State Records Principles and Standards 2002 (Western Australia)

Mechanically, the State Records Principles and Standards 2002 (the Standards) issued by the State Records Commission under the State Records Act 2000 set out a framework of minimum compliance requirements for how State records must be created, managed, appraised, retained, disposed of, preserved, accessed and controlled when functions are performed by State organisations or contractors. The Standards are organised as SRC Standards 1-4 and 6 (SRC Standard 5 is noted as superseded). The Standards:

Establish an approved set of principles and minimum compliance requirements for all State organisations as defined in the State Records Act 2000 (see SRC Standard 1, Scope; SRC Standard 2, Scope; SRC Standard 3, Scope).
Require every government organisation to prepare a record keeping plan and identify the plan components that the State Records Commission will expect to see when approving plans (SRC Standard 2, Purpose and Minimum Compliance Requirements; see also references to Sections 19, 12, 27 and 25 of the Act in the Standard text).
Prescribe minimum compliance requirements across six substantive areas: record creation and adequacy (SRC Standard 2 Principle 1), policies and procedures (Principle 2), language control (Principle 3), preservation and disaster management (Principle 4), retention and disposal under an approved disposal authority (Principle 5), and compliance monitoring and training (Principle 6).
Set out appraisal processes for determining which records are State archives and which have defined retention periods (SRC Standard 3, Purpose and Minimum Compliance Requirements), and require State organisations to use the appraisal criteria set out in the State Records Office handbook.
Specify requirements for identifying restricted access archives and the processes for proposing and reviewing access restrictions, including that the Commission authorises the access recommendation and must review restrictions at least every five years (SRC Standard 4, Purpose, Principle 1 and Minimum Compliance Requirements).

CrestWestern Australia

State Records Act 2000

State Records Principles and Standards 2002

Western Australia

State Records Principles and Standards 2002

Contents

Citation 1
Commencement 1
Government record keeping 1

Notes

Compilation table 43

State Records Act 2000

State Records Principles and Standards 2002

1. Citation

	These principles and standards may be cited as the *State Records Principles and Standards 2002*.

2. Commencement

These principles and standards come into operation on the day after the day on which they are published in the Government Gazette.

3. Government record keeping

SRC Standard 1 Government record keeping

SRC Standard 2 Record keeping plans

SRC Standard 3 Appraisal of records

SRC Standard 4 Restricted access archives

	*[SRC Standard 5 superseded]*

SRC Standard 6 Outsourcing

[Clause 3 amended: Gazette 21 Jun 2016 p. 2219.]

STATE RECORDS COMMISSION

SRC Standard 1

GOVERNMENT

RECORD KEEPING

A Record Keeping Standard for State Organizations

State Records Commission of WA

Perth, Western Australia

February 2002

SRC STANDARD 1—GOVERNMENT RECORD KEEPING

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Definitions

Purpose

Background

Scope

Principle 1—Record keeping by State organizations

Bibliography

SRC STANDARD 1—GOVERNMENT RECORD KEEPING

DEFINITIONS

**Government record—**is a record created or received by a government organization or a government organization employee or contractor in the course of the work for the organization.

**Government organization—**is an organization listed in Schedule 1 or Schedule 3 of the State Records Act 2000.

**Parliamentary department—**is a department that is deemed to have been constituted in relation to the administration of Parliament for the purposes of the Financial Administration and Audit Act 1985 by regulations made under Section 3(2) of that Act.

**Parliamentary record—**is a record created or received by a parliamentary department or a person in the course of their work for the department, whether the person is employed under a contract of service or is engaged under a contract for services or otherwise.

**Record—**means any record of information however recorded and includes—

(a) any thing on which there is writing or Braille;

(b) a map, plan, diagram or graph;

(d) any thing on which there are figures, marks, perforations, or symbols, having a meaning for persons qualified to interpret them;

(e) any thing from which images, sounds or writings can be reproduced with or without the aid of anything else; and

(f) any thing on which information has been stored or recorded, either mechanically, magnetically, or electronically*.*

**Record keeping plan—**is the plan required under Parts 2 and 3 of the State Records Act 2000. State Records Commission Standard 2 provides details about the plan.

**State organization—**is a parliamentary department or a government organization.

**State record—**is a parliamentary record or a government record.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this Standard, established under Section 61(1)(a) of the State Records Act 2000, is to define principles and standards governing record keeping by State organizations.

BACKGROUND

The State Records Act 2000 is an Act to provide for the keeping of State records and for related purposes. Section 61(1) of the Act requires that the State Records Commission is to establish principles and standards for record keeping.

The State Records Commission will recommend and encourage the adoption of principles and standards to enhance and support record keeping in State organizations.

Existing policies and standards produced by the State Records Office remain current. The Australian Standard AS15489 Records Management is the accepted Australian Standard for all aspects of record keeping in Australia. It is a useful guide to supplement existing standards produced by the State Records Office.

SCOPE

The principles and minimum compliance requirements in this Standard apply to all State organizations as defined in Section 3 of the State Records Act 2000.

Principle 1—Record keeping by State organizations

State organizations ensure that State records are created, managed and maintained over time, and disposed of in accordance with principles and standards issued by the State Records Commission.**

Rationale

The implementation of record keeping principles and standards established by the State Records Commission will—

• provide an effective means of accountability across Government;

• provide for an effective flow of information through and across State organizations;

• increase the efficiency of State organizations by ensuring that information is readily identifiable and available;

• promote consistency in record keeping across Government;

• provide an effective means of complying with the legislative requirements, especially the State Records Act 2000; and

• lead to better record keeping practices.

Minimum Compliance Requirements

The minimum compliance requirements may be demonstrated in the record keeping plan developed by each State organization. That plan enables State organizations to provide evidence to adduce that—

The principles and standards established by the State Records Commission have been implemented by the organization.
Australian Standard AS15489 Records Management has been adopted as the model for best practice record keeping within the organization.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Standards Australia. (2002) Australian Standard AS15489—Records Management. Homebush. Standards Association of Australia.

State Records Office of Western Australia. (1992) Policies and Standards Manual: Records Management. Perth. Library Board of Western Australia.

For further information regarding this standard contact

State Records Office of WA

ph: 9427 3360

email: sro@sro.wa.gov.au

STATE RECORDS COMMISSION

SRC Standard 2

RECORD KEEPING

PLANS

A Record Keeping Standard for State Organizations

State Records Commission of WA

Perth, Western Australia

February 2002

SRC STANDARD 2—RECORD KEEPING PLANS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Definitions

Purpose

Background

Scope

Principle 1—Proper and Adequate Records

Principle 2—Policies and Procedures

Principle 3—Language Control

Principle 4—Preservation

Principle 5—Retention and Disposal

Principle 6—Compliance

Bibliography

SRC STANDARD 2—RECORD KEEPING PLANS

DEFINITIONS

**Disposal—**refers to the removal of records from the organization once they have reached the inactive phase, and their subsequent destruction, or permanent retention as State archives.

**Disposal Authority—**the document authorising the disposal of records. This may take the form of a Retention and Disposal Authority or Schedule, an Ad Hoc Disposal Authority or a Disposal List, which has been approved. The State Records Commission is the authorizing body for disposal authorities.

**File titling system—**is a listing or outline of file titles in use in the organization, regardless of format.

**General Disposal Authority—**a document designed to provide consistency throughout government organizations in disposal activities and decisions. It covers records common to all State organizations such as Human Resource Management and Financial and Accounting. The General Disposal Authority for Local Government covers records common to local governments and may eliminate the necessity for each to prepare its own Schedule.

**Government organization—**is an organization listed in Schedule 1 or Schedule 3 of the State Records Act 2000.

**Government record—**is a record created or received by a government organization or a government organization employee or contractor in the course of the work for the organization.

**List of authorized headings—**A list of authorized subject headings, sometimes known as a list of indexable headings or a thesaurus, is a simple alphabetical listing of terms derived, initially, from terms in the classification scheme. The meaning of the term must be prescribed and relationships between terms shown. It must allow control of the terminology used to name records, by establishing the terms acceptable to and used in the natural language of the organization.

**Record—**means any record of information however recorded and includes—

(a) any thing on which there is writing or Braille;

(b) a map, plan, diagram or graph;

(d) any thing on which there are figures, marks, perforations, or symbols, having a meaning for persons qualified to interpret them;

(e) any thing from which images, sounds or writings can be reproduced with or without the aid of anything else; and

(f) any thing on which information has been stored or recorded, either mechanically, magnetically, or electronically*.*

**State archive—**is a State record that is to be retained permanently.

**State organization—**is a parliamentary department or a government organization.

**State record—**is a parliamentary record or a government record.

Thesaurus—is a complex alphabetical listing of all terms derived from a classification scheme. Such tools act as a guide in the allocation of classification terms to individual records. In a thesaurus the meaning of the term is specified and hierarchical relationships to other terms shown. A thesaurus should provide sufficient entry points to allow users to navigate from terms that are not to be used to the preferred terminology adopted by the organization.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this Standard, established under Section 61 of the State Records Act 2000, is to ensure that government organization record keeping plans submitted to the State Records Commission for approval, meet the requirements of the State Records Act 2000.

BACKGROUND

The State Records Act 2000 is an Act to provide for the keeping of State records and for related purposes. Section 19 of the Act requires that every government organization must have a record keeping plan that has been approved by the State Records Commission.

Parliamentary departments are required under Section 12 of the Act to have a record keeping plan that is approved by the President of the Legislative Council or the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.

Government organizations listed in Schedule 3 are required, under Section 27 of the Act, to have a record keeping plan that is approved by their relevant Minister.

The State Records Commission is required, under Section 25 of the Act, to have a record keeping plan that is approved by the Minister.

A government organization’s record keeping plan sets out the matters about which records are to be created by the organization and how it is to keep its records.

