Records & Information Management Policy

Sutherland Shire Council

Council Online - IM/Policies IM/163345 - Policies & Forms - IM/Policy Records and Information Management Document review and approval

This document has been approved by Name Minute No Date approved 1 Directors Committee – DMC083-13 (FIN066-13) 448 20 November, 2012 2

Revision history Version Author Date Revision 1 Records & 20 November, 2012 Original Version Information Manager 2 Records & 5 May, 2014 Reviewed under Annual Review process, no changes Information Manager necessary

Council Online - IM/Policies IM/163345 - Policies & Forms - IM/Policy Records and Information Management 1. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to ensure the creation, maintenance and legal destruction of records and documents within Sutherland Shire Council by establishing a framework and accountabilities for records management.

2. Policy Statement

Sutherland Shire Council is committed to meeting its responsibilities under the NSW State Records Act 1998 to ensure the creation and management of authentic, reliable and useable records to support business functions and activities for as long as those records are required.

This will be achieved through and with compliance to relevant legislation, AS ISO 15489 – Records Management and other codes of best practice.

The Sutherland Shire Council’s records exist across a myriad of business and recordkeeping systems that are constantly changing. Records provide evidence of actions and decisions and represent a vital asset which supports Sutherland Shire Council’s daily functions and operations.

Records support policy formulation and managerial decision-making, protect the interests of the Sutherland Shire Council and the rights of employees, customers and citizens and help Sutherland Shire Council to deliver services in a consistent and equitable way.

As a significant part of Sutherland Shire Council’s corporate memory, records enable informed decisions based on precedents and organisational experience.

They support consistency, efficiency and productivity in program delivery, management and administration. Those records kept as archives form part of the State’s cultural heritage.

3. Application

This policy applies to all records and documents relating to council activities created by Sutherland Shire Council irrespective of the system in which they are stored.

4. Definitions

See schedule 1 for a list of definitions

5. Related and Associated Legislation, Council Policy and Procedures

Council Online - IM/Policies IM/163345 - Policies & Forms - IM/Policy Records and Information Management Relevant Legislation & Guidelines

Records held by Council, is subject to the following legislation:

 State Records Act NSW 1998  Government Information (Public Access) Act, 2009  Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act, 1998  Health Records Information Privacy Act 2002  Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979  Copyright Act 1968  Work Health & Safety Act 2011  Evidence Act 1995  Electronic Transactions Act 2000  Other legislation as applicable

This policy should be applied in conjunction with the following policies, procedures and guides:

Policies

 Code of Conduct  Access to Information Policy  Privacy Management Plan  Use, Storage and Retrieval of digital images

Procedures

 CRMS User Manual  DMS User Manual  Records Management Procedure Manual  CSP 4 G2 Schedule of Retention of OHS Records  CSP 4 OHS Records Management Procedure  Access to Information Guidelines  Scanned Images Procedure  Records Disposal Authorisation form & fact sheet

6. Responsible Officer

The Records & Information Manager is the responsible officer for this policy and will be responsible for the following in order to educate and assist staff;

 Creation of procedures  Ensuring compliance by Council staff  Implementing communication, education and monitoring strategies

Council Online - IM/Policies IM/163345 - Policies & Forms - IM/Policy Records and Information Management 7. Responsibilities

General Manager

Under the State Records Act 1998 (NSW) the General Manager has a duty to ensure that the public office complies with the requirements of this Act and the regulations and that the requirements of this Act and the regulations with respect to State Records that the public office is responsible for are complied with.

Directors & Managers

Actively ensure that all recordkeeping policies and procedures are followed within their sections. Business Unit Managers are responsible for liaising with the Records & Information Management section in regards to individual requirements for retention of hard copy records and the digitisation of records as required.

Records & Information Management Staff

Records & Information Management Staff will provide recordkeeping guidance and training to other Council staff as required.

Records & Information Management staff will register all incoming correspondence that is received by Council via post, email, fax or other means into the appropriate systems and allocate this correspondence electronically.

All Staff

All employees are responsible and accountable for keeping complete and accurate records of their activities. This includes using the appropriate systems as required by the organisation.

8. Managing Records & Information

8.1 Systems

The primary recordkeeping system of the Sutherland Shire Council is the Electronic Document Management System. This system is the internal recordkeeping system where all corporate digital records must be captured and stored.

Paper files are created and maintained for only certain classes of records and are only undertaken with prior approval from the Records & Information Management section.

While the Electronic Document Management System is the primary recordkeeping system, it is recognised that Council maintains many propriety systems for specific functions throughout the organisation and the information in these systems also constitute a record.

Council Online - IM/Policies IM/163345 - Policies & Forms - IM/Policy Records and Information Management Records should not be maintained in shared areas such as network directories as this storage does not contain recordkeeping functionality to ensure that records will be captured and maintained and access is provided as required.

When purchasing or implementing new systems, an assessment must be undertaken to identify the types of records that will be created or stored within that system and consultation must take place with the Records & Information Manager to determine the appropriate management of those records.

