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| GDA no | GDA21 |
|---|---|
| Public office | This authority applies to public offices responsible for the management and delivery of health care services within the NSW public health system. This includes public health organisations such as local health districts, Statutory Health Corporations and Affiliated Health Organisations in respect of their recognised establishments and services. Used by eHealth NSW; HealthShare NSW; Local Health District; Justice Health & Forensic Mental Health Network; St Vincent’s Health Network; The Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network |
| Scope | This authority applies to records created and maintained to support the management and delivery of public health care services and programs. This authority does not apply to the records of the Clinical Excellence Commission with regard to its functions and responsibilities. |
| Authority | This general retention and disposal authority is issued under section 21(2)(c) of the State Records Act. It has been approved by the Board of the State Records Authority in accordance with section 21(3) of the State Records Act. |
Authorised Revised | 23/6/2005 July 2021 |
Purpose of the Authority
The purpose of this retention and disposal authority is to identify those records (all formats) created and received by NSW public offices which are required as State archives and to provide approval for the destruction of certain other records created and received by NSW public offices, after minimum retention periods have been met.
The approval for disposal is given under the provisions of the State Records Act 1998 only and does not override any other obligations of a public office to retain records.
The records retention and disposal practices outlined in this authority are approved under section 21(2)(c) of the State Records Act 1998 (NSW).
The retention and disposal of State records
Part 3 (Protection of State Records) of the Act provides that records are not to be disposed of without the consent of the State Records Authority NSW (State Records NSW) with certain defined exceptions. These exceptions include:
- an action of disposal which is positively required by law. This includes records retention and disposal authorities issued by State Records NSW and other legislation that requires the destruction of records. The State Records Regulation 2024 Schedule 1 lists some of the legislation that authorises the destruction of records.
- an action of disposal which takes place in accordance with a normal administrative practice (NAP) of the State Records Regulation of which State Records NSW does not disapprove.
The authority establishes how long different classes of records generated by a public office must be kept to meet its legal, operational and other requirements, and whether the records are required as State archives.
Note:
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State Records NSW reviews and approves public offices' retention and disposal authorities under the State Records Act. State Records NSW’s decisions consider both the administrative requirements of public offices in discharging their functional responsibilities and the potential future use of the records by the NSW Government and the public.
It is the duty of a public office, in submitting a draft retention and disposal authority for approval, to disclose to State Records NSW any information which affects the retention of the records covered by the authority.
Retention and disposal authorities identify some records as State archives. These are records which document the authority and functions of Government, its decision-making processes and the implementation and outcomes of those decisions, including the nature of their influence and effect on communities, environment and individual lives. Criteria for the identification of State archives are listed in the Building the Archives Policy. The Policy also explains the roles and responsibilities of State Records NSW and of public offices in undertaking appraisal processes and disposal activities.
Retention and disposal authorities have been designed to link records to the functions they document rather than to organisational structure (i.e. departments or clusters).
Public offices must ensure when outsourcing that service providers are aware of their recordkeeping obligations to apply relevant retention and disposal authorities.
Normal administrative practice (NAP)
Another means to lawfully dispose of State records is in accordance with the normal administrative practice provisions (NAP) of the State Records Act which allow for the disposal of certain types of facilitative and duplicate records.
Public offices should produce internal policies and procedures to further define what is meant by and what are acceptable NAP for their own organisation. Examples of NAP include duplicates of records, some drafts, working papers, unused stationary. See State Records Act 1998, section 22 and State Records Regulation 2024, Schedule 2.
Records covered by the normal administrative practice provisions of the Act are not included in records retention and disposal authorities.
Implementing the authority
This retention and disposal authority covers records controlled by the public office and applies only to the records or classes of records described in the authority. The authority should be implemented as part of the records management program of the public office.
Two primary objectives of a records management program are to:
- ensure that records are kept for as long as they are of value to the public office and its stakeholders
- enable the destruction of records or transfer of State archives once they are no longer required for business or operational purposes.
| Sentencing records | Sentencing is the examination of records to identify the disposal class in the authority to which they belong. This process enables the public office to determine the appropriate retention period and disposal action for the records. It is recommended that this process be undertaken when a record is created. |
| Digitised records | Where the format of records has changed (for example, from paper-based to digital) disposal actions in the authority still apply to the records. The digitised versions of records are to be retained for the minimum retention periods in a retention and disposal authority or managed as State archives. Where a record is copied (for example, digitally imaged or microfilmed) the original should only be disposed of with authorisation under the General retention and disposal authority – original or source records that have been copied. |
| Born digital records | For records natively created in a digital format such as emails, Word documents, database records or created by artificial intelligence (AI) disposal actions in the authority still apply. Born digital records and digitised records must be authentic, usable and accessible over the whole of their existence. The information contained in technology dependant records must be accessible for the period specified in the classes. Public offices will need to ensure that any software, hardware or documentation required for continuing access to technology dependent records is available for the retention period of the record. See the Digital records preservation policy. Ensure metadata of the record clearly identifies and contextualises the information contained within to make searching and sentencing easy now and into the future. |
| Records required as State archives | Records which are to be retained as State archives are identified with the disposal action 'Required as State archives'. These records should be stored in controlled environmental conditions. See the Standard on the physical storage of State records. Transferring records identified as State archives and no longer in use for official purposes to Museums of History NSW should be a routine part of a public office's records management program. |
| Records approved for destruction | Records that have been identified as being approved for destruction may only be destroyed once a public office has ensured that all other requirements for retaining the records are met. Retention periods set down in this authority are minimum periods only and a public office should keep records for a longer period if necessary. Reasons for longer retention can include legal requirements, administrative need, government directives and changing social or community expectations. State Records NSW does not compel destruction. A public office must not dispose of any records where the public office is aware of possible legal action (including legal discovery, court cases, formal applications for access (GIPA)) where the records may be required as evidence. Once all requirements for retention have been met, destruction of records should be carried out securely and in an environmentally sound way. Relevant details of the destruction should be recorded. |
Regardless of whether a record has been approved for destruction or is required as a State archive, a public office or an officer of a public office must not permanently transfer possession or ownership of a State record to any person or public office without the explicit approval of State Records NSW.
Retention periods and disposal actions
The following tables and pages contain the authorised minimum retention periods and disposal actions applying to the classes of administrative records maintained by public health organisations.
1.0.0 Childcare services
Removed see FA404, provision and regulation of childcare services.