The record keeping plan shall comprise one or more documents which, when assessed as a whole, will provide an accurate reflection of the record keeping program within the organization. More specifically, documentation regarding the organization’s record keeping system/s, disposal arrangements, policies, practices and processes will be the essential components of the record keeping plan. The inclusion of such documentation will constitute evidence of compliance. Each government organization will be expected to present sufficient evidence that best practices have been implemented within the organization.

Extracts or complete documentation (where applicable) based upon the principles in this standard are to be compiled to form the record keeping plan.

SCOPE

The principles and minimum compliance requirements in this Standard apply to all government organizations.

Parliamentary departments must prepare a draft record keeping plan in consultation with the Commission and taking note of any relevant principles and standards established by the Commission under section 61 of the Act.

Principle 1—Proper and Adequate records

Government organizations ensure that records are created and kept which properly and adequately record the performance of the organization’s functions and which are consistent with any written law to which the organization is subject when performing its functions.

Rationale

Every government organization has roles and functions, usually mandated by legislation, regulation or government directive. There is a wide-ranging set of activities and transactions conducted in the performance of the roles and functions. Proper and adequate records of an organization’s business activity must be created and kept to ensure sufficient evidence of an organization’s performance of those functions.

To address matters about which records are or should be created, organizations are to identify and describe the internal and external sources of authority that have a bearing on the creation and keeping of its records. Particular attention should be paid to explicit requirements for record keeping.

An organization’s record keeping policies and procedures and its Retention and Disposal Schedule will address specific details about which records will be created and kept.

Under Principle 1, an organization must identify and describe its broad record keeping requirements within the business and regulatory environments in which it operates.

Minimum Compliance Requirements

The record keeping plan will provide information about—

• historical background of the creating body;

• mission statement, strategic focus and main business activity of the organization;

• functions and activities including those that are contracted out to other organizations; and

• major stakeholders of the organization.

The record keeping plan will provide a list of—

• enabling legislation (legislation that establishes the organization and its functions);

• legislation administered by the organization;

• other legislation affecting the functions or operations of the organization; and

• major government or industry standards and codes of practice imposed on or adopted by the organization.

Principle 2—Policies and Procedures

Government organizations ensure that record keeping programs are supported by policy and procedures.

Rationale

A government organization’s record keeping program is to be compliant with legislative requirements. It should be reliable, systematic and well managed within a framework for consistent and accountable implementation. To achieve this, policies and procedures governing record keeping matters in the organization should be in place.

A record keeping policy, in the form of one or more identifiable policy statements, should be authorized at an appropriate senior level, promulgated throughout the organization, and be available to all employees.

Record keeping policy statements should be comprehensive and provide the framework for underlying procedures. They should emphasize the corporate ownership of government records; that all records are corporate assets and as such, do not belong to individual employees. They should formally define the roles and responsibilities of all employees who manage or perform record keeping processes. Most importantly, they should establish an official position on the making and keeping of proper and adequate records of the organization’s business activities.

Standard operating procedures for all staff to follow when carrying out record keeping tasks should be in accordance with the organization’s record keeping policy and be based on best-practice standards.

Minimum Compliance Requirements

The record keeping plan must provide evidence to adduce that—

Policies and standard operating procedures governing record keeping in the organization are established, authorized at an appropriate senior level, and are available to all employees.
The policies and procedures define the roles and responsibilities of all employees who manage or perform record keeping processes.
The policies take into account relevant government policy and endorsed standards for the making and keeping of proper and adequate records.
The policies and procedures cover records in all formats and all aspects of their management, including—

• creation of records;

• capture and control of records;

• security and protection of records;

• access to records; and

• appraisal, retention and disposal of records.

The organizational scope of the policies and procedures has been addressed, i.e. whether they are applicable to the entire organization, including divisions, regional branches and offices, and outsourced contractors.
The custodianship and management of government records has been addressed in regard to organizational restructures, the transfer of an organization’s functions, the creation of new business units or the devolution of authority for managing government records.

Principle 3—Language Control

Government organizations ensure that appropriate controls are in place to identify and name government records.

Rationale

Appropriate mechanisms for controlling the language or terminology used to identify and name an organization’s records should be in place to support the organization’s business classification scheme.

Such mechanisms, for example, a thesaurus, an authorized list of (subject) headings, or a file titling system, should suit the complexity of the records of the organization and should reflect the terminology used to label the organization’s business functions, activities and transactions.

Tools to control and maintain consistent use of language will assist organization-wide uniformity and result in improved indexing, tracking and retrieval of information. Organizations should ensure that the tools used for conventional records are also applicable to electronic records.

Minimum Compliance Requirements

The record keeping plan must provide evidence to adduce that—

An appropriate tool is in place whereby records are identified and named in a systematic and consistent way.
The tool is capable of being augmented and adjusted to reflect changing functions of the organization’s business.
Any changes to the structure and content of the tool are controlled, authorized and recorded.

Principle 4—Preservation

Government organizations ensure that records are protected and preserved.

Rationale

Organizations and their employees are responsible for preserving government records for as long as required by law and business requirements. A major threat to the preservation of records is the risk of disaster, natural or otherwise.

Organizations are to establish and maintain a disaster management plan for the records of the organization.

A disaster management plan for records is a plan setting out the strategies and activities for preventing disasters, for preparing an appropriate response to and recovery from disasters, should they occur, and resuming normal business.

Minimum Compliance Requirements

The record keeping plan must provide evidence to adduce that—

The organization has identified and assessed the risks and impacts of disasters on its recorded information.
The organization has planned strategies and activities for the reduction and management of risks to its records.
The organization has planned quick-response strategies and activities for salvaging, recovering and stabilizing the condition of the organization’s records should a disaster occur.

Principle 5—Retention and Disposal

Government organizations ensure that records are retained and disposed of in accordance with an approved disposal authority.

Rationale

A government organization’s records are to be retained and disposed of in accordance with an approved disposal authority. The State Records Commission, via the State Records Advisory Committee, is the authorizing body for disposal authorities.

Every government organization shall operate an approved Retention and Disposal Schedule, being the records retention and disposal component of the record keeping plan. A Retention and Disposal Schedule is a systematic and comprehensive listing of categories or series of records created and/or kept by an organization, which plans the life of those records from creation to ultimate disposal.

For information and guidance on the preparation, format and content of a Retention and Disposal Schedule, organizations are to refer to Sections 8 and 9 in the Records Disposal: A Handbook for Government Agencies, published by the State Records Office.

Minimum Compliance Requirements

An approved records Retention and Disposal Schedule is operating in the organization.
The Retention and Disposal Schedule must—

• identify the records of the organization and their formats;

• identify those government records that will be State archives (in accordance with SRC Standard 3—Appraisal of records);

• identify those State archives that will be restricted access archives and the ages at which they will cease to be restricted access archives (in accordance with SRC Standard 4—Restricted Access Archives);

• identify those State archives that will not be transferred to the State archives collection (in accordance with SRC Standard 5—Compulsory Transfer of Archives);

• stipulate the retention period for those government records that are not State archives (in accordance with SRC Standard 3—Appraisal of records);

• identify other (previous and current) disposal authorities of the organization; and

• refer to the appropriate General Disposal Authorities published by the State Records Office, and state that the retention and disposal of relevant records will conform to the standards set in these authorities.

Note: The General Disposal Authority for Financial and Accounting Records and the General Disposal Authority for Human Resource Management Records cover financial and accounting records and human resource management records, common to most government organizations and prescribe the authorized disposal of these records.

Organizations should not incorporate financial, accounting or human resource records into their Retention and Disposal Schedule unless there is particular justification for varying the retention period for any records covered by the General Disposal Authorities.

Local Governments should refer only to the General Disposal Authority for Local Government Records.

Principle 6—Compliance

Government organizations ensure their employees comply with the record keeping plan.

Rationale

An organization and its employees must comply with the organization’s record keeping plan.

Organizations should develop and implement strategies for ensuring that each employee is aware of the compliance responsibilities.

Minimum Compliance Requirements

The record keeping plan is to provide evidence to adduce that—

The efficiency and effectiveness of the organization’s record keeping systems is evaluated not less than once every 5 years.
The organization conducts a record keeping training program.
The efficiency and effectiveness of the record keeping training program is reviewed from time to time.
The organization’s induction program addresses employee roles and responsibilities in regard to their compliance with the organization’s record keeping plan.
The organization includes within its annual report an appropriate section that addresses points 1-4.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

National Archives of Australia. (2001*) Designing and Implementing Recordkeeping Systems*. Canberra. National Archives of Australia.

Standards Australia. (2002) Australian Standard AS15489—Records Management. Homebush. Standards Association of Australia.

State Records Office of Western Australia. (1995) General Disposal Authority for Financial and Accounting Records. Perth. Library Board of Western Australia.

State Records Office of Western Australia. (1999) General Disposal Authority for Human Resource Management Records. Perth. Library Board of Western Australia.

State Records Office of Western Australia. (1992) Policies and Standards Manual: Records Management. Perth. Library Board of Western Australia.

State Records Office of Western Australia. (2000) Records Disposal: A Handbook for Government Agencies. Perth. Library Board of Western Australia.

For further information regarding this standard contact

State Records Office of WA

ph: 9427 3360

email: sro@sro.wa.gov.au

STATE RECORDS COMMISSION

SRC Standard 3

APPRAISAL OF RECORDS

A Record Keeping Standard for State Organizations

State Records Commission of WA

Perth, Western Australia

February 2002

SRC STANDARD 3—APPRAISAL OF RECORDS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Definitions

Purpose

Background

Scope

Principle 1—Appraisal of Records

Bibliography

SRC STANDARD 3—APPRAISAL OF RECORDS

DEFINITIONS

**Appraisal—**is the process of determining which records are to be retained as archives and which will be destroyed.

**General Disposal Authority—**a document designed to provide consistency throughout government organizations in disposal activities and decisions. It covers records common to all State organizations such as Human Resource Management and Financial and Accounting. The General Disposal Authority for Local Government covers records common to local governments and will eliminate the necessity for each organization to prepare its own Schedule.

