Recordkeeping Services
Awareness of records management is growing rapidly today. It is increasingly acknowledged that the efficient control of recorded information leads to effective management which, in turn, means that information is more easily retrieved, readily identifiable and economically managed. Recordkeeping services provide for the corporate memory of Government. They document Government accountability, preserve the evidence of Government activities, enable timely access to current administrative information, and ensure that records of archival value are marked for preservation at the time of creation, and not inadvertently destroyed. The end result is the capture of heritage documents and their accessibility for the community.
Recordkeeping services straddle a continuum: at the one end is the creation of the record and its active management and use; in the middle, its semi-active phase; at the other, its final disposition. The first two phases place the function firmly into the category of business activity per se; the last one into the category popularly referred to as archival. Clients in the first two phases comprise Government agencies; in the last named category, the public as well.
The Recordkeeping Services Team provides an important consultative and advisory role in support of records managers in both State and Local Government. The team focuses on the management of current and intermediate records (that is, before those records become archives) and record systems. Services include facilitating efficient and effective records management systems in State and Local Government agencies, developing policies, standards and manuals on records and archival systems, delivering consultancy services to agencies, and developing and delivering training programs in manual and electronic records management systems, archival appraisal, and retention and disposal scheduling.
The Recordkeeping Services Team aims to promote best practice for recordkeeping, and to this end supports compliance with Australian Standard AS 4390 issued in February 1996.
For more information on the types of services offered by the Recordkeeping Services Team see the Services to Government section.
