDRMS may also automate business processes such as workflows and approvals and be integrated with other business systems.
Enduring valueSee 'Archival value'.
Ephemeral record

The State Records Regulation 2024 defines an ephemeral record as one being of, or having, such negligible or little importance to the public office, as assessed by the public office, that:

a) only requires the record to be kept for a limited or short period of time, and

b) means the record has no continuing value to the public office.

Estray

Under s.37 of the State Records Act, a State record is an estray if it is owned by the State or an agency of the State but is not under the control of the public office responsible for the record (except as a result of being under the control of the Authority or of some other person with lawful authority).

Examples of estrays are State records owned by the State that have been abandoned or that have been removed from or transferred out of the control of the responsible public office without lawful authority.

ExportA process whereby copies of a digital record (or group of records) are passed with their metadata from one system to another, either within the organisation or elsewhere. Export does not involve removing records from the first system.

F

TermDefinition
FA

Functional Authority - see Retention and disposal authority

Previously referred to as FRDA or FRADA

FileAn organised unit of documents grouped together for ease of use because they relate to the same subject, activity or transaction.
File format (electronic)

Encoding of a file type that can be rendered or interpreted in a consistent, expected and meaningful way through the intervention of a particular piece of software or hardware which has been designed to handle that format.

Many file formats are dependent on proprietary software to interpret them.

File part

A continuation of the same activity or transactions, placed on a new file because the previous file (closed part) contains too many documents to be easily handled, managed or accessed.

A file part generally has the same title followed by a part number (e.g. part 2), but a different file number to the closed part.

See also 'Closed part'.

Format

The physical form, medium or computer file format in which a record is maintained or information is stored. For example, paper, microfilm, email, image, Microsoft word document.

See File format for (electronic) records.

Full and accurate records

Full and accurate records are sources of detailed information and evidence that can be relied on and used to support current activities.

Records regardless of form or structure, should possess the characteristics of authenticity, reliability, integrity and useability to be considered authoritative evidence of business events or transactions and to fully meet the requirements of the business.

Function

1. Purpose or purposes for which an organisation exists. For example, the main function of the Department of Education is to provide primary, secondary and vocational education facilities and services to the residents of NSW. 

2. Group of activities that fulfils the major responsibilities for achieving the strategic goals of a business entity.

3. Processes grouped together because they are directed to a specific strategic goal.

4. The highest level of a business classification scheme.

Functional analysisFunctional analysis is a top-down form of analysis starting with the strategic goals and purposes of an organisation, identifying the programs, projects and processes employed to achieve them and breaking those programs, projects and processors down to the level appropriate to reveal the relationship between them.
The purpose of this type of analysis is to describe a function through groupings of business activities and transactions that can be linked to their business context.
Functional recordsRecords specific to a particular business role, function, or legislated responsibility. Functional records are specific to a particular public office or those that operate in the same sector (such as: health, local government, universities).
Functional retention and disposal authority

Retention and disposal authority specific to a particular business role, function, or legislated responsibility.

See also 'Retention and disposal authority'.

Functional thesaurusA thesaurus that reflects the unique functions of an organisation.

G

TermDefinition
GA

General Authority

Previously referred to as GDA and GRDA.

General Authority

Retention and disposal authority for records common to multiple organisations and functions. Includes:

  • those administrative records common to all agencies
  • common records that relate to unique functions.

See also 'Retention and disposal authority'.

GIPAGovernment Information (Public Access) Act 2009

H

TermDefinition
High risk records

Records which are critical because they facilitate or represent the core business of the organisation. Accidental loss or destruction of such records could result in financial or reputational loss, or mean that the organisation is unable to deliver services, meet legal or regulatory requirements.

High risk records may require additional security, for example to protect records containing sensitive, classified or personal information.

High value records

Records that have continuing (business) value to the Public office or archival value to the State of New South Wales.

See 'Continuing value' and 'Archival value'.

