Disposal of State Records

The State Records Office (SRO) advises State and local government organizations on the legislative requirements governing State records and the process of gaining approval for the disposal of State records.  Disposal may refer either to the destruction of State records or the transfer of State records of archival value to the SRO for permanent retention.
The effective disposal of records is essential for the efficient operation of any records system. Failure to dispose of records regularly and appropriately results in the unnecessary and costly use of space, equipment and staff.

Under the State Records Act 2000, State records may only be destroyed under an approved Records Disposal Authority.  The State Records Commission approves Records Disposal Authorities.

Records Disposal Authorities

State records can only be disposed of via one or more of the following authorities:

Under the State Records Act 2000, every government organisation is required to have a Recordkeeping Plan approved by the State Records Commission.  The Recordkeeping Plan will incorporate the Retention and Disposal Schedule for a government organisation’s functional records.

General Disposal Authorities

To assist State and local government organizations in the disposal of State records, the State Records Office (the SRO) has developed three General Disposal Authorities (GDAs) which cover the majority of common administrative, financial and human resource records generated by State government organizations, and a GDA which covers all the records of local government organizations.  

In addition, the SRO has developed the GDA for Source Records which provides for the legal destruction of source records that have been successfully digitized in accordance with the accompanying Digitization Specification.

The GDAs have been approved by the State Records Commission.

These are:

*The State Records Commission is pleased to publish the fully revised General Disposal Authority for Local Government Records (GDALG – RD 2010046). This GDALG may now be applied by local government organizations within Western Australia to ensure records are disposed of in a legal and timely manner.  Once applied, the revised GDALG will authorise the disposal of a wide range of records created and received by local government.

Please note that, due to the publication of the revised GDALG, the previous version (RD 99004) must no longer be used for the sentencing and disposal of records.  Appendix A of the GDALG and a Guideline, Resentencing Records: implementing a revised General Disposal Authority, are designed to assist local governments in the implementation of the revised GDALG.

For further queries please contact the State Records Office on 9427 3433 or via email to amanda.casselton@sro.wa.gov.au

Government organizations should apply the appraisal and disposal decisions contained in the GDAs to their own records in these categories.

The Administrative, Financial and Accounting and Human Resource Management GDAs have been produced specifically for State government organizations.  Local government organizations should only use the GDALG. The GDA for Source Records may be applied by State and local government organizations within WA.

Record series not covered by the GDAs should be incorporated, in consultation with the SRO, into the government organization’s own Retention and Disposal Schedule.

To ensure that the GDAs maintain their relevance they are periodically reviewed and updated by the SRO in consultation with representatives of State and local government organizations.

See the Recordkeeping Publications section to download the GDAs and for information on how to purchase the GDAs in electronic format.

Sector Disposal Authorities

The State Records Office (SRO) has implemented a program to develop a suite of Sector Disposal Authorities (SDAs) across State government.

Currently, each State government organization is required to have an approved Recordkeeping Plan, which is to be reviewed every five years. A significant component of the Plan is the Retention and Disposal Schedule; also to be reviewed every five years.

The SRO’s SDA program is designed to eliminate the need for individual organization’s to produce and conduct five yearly reviews of their Retention and Disposal Schedule.

In consultation with the relevant government organizations involved, an SDA for the ‘sector’ will be developed, published, managed, and reviewed every five years by the SRO: thus eliminating the duplication of process required by the organizations; reducing time and resource imposts on the organizations; and establishing consistent and uniform approaches to the legal disposal of government information within the sector.

The SRO and the State Records Commission are pleased to release the first SDA, the SDA for Regional Development Commissions, covering nine organizations. This SDA is available online.

The second SDA is in development and will cover Port Authorities within Schedule 1 of the Port Authorities Act 1999.

For queries about the SDA Program please contact the SRO on 9427 3363 or email martin.fordham@sro.wa.gov.au

Retention and Disposal Schedules

As of April 2007, every State government organization had an approved Retention and Disposal Schedule (R&D) for their specific functional records.

Each State government organization is required to review their R&D within five years of its approval date and submit a report of the review to the SRO.

The R&D Review report is to describe whether or not:

  • The organization’s functions have changed significantly;
  • The organization’s processes have changed significantly;
  • New categories of records have been identified or created; or
  • Existing disposal decisions have been re-considered or changed.

The SRO will advise the organization on further actions (such as whether a revised R&D is required and the timeline for submission) on receipt of the R&D Review Report.

Templates are available for use by State organizations when required to develop or revise their R&D.  In addition, a guideline and instructions are available to assist in the preparation of an R&D.

For queries about reviews, revisions, and development of R&Ds please contact the SRO on 9427 3363 or email martin.fordham@sro.wa.gov.au

Ad Hoc Disposal Authority

An Ad Hoc Disposal Authority is a specific instance disposal authority relating to one or a limited number of series, or an identified part of a series of records.  This kind of authority is most often used when old or superseded records are being appraised for disposal.

The purpose of an Ad Hoc Disposal Authority is to authorise disposal action on a once-only basis, i.e. for records in a specific category or date range.