8.2 Scanned Records

The Records & Information Management Unit undertakes the scanning of all incoming correspondence; these images are captured within the Electronic Document Management System with appropriate metadata stored with each record. Many other business units also undertake the scanning of hardcopy records to meet their business requirements.

Council has an obligation to ensure that all digital records are accessible over time and are kept for as long as required in accordance with approved disposal authorities.

The original of scanned images can be destroyed under certain circumstances and must be done in accordance with approved disposal authorities. Where originals have been destroyed, the digital copy must be retained for the full retention period as required under the relevant disposal authority.

Original records that cannot be destroyed even when digitsed include:

 Records that are subject to a Government policy or directive not to be destroyed.  Records that are considered to have intrinsic value eg. Original artworks  Original proclamations, testimonials and intergovernmental agreements or treaties.

Records that are subject to pending or current legal proceedings or an application for access under legislation such as Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 should be considered for exclusion from destruction based on a risk assessment of the records that fall into this category.

Records & Information Management staff will follow guidelines issued under the General Retention and Disposal Authority – imaged records (GA36) in relation to quality control measures for scanned documents and in determining which original records will be destroyed.

Consultation will take place with the relevant business unit to determine individual needs of the unit as they arise in determining which hardcopy records can be destroyed once they have been scanned.

8.3 Disposal of Records

8.3.1 Disposal of records that have been digitised

Council Online - IM/Policies IM/163345 - Policies & Forms - IM/Policy Records and Information Management When records have been digitised, the original record must be kept for an agreed time period for quality control purposes. This will depend on the type of record and will be agreed upon in conjunction with the business unit responsible for a particular record class.

Where routine scanning is undertaken by business units, the original documents may be disposed of by those business units, however discussion must be held with the Records & Information Manager prior to this occurring and all scanning and disposal must be undertaken in accordance with this policy and related guidelines.

Digital records that have been created by way of scanning must be kept for as long as the original paper copy would have been kept for, in accordance with the relevant approved disposal authorities.

8.3.2 Disposal of Physical Records

Disposal of hardcopy records or files is not to be undertaken without approval (with the exception of those records identified in 8.3.1 above) and is the responsibility of the Records & Information Manager . Records that meet the provisions of Normal Administrative Practice (NAP) may be considered for destruction; however staff must obtain advice from Records & Information Unit staff prior to this destruction occurring.

All destruction undertaken by the Records & Information Management Unit will be done in accordance with approval disposal authorities. Records may be kept for longer if required for administrative, fiscal, legal or historical reasons.

All records due for destruction will be documented on the approved Records Disposal Authorisation Form and approval will be obtained by the relevant Business Unit Manager prior to any destruction taking place.

9. Recordkeeping

Recordkeeping provisions of legislation including but not limited to those that are listed in this policy must be adhered to.

10. Breaches and Sanctions

Adherence to this policy is mandatory for all records relating to Council activities. A breach of the Records & Information Policy amounts to a breach of Council’s Code of Conduct and may include action under Council’s Counselling & Disciplinary Policy.

In addition, The State Records Act NSW 1998 prescribes penalties for breaches of the act.

Council Online - IM/Policies IM/163345 - Policies & Forms - IM/Policy Records and Information Management Schedule 1

Definitions

Archives - are those Records that have been identified as having continuing value and that are kept permanently as part of the Sutherland Shire Council Archives Collection.

Council - means Sutherland Shire Council

Digital Record - A digital record is digital information, captured at a specific point in time that is kept as evidence of business activity. Digital records mean ‘born digital’ records such as emails, web pages, digital photographs, digital audio files and database records. Records that are created as the result of a digitisation process are also known as digital records.

Digitised Records - refers to those records that were created in a paper format, but have been scanned and saved as a digital record or in another format such as Microfiche or Microfilm. Once records have been digitised, these will be managed as digital records.

Ephemeral Records – records of little value that only need to be kept for a limited or short period of time. Ephemeral records have no continuing value to the organisation and, generally, are only needed for a few hours or a few days.

Normal Administrative Practice (NAP) – certain records of a facilitative, ephemeral or duplicate nature can in prescribed circumstances be disposed of in accordance with NAP provisions of the State Records Act.

Metadata - data describing context, content and structure of records and their management through time.

Records - information created, received and maintained as evidence and information by an organisation or person, in pursuance of legal obligations or in the transaction of business.

Secondary storage – is the records storage area that is used to store records that have been identified as Archives or those that are accessed infrequently. Council stores the majority of their archives and semi-current records at the Archives Repository at Bath Road Kirrawee. The Government Records Repository is also used to store records that need to be kept permanently. Access to all these records can be gained by contacting the Records & Information Management Unit.

Semi-active Records - are those records that are required so infrequently in the conduct of current business that they can be transferred from the office to separate storage.

Council Online - IM/Policies IM/163345 - Policies & Forms - IM/Policy Records and Information Management State Records - Records created by public offices in NSW are State records under the State Records Act 1998 (NSW)

Vital Records – Records that are essential for the ongoing business of the Council, and without which the Council could not continue to function effectively.

Council Online - IM/Policies IM/163345 - Policies & Forms - IM/Policy Records and Information Management