**Government organization—**is an organization listed in Schedule 1 or Schedule 3 of the State Records Act 2000.

**Government record—**is a record created or received by a government organization or a government organization employee or contractor in the course of the work for the organization.

**Record—**means any record of information however recorded and includes—

(a) any thing on which there is writing or Braille;

(b) a map, plan, diagram or graph;

(d) any thing on which there are figures, marks, perforations, or symbols, having a meaning for persons qualified to interpret them;

(e) any thing from which images, sounds or writings can be reproduced with or without the aid of anything else; and

(f) any thing on which information has been stored or recorded, either mechanically, magnetically, or electronically*.*

**Record keeping plan—**is the plan required under Parts 2 and 3 of the State Records Act 2000. State Records Commission Standard 2 provides details about the plan.

**Retention and Disposal Schedule—**is a systematic and comprehensive listing of categories, or series, of records created and/or kept by an organization that plans the life of those records from creation to ultimate disposal.

**Retention period—**in relation to a record, means the period for which the record must be kept before it may be destroyed.

**State archive—**is a State record that is to be retained permanently.

**State record—**is a parliamentary record or a government record.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this Standard, established under Sections 61(1)(c) and (f) of the State Records Act 2000, is to ensure that State organizations determine which State records should be State archives and determine the retention periods for State records that are not to be State archives.

BACKGROUND

Under State Records Commission Standard 2: Principle 5 (Retention and Disposal), State organizations are to retain and dispose of their records in accordance with an approved disposal authority. The State Records Commission is the authorizing body for disposal authorities.

Several General Disposal Authorities published by the State Records Office are current for the disposal of the records they describe. The General Disposal Authority for Financial and Accounting Records (1996) and the General Disposal Authority for Human Resource Management Records (revised 1999), authorize the retention and disposal of these types of records, which are common to most organizations. State organizations must use these General Disposal Authorities for the retention and disposal of records covered in them.

The General Disposal Authority for Local Government Records covers the retention and disposal of records (including finance and accounting and human resource management records) common to most local governments. Local governments must use this General Disposal Authority for the retention and disposal of records covered by the General Disposal Authority.

State organizations are to operate an approved Retention and Disposal Schedule for those records created or received by the organization that are not covered by the General Disposal Authorities.

SCOPE

The principles and minimum compliance requirements in this Standard apply to all State organizations as defined in Section 3 of the State Records Act 2000.

Principle 1—Appraisal of Records

State records are to be kept for as long as required.

Rationale

Every State record, or record series, has a minimum retention period for which it must be kept. Some records series have continuing value and are to be kept permanently as State archives, either within the State archives collection or, in the case of electronic records designated as having archival value, within and by the organization that created or received them. Some records series are to be kept by the organization for the life of the organization. Most records series may be destroyed at the end of their minimum period of retention, in accordance with an approved retention and disposal schedule.

State organizations in developing their Retention and Disposal Schedules must determine which records series are to be retained permanently as State archives and must determine the minimum length of time that a record series, which is not to be a State archive, is to be retained.

The essential criteria for making these determinations are described in Records Disposal: A Handbook for Government Agencies (2000) produced by the State Records Office. State organizations may liaise with the State Records Office in making retention and disposal determinations.

Minimum Compliance Requirements

State organizations retain and dispose of records covered by the General Disposal Authorities in accordance with those Authorities.

• The General Disposal Authority for Financial and Accounting Records.

• The General Disposal Authority for Human Resource Management Records.

• The General Disposal Authority for Local Government Records.

State organizations must take into account legislative and any other legal requirements that prescribe the minimum retention period for a record or records series, and/or identify which records, created or received by the organization in the performance of its functions, are to be retained permanently.
State organizations must use the appraisal criteria described in Records Disposal: A Handbook for Government Agencies, for determining the minimum retention period and final disposition of those records of the organization not covered by the General Disposal Authority.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Standards Australia. (2002) Australian Standard AS15489—Records Management. Homebush. Standards Association of Australia.

State Records Office of Western Australia. (1995) General Disposal Authority for Financial and Accounting Records. Perth. Library Board of Western Australia.

State Records Office of Western Australia. (1999) General Disposal Authority for Human Resource Management Records. Perth. Library Board of Western Australia.

State Records Office of Western Australia. (1992) Policies and Standards Manual: Records Management. Perth. Library Board of Western Australia.

State Records Office of Western Australia. (2000) Records Disposal: A Handbook for Government Agencies. Perth. Library Board of Western Australia.

For further information regarding this standard contact

State Records Office of WA

ph: 9427 3360

email: sro@sro.wa.gov.au

STATE RECORDS COMMISSION

SRC Standard 4

RESTRICTED ACCESS

ARCHIVES

A Record Keeping Standard for State Organizations

State Records Commission of WA

Perth, Western Australia

February 2002

SRC STANDARD 4—RESTRICTED ACCESS ARCHIVES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Definitions

Purpose

Background

Scope

Principle 1—Identification of a restricted access archive

Principle 2—Open access archives

Bibliography

SRC STANDARD 4—RESTRICTED ACCESS ARCHIVES

DEFINITIONS

**Government organization—**is an organization listed in Schedule 1 or Schedule 3 of the State Records Act 2000.

**Government record—**is a record created or received by a government organization or a government organization employee or contractor in the course of the work for the organization.

**Record—**means any record of information however recorded and includes—

(a) any thing on which there is writing or Braille;

(b) a map, plan, diagram or graph;

(d) any thing on which there are figures, marks, perforations, or symbols, having a meaning for persons qualified to interpret them;

(e) any thing from which images, sounds or writings can be reproduced with or without the aid of anything else; and

(f) any thing on which information has been stored or recorded, either mechanically, magnetically, or electronically*.*

**Record keeping plan—**is the plan required under Parts 2 and 3 of the State Records Act 2000. State Records Commission Standard 2 provides details about the plan.

**Restricted access archive—**is a State archive that is a government record and to which access is restricted until it is of a certain age.

**State archive—**is a State record that is to be retained permanently.

**State organization—**is a parliamentary department or a government organization.

**State record—**is a parliamentary record or a government record.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this Standard, established under Section 61(1)(d) of the State Records Act 2000, is to ensure that the implications of restricted access provisions of the Act are clearly identified and implemented.

BACKGROUND

Many State archives contain sensitive information. That information may be of a personal nature, have commercial significance, or may include culturally sensitive information. Section 3 of the Act defines a restricted access archive as …“a State archive that is a government record and to which access is restricted until it is of a certain age”.

The Act requires all government organizations to identify restricted access archives in their record keeping plans and recommend when those records will cease to be restricted. The Commission may approve or not approve these recommendations. If the recommendations are upheld the Commission is required to determine the restricted access period and review these restrictions every five (5) years.

SCOPE

The principles and minimum requirements of this Standard apply to all Government organizations.

Principle 1—Identification of a Restricted Access Archive

State organizations must ensure that restricted access archives are identified in record keeping plans.

Rationale

The record keeping plan must identify those State archives that are to be restricted access archives. The State Records Commission will authorize access recommendations before it ratifies the plan. An organization can apply at any time for the access restriction to be varied. All determinations by the Commission are to be reviewed within five (5) years.

Minimum Compliance Requirements

A government organization must provide evidence that—

• a considered appraisal process has been undertaken to identify State archives to be the subject of a restriction;

• the creating organization of those archives is identified;

• the reasons for restriction are documented;

• the proposed open access date is documented;

• the access restriction is total or conditional; and

• a formal application process to enable public access is in place *.

** In terms of the State Records Act 2000, the application is made under the Freedom of Information Act 1992 (section 46 of the State Records Act 2000 refers).*

Principle 2—Open Access Archives

State archives must be open for public inspection at some point in their life.

Rationale

The spirit of the State Records Act 2000 is to facilitate open access to State archives by the community unless special conditions apply. In general, government organizations may transfer State archives to the State archives collection at any time. State Records Commission Standard 5 provides details about transfer of State archives to the State archives collection. Once in the State archives collection, those records are available for public inspection subject to Section 37 of the Act.

State archives still in the custody of a government organization after twenty-five (25) years are open to the public, unless the record keeping plan of the government organization that has control of them says otherwise.

Minimum Compliance Requirements

Government organizations must provide evidence that—

State archives which are subject to a restriction are identified, and that the Commission’s authorization is readily available.
A mechanism is in place to ensure that restrictions are referred to the Commission for review at least every five (5) years.
Where a State archive is more than twenty-five (25) years old, is an open access archive and remains in the custody of the responsible organization, the organization has a mechanism in place for the public to have access to the archive.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Statutory Regulatory Group Archives New Zealand. (2001) Access Standard. http://www.archives.govt.nz/statutory_regulatory/standards/access/contents.html [Internet] New Zealand. Archives New Zealand.

Commission on Government Western Australia. (1995) Commission on Government, Report No 2, Part 2. Perth. Commission on Government.

Public Records Office (United Kingdom). (2000) Manual of Guidance on Access to Public Records. http://www.pro/gov.uk/recordsmanagement/access/default.htm [Internet] Second Edition. UK. Public Records Office. [Accessed 11 October, 2001]

For further information regarding this standard contact

State Records Office of WA

ph: 9427 3360

email: sro@sro.wa.gov.au

[SRC Standard 5 superseded: Gazette 21 Jun 2016 p. 2219.]

STATE RECORDS COMMISSION

SRC Standard 6

OUTSOURCING

A Record Keeping Standard for State Organizations

State Records Commission of WA

Perth, Western Australia

February 2002

SRC STANDARD 6—OUTSOURCING

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Definitions

Purpose

Background

Scope

Principle 1—Planning

Principle 2—Ownership

Principle 3—Control

Principle 4—Disposal

Principle 5—Access

Principle 6—Custody

Principle 7—Contract Completion

Bibliography

SRC STANDARD 6—OUTSOURCING

DEFINITIONS

**Contractor—**is the person or persons with whom the State organization has entered into a contract or arrangement whereby the person or persons are to perform any function for the organization.