The Ad Hoc Disposal Authority should list the categories or series of records to be disposed of, the date range for the category or series, together with a disposal recommendation of A (Archive) or D (Destroy) against each category.

For queries about Ad Hoc Disposal Authorities please contact the SRO on 9427 3363 or email martin.fordham@sro.wa.gov.au

Disposal Lists

A Disposal List is an itemised list of records in which individual items, not necessarily from the same series, have been recommended by the government organization for transfer to the SRO or destruction.

A Disposal List is most appropriately used for the urgent disposal of records arising from some kind of damage or contamination of the records which requires immediate action.

For queries about Disposal Lists please contact the SRO on 9427 3363 or email martin.fordham@sro.wa.gov.au

Online Retention and Disposal Application (ORDA)

The SRO has developed a web-based system that will enable government agency Retention and Disposal Schedules to be drafted and submitted to the SRO securely online. Visit the ORDA webpage for further information.

Creating a Disposal Authority

The State Records Office (SRO) can advise government organizations on the legislative requirements governing State records and the processes involved in gaining approval to transfer or destroy State records.

In addition, SRO staff can assist government personnel with the evaluation of records and the process of developing a Disposal Authority.  Disposal Authorities can apply:

  • to records in a superseded filing system;
  • where an agency is ceasing its operations;
  • to a large accumulation of old records; and
  • to the disposal of current records.

Appraisal Criteria

Appraisal is the process of determining which records are to be retained as archives and which will be destroyed.  To appraise records effectively, it is necessary to understand the social, business and administrative context in which the records were created.  This may include why the organization was created, its relationship with other organizations, and its core business and administrative functions.

Temporary records may be governed by legislative requirements dictating minimum periods for retention before destruction.

Archives are records which are kept permanently because of their continuing value.

Temporary records can be destroyed once they no longer have any value, in accordance with an approved disposal authority.

In the appraisal process the following values should be taken into account:

Administrative value – records which document the activities and functions of the organization, and which are important to the continuity of an organization’s day-to-day business.  Minutes of meetings, policy files and some subject files are examples of records having administrative value.  Such records should have ceased to contribute to an organization’s business activities before their disposal.

Legal value – records which have legal value to individuals, organizations or the Government, or which form proof of agreement, contract or lease.  Records with legal value include birth, death and marriage records, lease documents, treaty documents, contracts and wills.

Financial value – financial records which show how money was obtained, allocated, controlled and spent.

Historical value- the research value of an organization’s records lies in the fact that a picture of the organization and its activities over time can be drawn from the records which have been kept.  Such records may have one or more of the values given above and will include records that document the organization’s establishment and functions.  Determining the historical value of records is often a more subjective process than assessing administrative or legal value.  The final assessment will be made by the State Records Office.

Note: In determining the above values, an overriding consideration is the need for organizations to demonstrate accountability for their policies and actions.  The extent to which records reflect these factors will have a significant influence on the way in which they are sentenced.

Records which should be considered for permanent retention as archives:

  • records documenting the establishment of an organization;
  • agenda, minutes and reports of the governing body;
  • committee agenda, minutes and reports;
  • files relating to internal policy;
  • reports on major projects;
  • reports on projects of importance to the community;
  • records documenting the organization’s input into the drafting of legislation;
  • legal opinion which sets precedents for organizational policy;
  • selected personal files (for disposal of personal files, refer to the General Disposal Authority for Human Resource Management Records or the General Disposal Authority for Local Government Records, whichever applies);
  • major organization and functional charts; and
  • financial records up to the early part of the twentieth century which show how money was obtained, allotted, controlled and spent.  (This does not imply that later records of this sort should not be appraised for their archival value.)

Many other records may be of archival value.  The staff of the SRO are available to assist organizations in identifying such records.

Transfer of State Records

Refer to Transferring Archival Records to the State Records Office. 

Methods of Destruction for State Records

When non-archival value State records have exceeded their minimum retention period, as stated in an approved records disposal authority, steps should be taken to ensure that the records are destroyed in a secure manner.

The SRO recommends that paper based records due for destruction should only be destroyed by shredding, pulping or trommelling.  Burning or burying of State records are not acceptable methods of destruction. Government organizations located outside the Perth metropolitan area should contact the SRO for advice regarding destruction.

Government organizations should ensure that appropriate methods are used when destroying electronic records.  Most operating systems do not actually destroy the electronic file when the ‘file delete’ option is selected.  They simply remove the file name from the directory.  There are several methods to provide greater certainty that data cleansed from magnetic media cannot be reconstructed.  These methods differ in the manner of application and the level of assurance that data cannot be reconstructed or retrieved.  The method chosen will be determined by the risk analysis, conducted prior to disposal, and the level of sensitivity of the content of the stored data.

For further information refer to the SRO Guidelines: Sanitizing Digital Media and Devices and Management of Digital Records.

Further Information

For advice on how to proceed with obtaining authorisation to dispose of records or for information on using Disposal Authorities, please contact the Recordkeeping Services Team on (08) 9427 3365 or via email at sro@sro.wa.gov.au.