How to develop retention and disposal authorities

Preparing a retention and disposal authority

Last updated: 04 February 2025

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Discuss your project with State Records NSW

Before you undertake work on developing an RDA (or engage a consultant to do so) contact State Records NSW to discuss the project. We are happy to meet with you to outline requirements and discuss any issues or concerns you may have.

Determine what your organisation requires

To begin to plan and scope your project you need to determine what action is required to ensure you have the necessary disposal authorisation.

Determine the disposal authorisation your organisation requires

To begin to plan and scope your project you need to determine what action is required to ensure you have the necessary disposal authorisation.

If your organisation has...	Then...
no disposal authorisation for some or all of its unique functional records	contact State Records NSW to discuss. If there is an existing RDA that provides appropriate coverage you can seek permission to use it. If there is no existing suitable RDA, you will need need to prepare one for approval.
disposal authorisation approved five or more years ago	review the retention requirements outlined in the authority to ensure they still meet current organisational requirements and check the authority provides comprehensive coverage for all core functional records. If the review process identifies a need to update or amend the authority, contact State Records NSW to discuss.
disposal authorisation approved 10 or more years ago	review the retention requirements outlined in the authority to ensure they still meet current organisational requirements and check the authority provides comprehensive coverage for all core functional records. If the review process identifies a need to update or amend the authority, contact State Records NSW to discuss. If the review process confirms that the authority continues to provide comprehensive coverage for all core functions and that the retention requirements and disposal actions outlined in the authority continue to reflect the organisation’s legal, business and accountability requirements contact State Records to confirm ongoing use of the authority is permitted. Note: transfers of State archives using authorities approved over 10 years ago may not be accepted unless ongoing use of the authority has been confirmed by State Records NSW.
disposal authorisation approved for use by a predecessor organisation	review the retention requirements outlined in the authority to ensure they still meet current organisational requirements and check the authority provides comprehensive coverage for all core functional records. If the review process identifies a need to update or amend the authority, contact State Records NSW to discuss. If the review process confirms that the authority continues to provide comprehensive coverage for all core functions and that the retention requirements and disposal actions outlined in the authority continue to reflect the organisation’s legal, business and accountability requirements contact State Records NSW to confirm ongoing use of the authority by your organisation is permitted.
no disposal authorisation for records relating to functions and activities no longer carried out	contact State Records NSW to discuss development of appropriate disposal authorisation for the records.

Note: Longer retention does not need to be authorised.

RDAs permit the destruction of records after the specified minimum retention periods applying to them have been met. There is no need to seek permission from State Records NSW to retain records for longer than the minimum retention period.

Summary of requirements

To obtain the approval of State Records NSW, an RDA must:

be based on an analysis of the administrative, legal, social and recordkeeping contexts within which records are created and maintained in the organisation

be structured around the functions/activities of the organisation rather than, for example, the current administrative structure of the organisation
identify classes of records in relation to functions, activities and the business or operational processes that generate them rather than the way in which the records are filed or stored or the formats in which they are created
include appropriate justifications for the proposed retention periods and disposal actions.

In general they should be streamlined and concise and follow the conventions outlined in Appendix 3: Drafting the authority. Exceptions to this approach may be appropriate, for example, if:

your organisation holds older records relating to functions or activities which are no longer carried out
your organisation inherited records from another organisation which are not actively used
your organisation has only a small quantity of records requiring disposal authorisation, or
your organisation is small and only undertakes a limited number of activities.

If a different layout, format or approach is proposed contact State Records NSW to discuss and obtain confirmation that what is proposed is acceptable before you commence drafting the authority.

General retention and disposal authorities coverage

It is particularly important to have a good understanding and awareness of the disposal coverage already provided by general authorities, especially the General retention and disposal authority: administrative records.

You do not need to seek further authorisation or permission from State Records NSW for the destruction or longer retention of records covered by a general authority. You only need to seek authorisation for records not covered by a general authority.

Use the Directory of retention and disposal authorities to view all the RDAs linked to your organisation.

Administrative change

RDAs are designed to link records to the functions they document rather than to specific organisational or administrative structures (ie departments or organisations). The movement of functions between branches or units within an agency does not require the authority to be resubmitted for approval.

Similarly, when functions move from one public office to another the public office that inherits the new function may continue to use the existing authorisation. However you should contact State Records NSW to confirm ongoing use of the authority by your organisation is permitted.