**Control—**means the responsibility for keeping a record but does not include the responsibility for creating it.

**Custody—**means the responsibility for the care of State records usually based on their physical possession. Custody does not include legal ownership, or the right to control access to the records.

**Government organization—**is an organization listed in Schedule 1 or Schedule 3 of the State Records Act 2000.

**Government record—**is a record created or received by a government organization or a government organization employee or contractor in the course of the work for the organization.

**Outsourcing—**is the transfer of responsibility for a service or function conducted by the State organization to an external service provider.

**Ownership—**means the legal, physical and intellectual property rights over state records. The records may not be in the custody of a state organization but they remain the property of the State.

**State archive—**is a State record that is to be retained permanently.

**State organization—**is a parliamentary department or a government organization.

**State record—**is a parliamentary record or a government record.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this Standard, established under Section 61(1)(b) of the State Records Act 2000, is to define principles and standards governing contracts or arrangements entered into by State organizations with persons to perform any aspect of record keeping for the organization.

BACKGROUND

It is of the utmost importance that the integrity of State records be maintained and that proper procedures ensuring correct capture, management and maintenance are put in place at the time that any contract or agreement is entered into. Such contracts or agreements may involve contracting an individual or an organization to act as the State organization’s agent to deliver services to clients, or for the State organization’s own use.

Contracts should provide that the contractor create records that meet the organization’s accountability requirements, in relation to the functions performed or services provided for the organization. Such contracts should also provide that the contractor maintain those records according to standards acceptable to the organization, for as long as the records are required and return them to the organization when the contract expires.

SCOPE

The principles and minimum compliance requirements in this Standard apply to all State organizations as defined in Section 3 of the State Records Act 2000.

Contracts and agreements must be developed in accordance with government guidelines supplied by the State Supply Commission and the Department of Industry and Technology.

Principle 1—Planning

State organizations ensure that the keeping of State records is in accordance with legislative requirements.

Rationale

The process of engaging a contractor to deliver services to clients or to provide support services to the organization is usually achieved through a contract or binding service agreement. These contracts and agreements can generally cover areas such as service levels, performance benchmarks, costs and penalties. Records, which enable compliance measurement to be undertaken, must also be included.

It may be legally difficult to re-acquire records when needed for administrative purposes or litigation if access to records is not included in the contract or agreement.

Accordingly, State organizations must ensure that access to State records is considered in the planning process and included in the contract or agreement established for outsourcing.

Minimum Compliance Requirements

The contract or agreement must provide evidence to adduce that—

Specific record keeping requirements in any enabling legislation relating to the organization are analysed, documented and accommodated within the contract or agreement.
If the contracting out is taking place as a result of specific legislation and there are specific provisions relating to record keeping, these provisions are considered when developing the contract or agreement. In other instances, record keeping provisions may not be specifically mentioned within the legislation but may be intended to be covered within the scope of the term “assets”.
The records and their owners are identified.
The organization and the contractor are bound by the State Records Act 2000 and any Principles and Standards developed in accordance with the Act.
The disposal of the records is in accordance with Western Australian legislation.
Unlimited access to the records is provided for the organization and access provisions are specified to the contractor.
Records custody provisions are defined, both within the contracting body and the State organization.
Control and ownership of the records are established for the duration of the contract and following completion of the contract or agreement.

Principle 2—Ownership

State organizations ensure that the ownership of State records is addressed and resolved during outsourcing exercises.

Rationale

Failure to clarify issues surrounding the legal ownership of records, and the information they contain, in outsourcing agreements and contracts can severely restrict the business capabilities of the contractor and expose the organization to considerable risks. The issue of ownership extends not only to records of the organization that may be acquired by the contractor but also to records created by the contractor during the life of the agreement or contract.

Minimum Compliance Requirements

The contract or agreement must provide evidence to adduce that—

Existing State records, for which custody is to be transferred to the contractor, are specified.
State records remaining the property of the State organization are specified.
Any records remaining the property of the contractor at the completion of the contract or agreement are specified.
Ownership of the intellectual property of the records is specified.
Any State records of the State organization that are excluded from the transfer of custody to the contractor are specified.
The legal ownership of records, or copies of those records, created by the contractor during the course of the contract or agreement is specified.
Any limitation imposed on the contractor for the use of State records, and disclosure of information contained therein, is specified.
All rights of the State organization regarding the use of records created by the contractor during the life of the contract or agreement, are specified.
State records are returned to the State organization upon completion of the contract or at any other time specified by the State organization.

Note: State organizations should be cognisant of the specifications relating to intellectual property outlined in Government Information and Technology Contracts (GITC) 3 Terms and Conditions.

Principle 3—Control

State organizations ensure that contractors comply with the record keeping controls determined by the record keeping plan of the organization.

Rationale

Even though a service or operation has been outsourced it is likely that the controlling organization will retain some degree of responsibility and control over the contractor and how it performs its business. This control will be best supported by the State organization ensuring proper and adequate records management practices are observed by the contractor.

To make this possible the State organization must require the contractor to create and manage records, whether manual or automated, effectively and efficiently in a manner specified by the organization. The organization may also require that the contractor follow particular government policies and standards that are binding upon the organization.

Minimum Compliance Requirements

The contract or agreement must provide evidence to adduce that—

Any records that must be created to enable the State organization and the contractor to fulfil their statutory and service obligations are stipulated.
The State organization ensures that the contractor is complying with any relevant State legislation with regard to creation and management of proper and adequate records relating to the business function, activity or operation being outsourced.
The State organization ensures that the contractor is complying with record keeping standards, policies, procedures and guidelines stipulated by the organization.
The State organization stipulates any technical standards needed to ensure the information created and managed by the contractor can integrate with other government or private service provider record keeping systems, as required.

Principle 4—Disposal

State organizations ensure that State records are disposed of in accordance with Western Australian legislation.

Rationale

State records transferred to the custody of the contractor and those State records received or created by the contractor during the term of the contract, remain the property of the State organization. They must be disposed of in accordance with an approved disposal authority. The State Records Commission, via the State Records Advisory Committee, is the authorising body for disposal authorities.

Further disposal issues are addressed under Principle 7—Contract Completion.

Minimum Compliance Requirements

The contract or agreement must provide evidence to adduce that—

A Retention and Disposal Schedule covering the records of the outsourced function, both those state records transferred to the custody of the contractor and those State records received or created by the contractor during the term of the contract, will be developed and submitted to the State Records Commission for approval.
All State records included in the terms of the contract are returned to the organization, in accessible format, before or at the conclusion of the contract, for disposal in accordance with the approved Retention and Disposal Schedule.

Principle 5—Access

Agreement is reached between the State organization and the contractor concerning the provision of access to State records.

Rationale

State records are retained not only for their administrative use, but also as an information resource for non government access. This access is established in the State Records Act 2000, Freedom of Information legislation and other instruments.

This dual access role of State records is easy to establish and maintain whilst the records remain in the custody of the government. It is vital therefore, that organizations ensure that when they are considering outsourcing, issues of access to State records held by the contractor are written into the contract. Failure to do so will make it extremely difficult for the organization to inspect and validate the service delivery being performed for it by the contractor, and Government accountability through its record keeping systems may be compromised.

Minimum Compliance Requirements

The contract or agreement must provide evidence to adduce that—

Agreement is reached between the State organization and the contractor concerning access by the organization to State records held by the contractor.
Agreement is reached between the State organization and the contractor concerning public access to State records held by the contractor.
Agreement is reached between the State organization and the contractor concerning any State records held by the contractor, to which access by the public is restricted.
Agreement is reached between the State organization and the contractor upon State records, held by the organization, to which the contractor requires access.
The State organization shall ensure that public access to State records held by the contractor, is no less than was previously available when the records were in the custody of the State organization.
The State organization ensures that the access rules established under the agreement are enforced equitably and consistently.

Principle 6—Custody

State organizations ensure that the custody of State records is addressed and resolved as part of the outsourcing arrangements.

Rationale

The custodial arrangements for State records are well established and have been designed to fulfil the requirements of the State Records Act 2000, and other instruments where these exist. It is important that these gains are not lost when an agency is outsourcing a function, activity or operation.

Poor, or no, decisions over the custodial arrangement for State records will result in the loss of records of evidential value, the integrity of collections of records being lost and unnecessary duplication and waste of effort will follow. Organizations must ensure that when they are outsourcing they include custodial arrangements in the agreements and contracts that are entered into with contractors.

It is also vital that organizations ensure that these agreements and contracts include arrangements for the custody of records at the end of the agreement or contract.

Minimum Compliance Requirements

The contract or agreement must provide evidence to adduce that—

Custody agreements are reached between the organization and the contractor for State records stored off site by the contractor.
Custody agreements are reached between the organization and the contractor for records stored on site by the contractor.
The organization ensures that custody agreements it enters into with contractors, as indicated in 1 and 2 above, cover the following—

• Environmental requirements, i.e. temperature and relative humidity levels within the areas where the records are stored;

• Security and safety systems that operate over areas in which the records are stored;

• The records storage container requirements;

• The degree and detail of documentation of records held in the records storage area; and

• The record arrangement requirements for records held in the records storage area.

The State Records Office is informed of the location of State records of the organization held outside the custody of that authority.

Principle 7—Contract Completion

State organizations ensure that State records are returned upon the completion of contracts.

Rationale

Just as organizations must ensure that the initial stages of a contract are well regulated and specified, they must also ensure that the completion, and post completion, stages of a contract are well regulated, monitored and specified. Failure to do so will result in lost information, increased risk of exposure to legal liabilities and wasted time and money.

It is unlikely that a contractor will wish to devote time and effort to the State records of an activity or function which it is no longer performing for the government, unless there is an established contractual requirement for them to do so.

