History of the disposal of local government records
Chronology of the disposal of local government records
Local Government Act 1919
Prior to 1 January 2000 the disposal of local government records was managed by ordinances issued under the Local Government Act 1919. These ordinances were published in the Government Gazettes of the State of New South Wales.
25 June 1920
Clause 55 of the Act allowed for the preservation, access and keeping of council records (published in Issue No 119).
5 July 1985
Amendments to Ordinance 1 of the Act by omitting Clause 55 and inserting new preservation and destruction of council records clauses (published in Issue No 100).
In 1985, the Department of Local Government sought funding from the NSW Bicentennial Council for the then Archives Authority of New South Wales to prepare a General Disposal Schedule for the records of local government.
26 October 1988
The Minister for Local Government officially launched the publication of General Records Disposal Schedule for Local Government in New South Wales developed by the Archives Authority of New South Wales.
27 January 1989
General Records Disposal Schedule for Local Government in New South Wales issued and operated under Ordinance 1 of the Act.
Note: While the disposal of NSW public sector records was regulated by the Archives Act 1960, the Archives Act did not apply to NSW Local Government.
Local Government Act 1993 and the State Records Act 1998
On 8 June 1993, the Local Government Act 1919 was replaced by the Local Government Act 1993. Section 13 of the Local Government Act 1993 stated that the “council must retain, preserve and destroy its records in accordance with any approved standards”, and “Standards for the retention, preservation and destruction of council records” was listed under the Schedule 6 -Regulations of the Act. See section 3 of Schedule 6 -Regulations for requirements on the retention and preservation of records
1 July 1993
On 1 July 1993, the Local Government (Savings and Transitional) Regulation 1993 was issued. Clause 5 set out requirements around the preservation of records, including permission for local government to dispose of records in accordance with the schedules approved by the Minister, and the use of the General Records Disposal Schedule for Local Government in New South Wales (see subclause (3) of clause 5). Subclause (5) of clause 5 also provided approval of using the same standards for microfilming set out by Ordinance 1 made under the old Act.
10 February 1999
The continuing use of the Regulation and the General Records Disposal Schedule for Local Government in New South Wales was approved by the first meeting of the Board of the State Records Authority of New South Wales.
7 May 1999
Local Government (Savings and Transitional) Amendment (Records) Regulation 1999 repealed clause 5 of the Local Government (Savings and Transitional) Regulation 1993. The explanatory note states that “provision for preservation of these and other records is now made by the State Records Act 1998.” This regulation formally transferred responsibility for the legal framework for local government records from the Local Government Act 1993 to the State Records Act 1998.
State Records NSW Act 1998
While the State Records Act 1998 commenced on 1 January 1999, some aspects of the Act were phased-in for local government and only commenced on 1 January 2000. At the inaugural meeting of the Board of the State Records Authority of New South Wales on 10 February 1999, the Board approved, under section 21(3) of the State Records Act, the continued use of the General Records Disposal Schedule for Local Government in New South Wales until this was replaced by a new disposal authority issued under the State Records Act.
9 August 2000
GDA10 General Disposal Authority Local Government Records issued by State Records Authority of New South Wales, superseding the General Records Disposal Schedule for Local Government in New South Wales.
7 February 2011
GA39 General retention and disposal authority: local government records issued by the State Archives and Records Authority of New South Wales, superseded GDA10.
14 February 2025
FA450 Functional retention and disposal authority: local government recordsissued by the State Records Authority NSW, superseded GA39. FA450 covers only those functions unique to local government.
Councils are permitted to use a number of other retention and disposal authorities to sentence records that are not covered by FA450. These disposal authorities include GA28 (Administrative records), GDA17 entry 1.2.1 only (Public health services client patient records), FA367 (Water supply and wastewater management), FA402 (Cultural, recreation and sporting facilities), FA404 entry 1.1.0 only (Early childhood education and care) and FA428 (Cemeteries and crematoria).
FA450 will be due for review in 2035.
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