Developing common authorisation for organisations performing the same or similar functions

If an organisation performs similar functions to your own organisation and they use a current RDA for their records, consider seeking authorisation to use that RDA. This could save time and resources for your organisation to not develop their own.

Alternatively, a joint project may also be worth considering if two organisations that have similar functions but no comprehensive RDA coverage for either of their records. This will ensure consistent retention and disposal outcomes as well as an efficient use of resources

Obtain support

Senior management support

Your chief executive officer will need to sign off on the final version of the authority and take organisational responsibility for its implementation. It is therefore important at the outset to have executive support for your project. Preparing or reviewing an RDA can be a major project. Be aware that it will take time and require organisational support to develop or review and to implement.

Broader organisational support

Your project will involve consultation with operational staff in relevant business areas. You should plan at the outset how best to consult with staff. You will need to talk to staff about:

the business transactions or processes they carry out or manage
the records they create and maintain
the business systems they use to support the management and documentation of these processes
the requirements that impact on how long records need to be maintained and accessible
broader information management issues that affect their daily business operations.

Ask questions to business managers and action officers when developing an RDA to gather relevant information about business processes, records, and compliance requirements. These questions should cover:

Business functions: Ask about the specific functions, operations, and activities the area is responsible for and the processes followed.
Records and information: Inquire about the types of records and information created, received, or referred to in daily activities.
Legislation and standards: Find out if the area is responsible for administering any legislation, regulations, or best practice standards.
Compliance and audits: Ask about any compliance checks or external audits or accreditations.
Interactions: Understand whether the area interacts with other business areas or external organisations and how records are shared.
Reporting and documentation: Clarify what information is routinely reported to management or external entities.
Record accessibility: Discuss any issues arising from records not being accessible when needed.
Public information: Determine if any information needs to be made publicly available.
Stakeholders and influence: Identify key stakeholders and their influence on operations.
Legal purposes: Ask if records are likely to be required for legal reasons.
Consultants: Check whether consultants are employed for specific tasks.
Retention period: Discuss how long records need to be kept to meet business or stakeholder needs.

Be sure to document all information obtained during the interviews.

Project planning

Preparing or reviewing an RDA should be undertaken using the usual project planning methods. The project timetable should allow for key stages in the development and authorisation process, such as:

initial research and analysis
drafting and internal review
review of an initial draft by State Records NSW and amendment, revision or further internal consultation and research as required
external consultation and the need for amendment or revision that may result from this
sign off and formal submission by the chief executive of your organisation
review and approval of the authority by the State Records Authority NSW Board (Board meeting are held every two months).

There is no time frame for how long it will take to get an authority developed and approved. This depends on many factors including the size and complexity of the organisation, the available resources, currency and extent of existing disposal authorisation, quality and awareness of recordkeeping within the organisation, etc.

To develop a retention and disposal authority you will need access to:

corporate documents such as annual reports
operational policies and procedures or manuals
legislation, regulations, standards and codes of practice applying to your organisation, and
staff with knowledge of business activities and operational processes.

Using a consultant

Consultants may be engaged to develop or review an RDA. It is recommended you contact State Records NSW to discuss your project prior to deciding to engage a consultant. This will enable you to scope the project brief for the consultant appropriately.

If you are intending to use consultants to prepare the authority it is still important that your organisation manages the project. If engaging a consultant you need to make sure that they:

are competent to undertake the work required
understand State Records NSW’ requirements and conventions
complete all of the required documentation to the standards specified in these procedures, and
provide your organisation with all documentation necessary for you to maintain and revise the authority in future and to account for the decisions made when their contract has ended.

Consider final products (such as import formats for your EDRMS) that a consultant should provide that could facilitate implementation of the authority once it is approved. (See Implementation and ongoing maintenance below).

Please note State Records NSW is not able to recommend particular consultants.

Implementation and ongoing maintenance

RDAs should be prepared and submitted in a particular format (see Appendix 3: Drafting the authority). However, you may need different formats or tools for implementation purposes.

Before you begin, plan how you intend to implement and maintain the authority. Consider how retention and disposal requirements will be conveyed to staff within your organisation, and how the requirements will be maintained and updated.

To support implementation it may be better to convey disposal requirements through specific internal business unit procedures and guidelines which are more user friendly for staff to understand. Also consider how system functionality and background automation of processes can be utilised to apply retention and disposal decisions and support the management of records disposal processes.

More tips on implementing RDAs are provided in the section Implementing a retention and disposal authority.

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