It is equally important that these processes are planned to be initiated in advance of the completion of the contract. Where records are boxed, listed or transported in a hurry the risk of material of continuing value being lost or accidentally destroyed increases exponentially. An orderly end of contract or agreement process will result in good records management and fewer wasted resources, both by the contractor and the organization. It will also substantially reduce both the organization’s and the contractor’s exposure to risk.

Citation	Gazettal	Commencement
State Records Principles and Standards 2002	5 Mar 2002 p. 885-929	6 Mar 2002 (see cl. 2 and Gazette 5 Mar 2002 p. 885)
State Records Principles and Standards 2016	21 Jun 2016 p. 2219	22 Jun 2016 (see cl. 2)

1. Citation

	These principles and standards may be cited as the *State Records Principles and Standards 2002*.

2. Commencement

These principles and standards come into operation on the day after the day on which they are published in the Government Gazette.

3. Government record keeping

SRC Standard 1 Government record keeping

SRC Standard 2 Record keeping plans

SRC Standard 3 Appraisal of records

SRC Standard 4 Restricted access archives

	*[SRC Standard 5 superseded]*

SRC Standard 6 Outsourcing

[Clause 3 amended: Gazette 21 Jun 2016 p. 2219.]

STATE RECORDS COMMISSION

SRC Standard 1

GOVERNMENT

RECORD KEEPING

A Record Keeping Standard for State Organizations

State Records Commission of WA

Perth, Western Australia

February 2002

SRC STANDARD 1—GOVERNMENT RECORD KEEPING

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Definitions

Purpose

Background

Scope

Principle 1—Record keeping by State organizations

Bibliography

SRC STANDARD 1—GOVERNMENT RECORD KEEPING

DEFINITIONS

**Government record—**is a record created or received by a government organization or a government organization employee or contractor in the course of the work for the organization.

Definitions and concepts occur throughout the Standards and constrain how obligations operate. The Standards repeatedly define key terms that the State Records Act 2000 also uses and then build compliance requirements on those definitions.

Government record and State record: the Standards adopt broad, inclusive definitions of a record: "any record of information however recorded" and then list formats including writing, maps, drawings, photographs, images and electronically stored information (multiple SRC Standards, Definitions). A "government record" is a record created or received by a government organisation, employee or contractor in the course of work for that organisation (SRC Standard 1 Definitions). "State record" is defined to include parliamentary records as well as government records (SRC Standard 1 Definitions).
State organisation / government organisation / parliamentary department: the Standards use these terms interchangeably in places, but make clear that "government organisation" is an organisation listed in Schedule 1 or Schedule 3 of the State Records Act 2000, and that a "parliamentary department" is a department deemed constituted under the Financial Administration and Audit Act 1985 for the purposes of that Act (SRC Standard 1 Definitions; SRC Standard 2 Definitions). The Standards apply to all State organisations as defined in s 3 of the Act (each Standard’s Scope).
Record keeping plan: central to the compliance architecture. The plan is the instrument through which an organisation demonstrates implementation of the Standards. It must document the record keeping program, including systems, disposal arrangements, policies, practices and processes and is the primary evidence for Commission approval (SRC Standard 2, Purpose and Minimum Compliance Requirements).
Retention and Disposal Schedule / Disposal Authority: a Retention and Disposal Schedule is a systematic listing of categories/series of records and a plan for their life cycle from creation to disposal. Disposal Authorities, including General Disposal Authorities issued by the State Records Office, are the authorising instruments for disposal; the Commission is the authorising body for disposal authorities (SRC Standard 2 Definitions; SRC Standard 3 Definitions and Minimum Compliance Requirements).
State archive and restricted access archive: a State archive is a State record to be retained permanently. A restricted access archive is a State archive that is a government record and to which access is restricted until it reaches a certain age. Organisations must identify such archives in their record keeping plans and propose open access dates; the Commission authorises and periodically reviews these restrictions (SRC Standard 4 Definitions and Principles).
Appraisal: SRC Standard 3 frames appraisal as the process of determining what is archival and what is disposable, and requires use of appraisal criteria in the State Records Office handbook (SRC Standard 3, Definitions, Purpose, Minimum Compliance Requirements).
Outsourcing: SRC Standard 6 treats outsourcing as the transfer of responsibility for a service or function to an external provider and supplies a comprehensive contractual checklist to preserve the integrity, access and disposal of State records when custody or control is transferred (SRC Standard 6 Definitions, Purpose, Principles 1-7).

Operationally important distinctions the Standards insist on:

Ownership versus custody versus control: SRC Standard 6 defines these terms separately and imposes different obligations on outsourcing parties. Ownership includes legal, physical and intellectual property rights; custody is physical responsibility for care; control is responsibility for keeping a record but not creating it. Contracts must specify how ownership, custody and control will operate during and after contract performance (SRC Standard 6 Definitions and Principle 2, Principle 6).
Approved General Disposal Authorities versus organisation-specific Retention and Disposal Schedules: organisations must use relevant General Disposal Authorities for common record types, such as financial and HR records, and must not vary those disposals unless there is particular justification (SRC Standard 2 Principle 5, Minimum Compliance Requirements; SRC Standard 3 Minimum Compliance Requirements).
Public access expectations: the Standards declare a public access default while accommodating protected information. The Standards instruct that State archives normally be open for public inspection at some point in their life and set a 25-year open access reference where archives remain in the creating organisation’s custody (SRC Standard 4, Principle 2 and Minimum Compliance Requirements). The Standards cross-link public access mechanisms to the Freedom of Information Act 1992 for application processes where access is restricted (SRC Standard 4 Minimum Compliance Requirements, footnote referencing FOI Act 1992 s 46).

Reference instruments: The Standards explicitly incorporate or recommend the use of supplementary materials: Australian Standard AS15489 Records Management as the model for best practice (SRC Standard 1 Minimum Compliance Requirements; SRC Standard 2 Bibliography), State Records Office publications such as Records Disposal: A Handbook for Government Agencies, and General Disposal Authorities (SRC Standard 2 and SRC Standard 3 bibliographies and minimum compliance requirements).

The Standards apply to a defined set of actors and have differential procedural requirements depending on the actor.

State organisations and government organisations: The Standards apply to all State organisations as defined by s 3 of the State Records Act 2000. The text repeatedly states the principles and minimum compliance requirements "apply to all State organisations" or "government organisations" (SRC Standard 1 Scope; SRC Standard 2 Scope; SRC Standard 3 Scope; SRC Standard 4 Scope; SRC Standard 6 Scope). Those organisations must prepare record keeping plans, operate Retention and Disposal Schedules, implement policies and procedures, and demonstrate compliance.
Parliamentary departments: The Standards treat parliamentary departments separately in procedural respects. Parliamentary departments must prepare a draft record keeping plan in consultation with the Commission and have their plans approved by the President of the Legislative Council or the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly (SRC Standard 2 Purpose and Background; definitions of parliamentary department and parliamentary record in multiple Standards).
State Records Commission and State Records Office: The Commission is the issuing and authorising body for the Standards and for disposal authorities, and it has approval and review functions. The State Records Office is cited as the operational contact point, as the publisher of handbooks and General Disposal Authorities, and as the source of guidance for appraisal (SRC Standard 1 Background; SRC Standard 3 Background; contact details repeated in each Standard).
Ministers and the Ministerial apparatus: The Standards indicate that government organisations listed in Schedule 3 are required to have record keeping plans that are approved by the relevant Minister (SRC Standard 2 Background referencing Section 27 of the Act).
Contractors and external service providers: SRC Standard 6 defines contractors as persons with whom State organisations enter into contracts to perform functions, and imposes mandatory contractual content and compliance obligations when records and records management are outsourced. Contractors are therefore materially affected by provisions on ownership, custody, control, disposal, access, return of records at contract end, and restrictions on commercial use of records (SRC Standard 6 Principles and Minimum Compliance Requirements).
The public and other external users: The Standards affect public access rights by specifying how restricted access archives must be identified, authorised and reviewed, and by directing that State archives should be open at some point in their life and be accessible if in organisational custody after 25 years (SRC Standard 4 Principle 2 and Minimum Compliance Requirements). The Standards reference use of the Freedom of Information Act 1992 for restricted access applications (SRC Standard 4 footnote).
Local governments: Local governments are explicitly directed to use the General Disposal Authority for Local Government Records rather than creating separate schedules for common record types (SRC Standard 2 Principle 5 Minimum Compliance Requirements; SRC Standard 3 Minimum Compliance Requirements).

Who pays: compliance costs fall primarily on State organisations. The Standards require organisations to prepare documented plans, maintain systems and undertake training, periodic reviews, disaster management planning, appraisal and the development of Retention and Disposal Schedules, in some cases liaising with the State Records Office and submitting documentation to the Commission for approval (SRC Standard 2 Principles 1-6; SRC Standard 3 Minimum Compliance Requirements; SRC Standard 4 Minimum Compliance Requirements). Contractors face contractual constraints that may impose compliance and operational costs, including technical standards, documentation obligations and return-of-records logistics on contract completion (SRC Standard 6 Principles 1-7).

Who decides: the State Records Commission decides on the approval of record keeping plans, authorises disposal authorities, determines restricted access periods and reviews them (SRC Standard 2 Background; SRC Standard 3 Background; SRC Standard 4 Principle 1 and Minimum Compliance Requirements). Parliamentary approvers and Ministers have decision roles for particular organisational classes as specified (SRC Standard 2 Background).

The Standards enumerate duties for State organisations and expectations for contractors. The duties below are drawn directly from the Standards’ Principles and Minimum Compliance Requirements.