I

TermDefinition
Inactive recordsA record not required for immediate business operations, but which needs to be kept to provide evidence of business activities, for legal or regulatory requirements (including the requirements of retention and disposal authorities), or societal expectations.
IndexingThe process of establishing access points to facilitate retrieval of records or information.
Information governanceProcesses by which an organisation can obtain assurance that the risks to its information, and thereby the operational capabilities and integrity of the organisation, are effectively identified and managed.
An approach to managing information assets across an entire organisation to support its business outcomes. It involves having frameworks, policies, processes, standards, roles and controls in place to meet regulatory, legal, risk and operational requirements. Information governance is an essential element of corporate governance that must be aligned with business outcomes and risks.
Information managementPlanning, collection, control, distribution and exploitation of data and information resources within an organisation, including systems development, and disposal or long-term preservation.
Information riskAny risk which relates to the quality characteristics and value of records and information in any form that is created, maintained, transmitted, manipulated, stored, owned by an organisation
Information securityPreservation of the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information. Other properties, such as authenticity, accountability, nonrepudiation and reliability, can also be involved.
Integrated pest managementA program of good housekeeping and cleaning, regular inspections and monitoring for pests.
IntegrityCharacteristic of a record that is complete and unaltered; managed in accordance with established policies and procedures; and protected from unauthorised access, with audit trails in place.
Intellectual controlSystems and processes associated with facilitating the discovery of and access to records and retaining their context. In relation to archives, it includes registration, arrangement and description, classification, provenance, tracking, and the creation of public discovery tools such as finding aids.
ItemSmallest intellectually indivisible unit of a record, such as a letter, memorandum, report, photograph, sound recording.

K

TermDefinition
Knowledge managementRange of strategies and practices used in an organisation to harness the insights and expertise of employees and learn from past experiences.

L

TermDefinition
Legacy records

Legacy records include those which:

  • document a function no longer performed by the organisation
  • exist in a format no longer used
  • have been inherited from another public office following a machinery-of-government change.

M

TermDefinition
Machinery of Government (MoG)

The allocation or reallocation of functions and responsibilities between government departments and ministers.

Also referred to as Administrative Change.

MaintenanceThe range of processes and tasks for protecting records from unauthorised access, loss or destruction, theft or disaster and retaining their integrity over time.
Merged thesaurusA single thesaurus that covers both general and functional terms.
MetadataDescriptive information, which enables the creation, management, and use of records through time and within and across organisations. It shows users when, why and by whom records were created or maintained.
Metadata schemaA logical plan showing the relationships between metadata elements, normally through establishing rules for the use and management of metadata.
MigrationProcess of moving records from one hardware or software configuration to another without changing the format.

N

TermDefinition
NAPSee Normal Administrative Practice.
Native formatThe format in which the record was created, or in which the originating application stores records.
Normal administrative practiceThe disposal of ephemeral or facilitative records without the formal authorisation of State Records NSW. The State Records Regulation 2024, Schedule 2 provides an exhaustive description of the practice and examples of records which can be included in the process.

O

TermDefinition
OPA

Open Public Access

See 'Access directions'.

Open access periodThe State Records Act entitles the public to access records over 20 years of age (the open access period). Public offices are required to make access directions for all records in the open access period.
Open file format

Open file formats relate to electronic files which are:

  • machine readable
  • not 'locked' into a specific technology product or vendor
  • freely accessed
  • able to be reused with open source or free technologies.
Open source softwareOpen source software is software that can be freely accessed, used, changed, and shared (in modified or unmodified form) by anyone – that is, does not require propriety systems to interpret the data. Open source software is distributed under licenses that comply with the Open Source Definition.
Original orderThe sequence or grouping in which archival records were originally accumulated or kept by their creator. Maintaining the original order preserves the context of their creation and the authenticity of the records. Maintaining original order can provide valuable evidence about the organisation and how and why the records were created.

P

TermDefinition
Personal informationThe Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 defines personal information as information or an opinion about an individual whose identity is apparent or can be reasonably be ascertained from the information or opinion.
Physical controlControls relating to the physical aspects of records in custody, in particular the controls around physical access and location.
PreservationAll measures taken, including financial or strategic decisions, to maintain the integrity and to extend the life of documents or collections. These can include: conservation treatment, digital conversion, migration, digitisation, environmental controls (such as temperature and humidity) and physical housing.
PrivacyAn individual’s right to control the exposure of information about themselves to others. This includes information about their views and their behaviours, as well as personal information about their ages, physical location, and financial details.
ProvenanceInformation about the origin of archives, including information about the organisations or individuals that created or maintained those records in the conduct of official activities.
Public office

Public office

(a)  means each of the following—

(i) a department, office, commission, board, corporation, agency, service or instrumentality exercising a function of a branch of the Government of the State,

(ii) a body, whether incorporated or not, established for a public purpose,

(iii) a council, county council or joint organisation under the Local Government Act 1993,

(iv) the Cabinet and the Executive Council,

(v) the office and official establishment of the Governor,

(vi) a House of Parliament,

(vii) a court or tribunal,

(viii) a State collecting institution,

(ix) a Royal Commission or Commission of Inquiry,

(x) a State owned corporation,

(xi) the holder of an office under the Crown,

(xii) a political office holder, other than the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, within the meaning of the Members of Parliament Staff Act 2013,

(xiii) a body, office or institution, whether or not it is a public office under another subparagraph of this paragraph, that exercises a public function and is declared by the regulations to be a public office for the purposes of this Act,

(b) but does not include - 

 (i) the Workers Compensation Nominal Insurer established under the Workers Compensation Act 1987, or

(ii) a justice of the peace within the meaning of the Justice of the Peace Act 2002, or 

(iii) another individual or a private sector entity, except to the extent that section 8 applies.

