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Latest News at the SRO
This section provides the latest announcements and information on activities occurring at the State Records Office of Western Australia.
Revised Policy for Local Government Elected Members’ Records
The policy approach of the State Records Commission in monitoring the recordkeeping obligations in respect to Local Government elected members is:
In relation to the recordkeeping requirements of Local Government elected members, records must be created and kept which properly and adequately record the performance of member functions arising from their participation in the decision making processes of Council and Committees of Council.
This requirement should be met through the creation and retention of records of meetings of Council and Committees of Council of local government and other communications and transactions of elected members which constitute evidence affecting the accountability of the Council and the discharge of its business.
Local governments must ensure that appropriate practices are established to facilitate the ease of capture and management of elected members’ records up to and including the decision making processes of Council.
Local Governments are to address the management of elected members’ government records in accordance with this policy, in their Recordkeeping Plans.
Please contact the State Records Office on 9427 3371 or by email on sro@sro.wa.gov.au for further detail or assistance with the implementation of this policy.
General Disposal Authority for Source Records
The State Records Commission of Western Australia is pleased to announce the release of the General Disposal Authority (GDA) for Source Records. This GDA may be applied by State and local government organizations within WA.
The GDA for Source Records enables the legal destruction of source records that have been successfully digitized in accordance with the accompanying Digitization Specification.
State Records Office Guidelines
The State Records Office (SRO) is pleased to announce the release of two new guidelines -
SRO Guideline: Management of digital records
SRO Guideline: Management of email records
The guidelines have been developed to assist State government organizations to manage digital records and email records, created or received by the organization, in accordance with SRC Standard 8: Digital recordkeeping. Procedures for the management of those records must be included in the organization’s approved Recordkeeping Plan.
State Records Commission – State Records Award
W S Lonnie Award 2008
Winning agency – Disability Services Commission
Each year the State Records Commission sponsors a special W S Lonnie Award for excellence in reporting against the compliance requirements of SRC Standard 2, Principle 6 in their Annual Reports.
The Annual Reports of all State government organizations are considered for this Award and progress through two short listing phases. The final short listing yielded the Annual Reports of 20 organizations for consideration of the independent judging panel. The Reports were evaluated according to how well the following criteria were addressed:
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the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization’s recordkeeping systems are evaluated not less than once every five years;
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the organization conducts a recordkeeping training program;
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the efficiency and effectiveness of the recordkeeping training program are reviewed from time to time; and
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the organization’s induction program addresses employees’ roles and responsibilities in regard to their compliance with the agency’s recordkeeping plan.
At the Institute of Public Administration Australia’s W S Lonnie Awards presentation on 17 June 2009, the Director of State Records, Ms Cathrin Cassarchis, was delighted to announce the Disability Services Commission (the Commission) as the recipient of the 2008 State Records Award.
The Commission impressed the judging panel with the excellent descriptions of practices and initiatives; mandatory recordkeeping training and induction programs; on-line quizzes and reviews designed to gauge the effectiveness of training; and the inclusion of recordkeeping practices as part of the internal audit and risk management reporting programs. The Commission is a very worthy recipient of this prestigious Award.
In addition, a special commendation was awarded to the Fremantle Port Authority for the clear and concise reporting of a number of recordkeeping initiatives already implemented with the identification of more still to come.
The State Records Commission and the State Records Office extend congratulations to both organizations for such marvelous entries.
1978 State Cabinet records released
Each year the State Records Office marks the release of the State Cabinet records from their 30 year restriction access period, on or near Western Australia’s Foundation Day - a day chosen by the State Records Office, not only because it commemorates the arrival of the first settlers in the Swan River Colony in 1829, but because it also marks the commencement of Government in Western Australia.
The 1978 State Cabinet records reveal the concerns of Sir Charles Court’s government about various issues, including: the serious health effects of asbestos on the remaining residents of Wittenoom and the decision to close the town forever; the expansion of Bauxite mining in the South West; plans for Uranium mining at Yeelirrie; and approval for drought relief and cloud seeding research.
In 1978 State Cabinet also approved late night shopping one night a week; public service dress reforms allowing public servants to wear shirts without ties; and plans to mark the 150th anniversary of British settlement in WA in 1979. However, Cabinet did not approve of Sunday Football, or moves to ban tinted windows on vehicles.
For more detailed information about the records please see the online Guide to the 1978 State Cabinet records.
A digitised copy of the original Index of the 1978 State Cabinet records is also provided to assist researchers.
The 1978 State Cabinet records can be accessed at the State Records Office’s Search Room, situated on the Ground Floor of the Alexander Library Building in the Perth Cultural Centre.
Margaret Medcalf Award
Isla Macphail is the winner of the Margaret Medcalf Award for 2009 for her book Highest Privilege and Bounden Duty: A study of Western Australian parliamentary elections 1829-1901, published in 2008 by the Western Australian Electoral Commission. The announcement was made by Ms Justine McDermott, Manager: Archives and Records Management Services at the University of Western Australia and State Records Commissioner, on 20 May 2008. Ms Macphail received her prize of $1,000 from Margaret Medcalf.
Annual Report for 2007/2008
The Annual Report of the State Records Commission for 2007/2008 is now available online.
State History Uncovered
Through the generous support of the Friends of Battye Library Inc., the State Records Office has been improving access to a vital source of Western Australia’s history. Read more on our State History Uncovered page.
Armistice Day
To commemorate Armistice Day, the State Records Office presents some of the story and documents from our collection surrounding the event, 90 years ago this year.
General Disposal Authority for Local Government Records- Review Survey
The State Records Office of WA (SRO) is conducting a review of the current GDALG (1999). The first phase of the process is to conduct a survey of the coverage and applicability of the current GDALG.
For further information and to download a copy of the survey, please visit the Review Survey page.
If you have any queries regarding the GDALG Review Survey please contact Martin Fordham via email or by phone on 9427 3363.
New State Records Commission Standard 7 - Storage of State Archives
The State Records Commission (SRC) is pleased to advise that SRC Standard 7 - Storage of State Archives retained by State Organizations through an approved Recordkeeping Plan was gazetted on 4 June 2008. Standard 7 may be downloaded from this website.
New State Records Office Information Sheet - Email Records
The State Records Office is pleased to announce the release of an information sheet developed to assist State Government organisations to identify those email messages, created or received by the organisation, which are State records.
The information sheet may be downloaded from the State Records Office website.
A tale of three ships
To mark ANZAC day and the discovery of the HMAS Sydney, the State Records Office presents a sampling of documents relating to the events surrounding the sinking of the Sydney.
New State Records Commission Standard 8 - Digital Recordkeeping
The State Records Commission (SRC) is pleased to advise that SRC Standard 8 - Digital Recordkeeping was gazetted on 29th February 2008.
The Standard and associated Guidelines may be downloaded from the State Records Office website.
New Digital Archive Test System for Western Australia
Western Australia will take a leap into the future with the development of a new Digital Archive for the State Government through the State Records Office.
For more information, the full Media Release for this project is available for download.
Convict records of Western Australia
The UNESCO Memory of the World Register has listed Western Australia's convict records. Nowhere else in the world do the complete records of the inner workings of an 18th-19th century penal system exist over such an extended period.