Duties of State organisations (core list, with source pointers):

Prepare and submit a record keeping plan that demonstrates implementation of Commission principles and standards, adopts AS15489 as a model for best practice, and provides evidence across specified areas (SRC Standard 1 Minimum Compliance Requirements; SRC Standard 2 Purpose and Minimum Compliance Requirements).
Create and keep records that properly and adequately record the organisation’s functions, and identify enabling legislation, administered legislation and other legal or industry instruments that bear on record creation (SRC Standard 2 Principle 1 and Minimum Compliance Requirements).
Establish authorised policy and procedures for record keeping, approved at an appropriate senior level, promulgated to employees and made available to staff; define roles and responsibilities and cover records in all formats (SRC Standard 2 Principle 2 and Minimum Compliance Requirements).
Implement language control mechanisms (file titling systems, thesauri, authorised headings) that enable consistent naming and retrieval, with change control over structure and content (SRC Standard 2 Principle 3 and Minimum Compliance Requirements).
Develop and maintain preservation and disaster management plans including risk assessment, mitigation strategies and quick-response recovery activities for salvaging records after disasters (SRC Standard 2 Principle 4 and Minimum Compliance Requirements).
Operate an approved Retention and Disposal Schedule and dispose of records only in accordance with an approved disposal authority, with identification of State archives, restricted access archives and retention periods (SRC Standard 2 Principle 5 and Minimum Compliance Requirements; SRC Standard 3 Minimum Compliance Requirements).
Ensure employees comply with the record keeping plan, provide training and induction, evaluate system effectiveness not less than once every five years, and report relevant information in the organisation’s annual report (SRC Standard 2 Principle 6 and Minimum Compliance Requirements).
For restricted access archives, identify archives, document reasons for restriction and propose open access dates; maintain an application mechanism consistent with the Freedom of Information Act 1992 for public access where restrictions apply; review restrictions at least every five years (SRC Standard 4 Principle 1 and Minimum Compliance Requirements).
When outsourcing, ensure contracts specify record keeping requirements, ownership rights, control and custody arrangements, disposal obligations and access arrangements, including the return of State records at contract completion, and restrict contractor use of information for unauthorised commercial profit if required (SRC Standard 6 Principles 1-7 and detailed Minimum Compliance Requirements).

Rights and functions of the State Records Commission and State Records Office:

The Commission establishes the principles and standards under Section 61(1) of the Act and is the authorising body for disposal authorities (SRC Standard 1 Purpose; SRC Standard 3 Purpose and Background).
The Commission may approve or not approve record keeping plans and authorises access recommendations for restricted archives; the Commission is required to determine restricted access periods and review those determinations every five years (SRC Standard 2 Background; SRC Standard 4 Principle 1 and Minimum Compliance Requirements).
The State Records Office publishes handbooks and General Disposal Authorities, provides guidance and is the contact point for enquiries (bibliography across Standards; contact details repeated).

Contractual rights and constraints:

Contracts must ensure the organisation and contractor are bound by the State Records Act 2000 and relevant Standards; specify the identity of records and their owners; set access arrangements for the organisation and the public; and ensure return of records in accessible format at contract end (SRC Standard 6 Minimum Compliance Requirements, multiple items).
Contractors may retain or create records during the contract but the contract must specify ownership of intellectual property and any limitations on contractor use of State records (SRC Standard 6 Principle 2, Minimum Compliance Requirements).

Public rights:

The Standards declare that State archives should be open for public inspection at some point and set procedures to ensure public access for archives over 25 years old in an organisation’s custody, subject to any documented restriction authorised by the Commission (SRC Standard 4 Principle 2, Minimum Compliance Requirements). The Standards thus include public access expectations that organisations must operationalise.

Procedural duties tied to other instruments:

Organisations must use the General Disposal Authorities for financial, accounting and human resource records unless particular justification exists to vary retention (SRC Standard 2 Principle 5 Minimum Compliance Requirements; SRC Standard 3 Minimum Compliance Requirements).
Organisations preparing outsourcing contracts should be cognisant of intellectual property provisions in Government Information and Technology Contracts (GITC) 3 Terms and Conditions, as noted in SRC Standard 6 Principle 2 Minimum Compliance Requirements.

What the Standards do not do in the provided text:

The Standards do not set out specific penalties, monetary fines or criminal sanctions in the text provided. The instrument frames compliance through approval processes, stated minimum compliance requirements and authorising functions of the Commission. Any statutory sanctions that exist would be in the State Records Act 2000, which the Standards reference but do not reproduce in full in the text provided.

The Standards establish obligations, approval mechanisms and review responsibilities, but do not themselves specify criminal or civil penalties within the text supplied. The material provided indicates enforcement and compliance operate primarily through administrative approval, authorisation and oversight processes, and through the legal architecture of the State Records Act 2000 which the Standards implement.

What the Standards do provide as enforcement-relevant mechanisms:

Commission approval and authorisation: The State Records Commission is the issuing and authorising body. It approves or declines record keeping plans and authorises disposal authorities. For restricted access archives, the Commission authorises access recommendations and determines restricted access periods; it must also review determinations at least once every five years (SRC Standard 2 Background; SRC Standard 3 Background; SRC Standard 4 Principle 1 and Minimum Compliance Requirements). Administrative refusal to approve a plan or to authorise a disposal would functionally constrain an organisation’s ability to lawfully dispose of records or be compliant with the Act.
Procedural conditions for approval: The Standards specify the components of a record keeping plan and the evidence required to demonstrate compliance. Approval by the Commission, Minister or parliamentary approver is contingent on the plan containing the requisite elements such as policies and procedures, retention schedules, risk and disaster planning, language control, training programs and compliance evaluation (SRC Standard 2 Minimum Compliance Requirements). Failure to provide that evidence may prevent approval.
Documented periodic review and reporting obligations: The Standards require organisations to evaluate record keeping efficiency and effectiveness not less than once every five years and to include relevant reporting in annual reports (SRC Standard 2 Principle 6 and Minimum Compliance Requirements). These periodic obligations create ongoing oversight and audit points at which non-compliance can be identified administratively.
Contractual enforcement via outsourcing contracts: SRC Standard 6 embeds record keeping obligations inside contracts and accords state organisations the ability to specify performance benchmarks, penalties, and service levels as part of any outsourcing arrangement. While the Standards do not prescribe specific contractual penalties, they require that contracts carry provisions ensuring access, custody, ownership and return of records, and they advise aligning contracts with government guidelines (SRC Standard 6 Minimum Compliance Requirements and background referencing State Supply Commission and Department of Industry and Technology guidelines). The contractual route gives state organisations conventional legal remedies against contractors for breach of contract.
Use of existing legislation and external processes: The Standards reference other statutory instruments for specific processes, for example applications for restricted access being made under the Freedom of Information Act 1992 (SRC Standard 4 footnote referencing s 46 of the State Records Act 2000). Enforcement or dispute resolution arising from access decisions may therefore involve processes established elsewhere in statute.

What is not contained in the Standards text provided:

No schedule of monetary fines, criminal offences, or administrative penalties appears in the Standards material supplied. The Standards focus on specifying required content and evidence for plans, outsourcing contract clauses, and appraisal processes and on vesting authorisation with the Commission. Any statutory penalties would be located in the State Records Act 2000 proper; the Standards repeatedly refer to and implement that Act (e.g. SRC Standard 1 Purpose references s 61(1)(a)) but the Act text is not reproduced here.

Implementation and enforcement risk points implicit in the instrument:

Discretion in approval: because the Commission has the authority to approve or not approve plans and to authorise disposal and access restrictions, its decisions are an enforcement lever. That creates implementation risk where the Commission’s expectations are not clearly met in a plan or where the Commission interprets minimum compliance requirements differently from the creating organisation. The Standards attempt to reduce ambiguity by providing detailed minimum compliance requirements, but administrative discretion remains central (SRC Standard 2 Background; SRC Standard 4 Principle 1).
Contract-readiness and monitoring: embedding record keeping obligations in contracts requires organisations to specify technical standards, access arrangements and custody conditions and to monitor contractual compliance. Failure to monitor or to build enforceable contract terms exposes organisations to loss of records or inability to enforce access or disposal requirements (SRC Standard 6 Principles 1, 3, 5 and 7 Minimum Compliance Requirements).

In sum, enforcement as set out in the Standards is predominantly administrative, contractual and oversight-based rather than penal in the text provided. The Commission’s approval powers and the requirement that organisations supply specified evidence are the principal means by which the Standards are enforced.

The Standards explicitly reference and interoperate with other statutory instruments, administrative frameworks and technical standards. Those cross-references identify where compliance with the Standards is contingent on or parallel to other provisions of law and government contracting practice.

Statutory cross-references named in the Standards:

State Records Act 2000: The Standards are established under Section 61 of the State Records Act 2000 (SRC Standard 1 Purpose; multiple Standards reference s 61). The Standards implement and provide details about record keeping obligations that the Act requires. The Standards refer to other sections of the Act when describing who must prepare record keeping plans and who approves them: Section 19 requires every government organisation to have an approved plan; Section 12 requires parliamentary departments to have plans approved by parliamentary presiding officers; Section 27 requires certain government organisations to have plans approved by the relevant Minister; Section 25 requires the Commission’s own plan to be approved by the Minister. Those textual references are set out in SRC Standard 2 Background.
Freedom of Information Act 1992: The Standards link restricted access archive application processes to the FOI Act. SRC Standard 4 footnotes that, in terms of the State Records Act, an application for access is made under the Freedom of Information Act 1992 and specifically references s 46 of the State Records Act 2000 which cross-refers to FOI processes for restricted access archives (SRC Standard 4 Minimum Compliance Requirements, footnote).
Financial Administration and Audit Act 1985: The Standards define "parliamentary department" with reference to being deemed constituted under the Financial Administration and Audit Act 1985 by regulation (SRC Standard 1 Definitions; SRC Standard 2 Definitions).
Government contracting and IP frameworks: In outsourcing contexts the Standards urge awareness of the Government Information and Technology Contracts (GITC) 3 Terms and Conditions and Departmental contracting guidance (SRC Standard 6, Minimum Compliance Requirements and Bibliography). This situates record keeping contractual obligations inside existing procurement and information technology contract frameworks.
General Disposal Authorities and State Records Office handbooks: The Standards require use of General Disposal Authorities for common records (financial, accounting, human resource management, and for local governments the General Disposal Authority for Local Government Records) and direct organisations to the Records Disposal: A Handbook for Government Agencies for appraisal criteria and disposal guidance (SRC Standard 2 Principle 5 Minimum Compliance Requirements; SRC Standard 3 Minimum Compliance Requirements). These are administrative instruments issued by the State Records Office and provide legal and practical authority for disposal.
Australian Standard AS15489 Records Management: The Standards adopt AS15489 as the model for best practice record keeping that organisations should implement; it is cited explicitly in SRC Standard 1 Minimum Compliance Requirements and appears in bibliographies (SRC Standard 1 and SRC Standard 2 Bibliography).