R

TermDefinition
RecordInformation created, received, and maintained as evidence and as an asset by an organisation or person, in pursuit of legal obligations or in the transaction of business.
Any document or other source of information compiled, recorded or stored in written form or on film, or by electronic process, or in any other manner or by any other means.
RecordkeepingMaking and maintaining complete, accurate and reliable evidence of business transactions in the form of recorded information.

Recordkeeping includes the following:

(a) the creation of records in the course of business activity and the means to ensure the creation of adequate records;

(b) the design, establishment and operation of recordkeeping systems; and

(c) the management of records used in business (traditionally regarded as the domain of records management) and as archives (traditionally regarded as the domain of archives administration).

Recordkeeping requirementsRecordkeeping requirements are identified during appraisal. They arise from regulatory sources, business needs and community expectations that identify the types of records that should be created and the management framework needed in order to have, and accountably manage, all the business information that is necessary for an organisation.
Recordkeeping system / records systemA system which captures, manages and provides access to records over time.
This can include business applications or systems which create and maintain records.
Records continuumThe whole extent of a record's existence. In practice, it refers to a consistent and coherent regime of management processes from the time of the creation of records (and before creation, in the design of recordkeeping systems), through to the preservation and use of records as archives.
Records managementField of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records, including processes for capturing and maintaining evidence of and information about business activities and transactions in the form of records.
Records management programA records management program encompasses the management framework, the people and the systems required within an organisation to manage full and accurate records over time. This includes the identification and protection of records with longer-term value that may be required as State archives.
Records processesSets of activities by which records are created, controlled, used, maintained and disposed of by the organisation
RegistrationThe primary purpose of registration is to provide evidence that a record has been created or captured in a records system, and an additional benefit is that it facilitates retrieval. It involves recording brief descriptive information or metadata about the record and assigning the record an identifier, unique within the system.
Reliability

A characteristic of a record:

(a)  whose contents can be trusted as full and accurate representation of the transactions, activities, of facts to which they attest, and

(b)  which can be depended upon in the course of subsequent transactions or activities

Retention and disposal authority

Documents authorised by the Board of the State Records Authority NSW that set out appropriate retention periods for classes of records. There are two main types:

  • Functional retention and disposal authorities authorise the retention and disposal of records unique to a specific business role, function, or legislated responsibility.
  • General retention and disposal authorities authorise the retention and disposal of records common to multiple organisations and functions, such records may include general administrative records and common records that relate to unique functions.
Retention periodMinimum period of time for which records should be kept to meet regulatory, business and community requirements before they can be destroyed.
Risk assessmentAn overall process comprising a risk analysis and a risk evaluation.
Assessing risks for records processes and systems should be included in the organisations general risk management program. 

S

TermDefinition
SchemaSee 'Metadata schema'
Secondary storageSecure off-site storage repository housing semi-active and long-term records pending their ultimate destruction or transfer to the State Archives Collection. This arrangement may involve a third party storage supplier.
Semi active records

Records required infrequently in the conduct of current business.

Also referred to as semi-current records

Senior responsible officer

The Standard on records management requires each public office to have a designated senior responsible officer (SRO) for records management.

Each public office should advise State Records NSW of their organisation’s SRO and keep State Records NSW updated with any changes to personnel undertaking this role.

SentencingThe process of identifying and classifying records according to a retention and disposal authority and applying the disposal action specified in it.
Series (Records series)A group of records which result from the same business or recordkeeping activity, have a common system of control or relate to a particular subject or function, have a similar format, or have another relationship arising out of their creation, receipt and use.
Source records

Documents or records that have been copied, converted or migrated from one format or system to another. The source records are those that remain following the successful conversion or migration.

Source records may be original records or reproductions generated by an earlier copying, conversion or migration process.

SROSee senior responsible officer.
State archiveA State record of enduring value that State Records NSW has control of under the State Records Act.
State record

Section 3(1) of the State Records Act defines a State record as one made or received by a person:

(a)  in the course of exercising official functions in a public office, or

(b) for a purpose of a public office, or 

(c) for the use of a public office.

Storage facilitiesAny building, that houses records, including commercial storage facilities, in-house storage facilities and archival storage facilities
Sustainable file formats

File formats best suited for long-term retention and accessibility. They are:

  • widely used and supported
  • identifiable and well documented
  • open or independent of any software or vendors
  • unencrypted
  • stable and backwards/forward compatible
  • minimally compressed.