Mechanisms of interaction and potential friction points:

Administrative approvals versus statutory rights: the Standards centre administrative approvals (Commission approval of plans, Ministerial approval for certain organisations) as gateways to lawful disposal and compliance. That means record retention and disposal operate through an administrative approval chain that is defined by the Act and operationalised by the Standards (SRC Standard 2 Background; SRC Standard 3 Background). Organisations must align statutory obligations with administrative practice; if an organisation’s plan is not approved it cannot lawfully proceed with disposal under the approved authority.
FOI overlay on restricted archives: Restricted access archives require an access recommendation authorised by the Commission and the application pathway runs through the FOI Act. This creates an interaction between archival restrictions and statutory FOI rights and processes, and therefore between archival policy and administrative law remedies (SRC Standard 4 Minimum Compliance Requirements and footnote referencing FOI Act).
Outsourcing contracts and other procurement regimes: SRC Standard 6 calls for contracts to embed record keeping obligations and references State Supply Commission and Department of Industry and Technology guidelines. That means procurement rules, GITC terms and intellectual property clauses in technology contracts are operationally linked to the Standards’ requirements on ownership, custody and control. Failure to harmonise contract templates with the Standards risks legal friction, for example where a contractor claims ownership of material or resists returning records in an accessible format at contract end (SRC Standard 6 Minimum Compliance Requirements).
Use of General Disposal Authorities versus statutory minimum retention: The Standards require organisations to follow General Disposal Authorities for certain record classes but also to take into account legislative minimum retention periods; where other laws prescribe retention periods organisations must align the Retention and Disposal Schedule accordingly (SRC Standard 3 Minimum Compliance Requirements). This creates a hierarchy where statutory minima and General Disposal Authorities must be reconciled in an organisation’s schedule.

Cross-instrument compliance responsibilities:

Record keeping plans must list enabling legislation, administered legislation and other legal requirements affecting record creation and retention (SRC Standard 2 Principle 1 Minimum Compliance Requirements). That creates a direct task for organisations to map other statutory duties into their record keeping plans.
The Standards reference a series of State Records Office publications and AS15489 as normative guidance; organisations should integrate those technical and administrative resources into their compliance systems (SRC Standard 1 Background; bibliographies).

In sum, the Standards are designed to operate within a web of statutory and administrative instruments. They do not operate in isolation; compliance requires active alignment with procurement rules, FOI processes, statutory retention minima and State Records Office disposal authorities.

The text supplied includes an explicit compilation table and amendment notes. From that material:

Original gazettal and commencement: The State Records Principles and Standards 2002 were published in the Government Gazette on 5 March 2002 (pp. 885-929) and commenced the following day, 6 March 2002 (Compilation table).
Amendment recorded: State Records Principles and Standards 2016 was gazetted on 21 June 2016 and commenced on 22 June 2016 (Compilation table; Gazette 21 Jun 2016 p. 2219). The Standards include the annotation "[Clause 3 amended: Gazette 21 Jun 2016 p. 2219]" at the head of the document and note that "SRC Standard 5 superseded" with a Gazette reference (appears under the table of contents and again labelled "[SRC Standard 5 superseded: Gazette 21 Jun 2016 p. 2219]" near SRC Standard 6 heading). The compilation table summarises those dates and pages.
Effect of the 2016 amendment in the supplied text: SRC Standard 5 is explicitly marked as superseded in the 2016 Gazette notice. The specific textual effect in the supplied Standards is that SRC Standard 5 is removed from the active set of Standards and appears as superseded. The Standards as provided therefore include SRC Standards 1-4 and 6. The header above SRC Standard 6 notes clause 3 amended on 21 June 2016 (Gazette 21 Jun 2016 p. 2219), which suggests at minimum an amendment to clause 3 in the original instrument, but the supplied text does not reproduce the pre-amendment clause 3 to show the change. The compilation table offers the legal metadata for the amendment but does not set out the precise textual amendments beyond the supersession.
Internal textual amendments: within the Standards text there are editorial markings showing where references have been updated, for example the cross-reference that SRC Standard 5 is superseded and that clause 3 was amended in 2016. The compilation table also records the amended Gazettal pages and commencement date for the 2016 instrument.
No further amendments or legislative repeals are recorded in the supplied compilation table beyond the 2016 amendment. The compilation table is limited to two entries: the 2002 gazettal/commencement and the 2016 gazettal/commencement.
Procedural continuity: the Standards indicate that existing State Records Office policies and standards remain current and that AS15489 is accepted as the Australian Standard for records management, implying continuity between the 2002 Standards and pre-existing guidance materials (SRC Standard 1 Background). The Standards’ bibliographies cite materials dating up to 2002 and list State Records Office handbooks and General Disposal Authorities; they do not include later handbooks or post-2016 materials in the supplied text.

Practical implication of the amendment history as provided:

Organisations and practitioners should note that SRC Standard 5 is no longer operative as at 22 June 2016, and must therefore consult the Standards as currently published together with the State Records Act 2000 and any guidance from the State Records Office to identify current obligations. The supplied text provides the dates and the Gazette citations necessary to locate the amendment instruments in the Government Gazette, which practitioners may consult to read the precise amendment text.
The Standards’ bibliographies and referenced handbooks are dated up to 2001-2000; practitioners should be aware that the Standards themselves direct reliance on the State Records Office for up-to-date disposal authorities and handbooks, and that the 2016 amendment indicates the instrument has been updated since the initial issue.

The Standards document provided does not include any judicial decisions, case citations or litigation history. The bibliographies list administrative and professional publications, standards and government handbooks, but no case law. Specific points to note from the source text:

No cases are named in the Standards. The Standards’ text references legislation (State Records Act 2000, Financial Administration and Audit Act 1985, Freedom of Information Act 1992) and external guidance documents (AS15489, State Records Office handbooks, General Disposal Authorities), but contains no judicial interpretation or litigation history within the supplied material.
Where the text references application or appeal processes (for example, restricted access archives and the FOI Act), it does not report any judicial outcomes or precedent. The process references are administrative and statutory rather than case law-based (SRC Standard 4 Minimum Compliance Requirements footnote and references to FOI Act).
Practitioners seeking litigation history or judicial interpretation of the State Records Act 2000 or these Standards must consult external sources: reported decisions, administrative tribunal determinations, or later exegesis which are not contained in the Standards document itself.

Given the absence of litigation material in the supplied instrument, the Standards operate as administrative and technical rules whose interpretation in adversarial or contested contexts would need to be drawn from the State Records Act 2000, the administrative records of the Commission, and any tribunal or court decisions that are not supplied here.

The Standards contain numerous concrete requirements and cross-cutting details that can create compliance traps if overlooked. The following are specific "gotchas" grounded in the Standards text and their Minimum Compliance Requirements.

Record keeping plan approver varies by organisation type

Different approvers apply depending on the organisation. Parliamentary departments consult with the Commission and have plans approved by the President of the Legislative Council or the Speaker (SRC Standard 2 Purpose). Government organisations listed in Schedule 3 must have plans approved by their relevant Minister (SRC Standard 2 Background). The Commission’s own plan must be approved by the Minister (SRC Standard 2 Background). Treat these approval loci as material to how and where you submit the plan.

Use of General Disposal Authorities is mandatory for certain classes

The Standards require State organisations to use the General Disposal Authority for Financial and Accounting Records and the General Disposal Authority for Human Resource Management Records; local governments must use the General Disposal Authority for Local Government Records (SRC Standard 2 Principle 5 Minimum Compliance Requirements; SRC Standard 3 Minimum Compliance Requirements). Do not re-schedule these records without specific and documented justification.

Ownership, custody and control are distinct and must be contractually addressed

SRC Standard 6 separately defines ownership, custody and control and requires contracts to explicitly state which records transfer custody, which remain property of the State, and what intellectual property rights apply (SRC Standard 6 Principle 2 Minimum Compliance Requirements). Confusing these concepts in contracts creates real operational risk at contract end.

Contractor-created records remain subject to State disposal authorities unless otherwise specified

Contracts must define ownership of records created by contractors and ensure State organisations retain rights to records and to their disposal in accordance with WA law (SRC Standard 6 Principle 2 and Principle 4 Minimum Compliance Requirements). Failure to set this out risks records being unavailable or subject to alternative disposal rules.

Access levels and public access default

State archives are intended to be open at some point in their life and archives older than 25 years in an organisation’s custody are generally open to the public unless otherwise documented (SRC Standard 4 Principle 2 and Minimum Compliance Requirements). Organisations that retain archives must operationalise public access mechanisms. If an organisation wants to restrict access, it must document reasons and propose an open access date for Commission approval; proposals will be reviewed every five years (SRC Standard 4 Principle 1 and Minimum Compliance Requirements).

Disaster management and preservation are explicit obligations

The Standards require organisations to plan for disasters, to identify risks to records, and to have quick-response salvage and recovery strategies (SRC Standard 2 Principle 4 and Minimum Compliance Requirements). Treat records recovery as a live risk area and budget and test accordingly.

Language control and change management for metadata

The Standards require controlled vocabularies or file titling systems with authorised change control (SRC Standard 2 Principle 3 Minimum Compliance Requirements). In electronic systems, failure to implement controlled metadata will hinder integration and retrieval and may impair appraisal and disposal activities.

Five-year evaluation and reporting obligations

Organisations must evaluate record keeping efficiency and effectiveness at least once every five years, maintain a record keeping training program, and include relevant information in annual reports (SRC Standard 2 Principle 6 Minimum Compliance Requirements). This is an ongoing governance cost; missing the reporting and review schedule can undermine plan approval or subsequent disposal authorisation.

Transfer logistics on contract completion are detailed and timing-sensitive

The Standards insist on lead time, orderly transfer processes and documented handover provisions to minimise loss on contract completion (SRC Standard 6 Principle 7 Minimum Compliance Requirements). Short lead times and inadequate specifications produce significant risk of records loss or destruction.

Indexing and appraisal dependency on State Records Office guidance

Appraisal criteria must follow guidance in Records Disposal: A Handbook for Government Agencies and liaison with the State Records Office is expected (SRC Standard 3 Purpose and Minimum Compliance Requirements). If your appraisal does not follow that handbook, the Commission may decline to approve disposal authorities.

Confusion about "State archives that will not be transferred to the State archives collection"

The Standards require Retention and Disposal Schedules to identify which State archives will not be transferred to the State archives collection and to identify those that will be restricted and ages at which restrictions cease (SRC Standard 2 Principle 5 Minimum Compliance Requirements). Organisations must make deliberate decisions about whether archives remain in their custody or are transferred.

AS15489 adoption is recommended but interpretation can vary

The Standards require adoption of AS15489 as the model for best practice (SRC Standard 1 Minimum Compliance Requirements). AS15489 is a technical standard; applying it to specific organisational contexts requires technical interpretation. The Commission expects evidence that AS15489-based practices are implemented.

FOI interaction for restricted access applications

The Standards direct that the application mechanism for public access where restriction applies is via the Freedom of Information Act 1992 (SRC Standard 4 Minimum Compliance Requirements footnote). Managing FOI requests and archive restrictions requires coordination between records staff and FOI officers.

Intellectual property considerations in IT contracts

SRC Standard 6 alerts organisations to GITC IP specifications. Electronic records and system outputs may present IP ambiguity if contracts and technical specifications do not address ownership and re-use explicitly.

Multiple points of compliance evidence required in plans

A record keeping plan must provide detailed documentary evidence across many areas including historical background, mission, functions, enabling legislation, policies, procedures, technical standards, retention schedules and evidence of training and evaluation (SRC Standard 2 Minimum Compliance Requirements). Plans that are narrative-only or lacking documentary attachments may be rejected.

Each of these "gotchas" follows from explicit Minimum Compliance Requirements and definitions within the Standards text. Practitioners should map each item against their organisation’s record keeping plan, outsourcing agreements, procurement templates and archival transfer practices.

The Standards prescribe concrete components and evidence required in record keeping plans, outsourcing contracts and Retention and Disposal Schedules. Below is a practical compliance checklist derived from the Standards’ Minimum Compliance Requirements and Principles. Each line cites the Standard where the requirement is expressed.

Assemble the record keeping plan (SRC Standard 2, Purpose; SRC Standard 1 Minimum Compliance Requirements)
- Document the record keeping program in one or more documents that, when assessed as a whole, reflect systems, disposal arrangements, policies, practices and processes.
- Evidence adoption of Australian Standard AS15489 as the model for best practice (SRC Standard 1 Minimum Compliance Requirements).
- Include historical background, mission statement, main business activities and stakeholders (SRC Standard 2 Principle 1 Minimum Compliance Requirements).
Map legal and regulatory obligations (SRC Standard 2 Principle 1 Minimum Compliance Requirements; SRC Standard 3 Minimum Compliance Requirements)
- Compile a list of enabling legislation, administered legislation and other laws affecting record keeping and retention minima.
- Document specific statutory retention requirements and reconcile them with General Disposal Authorities.
Develop policies and standard operating procedures (SRC Standard 2 Principle 2 Minimum Compliance Requirements)
- Create authorised record keeping policy statements at senior level and make them available to all employees.
- Document roles and responsibilities for staff who manage or perform record keeping tasks.
- Ensure policies cover all record formats and all lifecycle stages: creation, capture, security, access, appraisal, retention and disposal.
- Address scope of policies (divisions, branches, regional offices and outsourced contractors) and custodianship during organisational restructures.
Implement language control and indexing mechanisms (SRC Standard 2 Principle 3 Minimum Compliance Requirements)
- Deploy an appropriate tool (thesaurus, file titling system, authorised headings) for consistent naming and retrieval.
- Implement change control and authorisation processes for the tool.
Create preservation and disaster management arrangements (SRC Standard 2 Principle 4 Minimum Compliance Requirements)
- Identify and assess disaster risks to recorded information.
- Draft and test disaster management strategies for prevention, response and recovery, including quick-response salvage plans.
Prepare Retention and Disposal Schedule(s) (SRC Standard 2 Principle 5 Minimum Compliance Requirements; SRC Standard 3 Minimum Compliance Requirements)
- Use the appropriate General Disposal Authorities for financial, accounting and human resources records unless there is documented justification to vary.
- Identify records that will be State archives, which will be restricted access archives, those not transferred to State archives collection and retention periods for non-archival records.
- Liaise with the State Records Office and use Records Disposal: A Handbook for Government Agencies as prescribed for appraisal.
Embed compliance, training and monitoring (SRC Standard 2 Principle 6 Minimum Compliance Requirements)
- Implement a record keeping training program and induction that addresses employee roles and responsibilities.
- Evaluate record keeping systems no less than once every five years and review the efficiency and effectiveness of training.
- Include appropriate reporting on these activities in the organisation’s annual report.
For restricted access archives (SRC Standard 4 Principle 1 and Principle 2 Minimum Compliance Requirements)
- Conduct a considered appraisal to identify restricted archives.
- Document the reasons for restriction, originator of archives, proposed open access date, whether restriction is total or conditional and the formal application process.
- Prepare to submit access recommendations to the Commission for authorisation and note that restrictions will be reviewed at least every five years.
Outsourcing contract checklist (SRC Standard 6 Principles 1-7 and Minimum Compliance Requirements)
- During planning, identify specific record keeping requirements imposed by enabling legislation and ensure contract language reflects that analysis.
- Specify records transferred to contractor custody, those remaining the property of the State organisation and any records retained by the contractor at contract end.
- Define ownership of intellectual property created by the contractor and any limitations on contractor use of records, including restrictions on commercial exploitation.
- Ensure the contract binds both parties to the State Records Act 2000 and the Standards.
- Prescribe disposal obligations in accordance with WA legislation and require an approved Retention and Disposal Schedule covering all outsourced records.
- Specify access arrangements: unlimited access to the organisation, public access arrangements, and the maintenance of access parity compared to before outsourcing.
- Detail custody arrangements including environmental, security, container requirements, documentation and arrangement of records. Notify the State Records Office of off-site storage locations.
- Include detailed contract completion provisions: return of State records in accessible format, provisions to manage change of contractor, lead time for record transfer, and monitoring/reporting obligations to the State Records Commission.
Ensure technical interoperability and data format considerations (SRC Standard 6 Principle 3 Minimum Compliance Requirements)
- Specify technical standards so information created and managed by contractors can integrate with other government or private service provider systems.
- Ensure electronic records are captured within the organisation’s record keeping systems or in a way that permits appraisal, retention and disposal in accordance with approved schedules.
Prepare for approvals and liaison (SRC Standard 2 Background; SRC Standard 3 Background)
- For government organisations, identify the appropriate approving authority (Commission, Minister, President/Speaker) and the process required.
- Compile documentary evidence to submit with the record keeping plan: policies, retention schedules, disaster plans, training programs, evaluations and examples of system documentation.
- Liaise with the State Records Office on appraisal and disposal matters as required.
Maintain audit trail and documentation for approvals and disposal (SRC Standard 2 Principle 5 Minimum Compliance Requirements)
- Document any previous disposal authorities and ensure that new Retention and Disposal Schedules refer to General Disposal Authorities where relevant.
- Maintain records of Commission determinations on restricted access, disposal authorities and plan approvals.
Review and update (ongoing)
- Evaluate and update the record keeping plan, retention schedules, disaster plans and outsourcing contractual clauses as business functions change.
- Ensure the language control tool can be augmented and adjusted with controlled and recorded changes (SRC Standard 2 Principle 3 Minimum Compliance Requirements).
- Prepare to respond to Commission queries and to resubmit plan materials where additional evidence is requested.

Practical implementation tips drawn from the Standards:

Use the State Records Office handbooks and the Australian Standard AS15489 to structure plan documentation and system design (SRC Standard 1 Background; SRC Standard 2 Bibliography).
Keep traceable evidence for every Minimum Compliance Requirement; the Commission will require documentary evidence when approving plans.
Treat outsourcing as a records risk project: involve legal, procurement, records management and IT early in contract design to ensure technical and legal clauses align.
Build capacity to respond to disaster recovery scenarios for records, including off-site storage arrangements with environmental and security specifications described in contracts or storage agreements.

Compulsory next steps for an organisation starting compliance:

Inventory records and map them to business functions and enabling legislation (SRC Standard 2 Principle 1 Minimum Compliance Requirements).
Identify which records fall under General Disposal Authorities and which require organisation-specific Retention and Disposal Schedule items (SRC Standard 2 Principle 5).
Draft the record keeping plan document set including policies, retention schedules, disaster management plans, language control tools and training strategies.
Submit the plan to the appropriate approver with full documentary evidence and be prepared for Commission queries and iterative review (SRC Standard 2 Background).

Following this checklist aligns an organisation with the Standards’ Minimum Compliance Requirements and provides the documentary record the State Records Commission expects to evaluate.

State Records Principles and Standards 2002

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