Their specifications are known and trusted, and support metadata objectives.

T

TermDefinition
Temporary records

Records that do not possess archival/enduring value.

Temporary State records have been appraised in accordance with authorised retention and disposal authorities. These records are kept for a specific period of time to meet legislative, business or community requirements, and once this time expires the records can be destroyed.

Thesaurus

Controlled and structured vocabulary showing preferred terms, directing users to preferred terms via synonyms and making clear the relationships of concepts represented by the preferred term.

The purpose of a thesaurus is to guide users, including both those indexing the record and those searching for it, to select the same preferred term or combination of preferred terms to represent a given subject. 

Time-expired recordsTemporary records which are no longer required to support business and legal requirement and have passed the nominated date for destruction as specified in retention and disposal authorities.
TransactionSmallest unit of a work process consisting of an exchange between two or more participants or systems
Transfer

Involves change of custody, ownership and/or responsibility for records.

Transfer of records as State archives is a formal process involving the removal of State records from the control of the public office which created or inherited the records, and passing control and physical custody of those records to Museums of History NSW. Once this has happened, the records become known as State archives.

Administrative change prompts the transfer of State records between public offices to follow the responsibility for a function.

U

TermDefinition
Unsentenced recordsRecords which have not been sentenced and consequently their retention requirements are unknown. Unsentenced records cannot be transferred or destroyed, and often cost public offices money over the long term.
UseabilityA characteristic of a record such that it can be located, retrieved, presented and interpreted within a time period that is deemed reasonable by stakeholders.

V

TermDefinition
Vital records

Electronic or hard-copy record that is essential for preserving, continuing or reconstructing the operations of an organisation and protecting the rights of an organisation, its employees, its customers and its stakeholders.

Also referred as critical records.

W

TermDefinition
Work processA work process is one or more sequences of transactions required to produce an outcome that complies with governing rules.

References

You can find the full list of references and sources for all of the citations in this glossary.

Sources

ARMA International (as cited in Marywood University glossary)

AS 4390-1996 Records management, Part 1: General

AS ISO 5127:2017 Information and documentation - Foundation and Vocabulary

AS ISO 15489-1: 2002 Information and documentation — Records management - Part 1

AS ISO 15489.1: 2017 Information and documentation - Records management - Part 1: Concepts and principles

AS ISO 17068:2017 Information and documentation — Trusted third party repository for digital records

AS/NZS ISO 13008: 2014 Information and documentation — Digital records conversion and migration process

AS/NZS ISO 13028:2012 Information and documentation - Implementation guidelines for digitisation of records

Bettington (ed.), Keeping Archives, 3rd edition, p. 633

Evidence Act 1995 (NSW), Part 1 Definitions

Ellis (ed.), Keeping Archives, 2nd edition, p. 472

ISO 14641:2018 Electronic document management — Design and operation of an information system for the preservation of electronic documents — Specifications

ISO 16175-2:2011 Information and documentation — Principles and functional requirements for records in electronic office environments — Part 2: Guidelines and functional requirements for digital records management systems

ISO 22300:2018 Security and resilience – Vocabulary

ISO 23081-2.2009 Information and documentation — Managing metadata for records — Part 2: Conceptual and implementation issues

ISO 25964-1:2011 Information and documentation — Thesauri and interoperability with other vocabularies — Part 1: Thesauri for information retrieval

ISO 27000:2018 Information technology — Security techniques — Information security management systems — Overview and vocabulary

ISO 27031:2011 Information technology — Security techniques — Guidelines for information and communication technology readiness for business continuity

ISO 30105-4:2016 Information technology — IT Enabled Services-Business Process Outsourcing (ITES-BPO) lifecycle processes — Part 4: Terms and concepts

ISO/IEC Guide 51: 2014

ISO/TR 21946: 2018 Information and documentation - Appraisal for managing records

ISO/TS 22287:2019 - Health informatics — Workforce roles and capabilities for terminology and terminology services in healthcare (term workforce)

National Archives of Australia, Information Governance guidance

National Archives of Australia: Open data and formats

NSW Government Cloud Policy, 2018

Open Source Initiative: The Open Source Definition (https://opensource.org/osd)

Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 No 133

Public Records Office of Victoria: Glossary, Version 10 August 2019  

Queensland Government: Glossary

Society of American Archivists: A Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology, 2005  

State Records Act 1998 (NSW)

State Records Regulation 2024, Schedule 2 (NSW)

State Records of South Australia: Glossary, 2015

SA/SNZ TR ISO 26122:2012 Information and documentation - Work process analysis for recordkeeping

TR 18128:2014 Information and documentation - Risk assessment for records processes and systems 

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