Recordkeeping Manual - University Records
- So what is a University Record?
- Who manages University Records?
- Who is responsible for University Records?
- University Record formats
- Examples of University Records
- What records go on file?
- What records do not need to go on file?
- When to create a Records File
- File Types
- Access and security
- Disposal of university records
- Recordkeeping before leaving the University
- Active, Semi-Active and Inactive Records
- Contacts
1. So What is a University Record?
University records, including those created through the use of word processing or electronic mail, must be retained as part of the University's public record and are subject to the State Records Act 2000 and to the provisions of the disposal authorities managed by the Records and Archives Office, which include the general disposal authorities produced by the State Records Office.
University records are those that have value beyond the local work area. This means records that need to be seen or actioned by others, other than the creator of the record and relate in some way to the University's business.
Examples of such records are records which:
- constitute formal communication between staff; or between staff and students. Note: Often what appears to be an informal exchange may develop into a more serious matter requiring formal intervention. A "file note" which briefly records the principal matters discussed, the people involved, and the date and time of the exchange should be made and filed;
- constitute formal communication between a University entity and another internal or external entity
- approve or authorise actions or expenditure;
- signify changes in policy, or procedure or record policy or procedural development;
- contain an instruction or advice which will constitute a precedent;
- involve negotiations on behalf of the University;
- impact upon other members of the University community individually or upon organisational entities within the University.
It should be noted that not all records created on University campuses are University records. For example communications between students are not university records, assignments, essays or other works created by students are in general not university records, however copies of theses papers that are required to be deposited to the University Library are. Also records held by staff relating to their professional and private activities are not the property of the university.
2. Who Manages University Records?
Most records of University are not centrally managed during their active life, in most cases these records are managed by the various sections and departments of the University that are dealing with the contents or subject matter of the records.
There are some record types that are centrally managed, these include staff information through Staff Services. The Records and Archives Office manage original copies of all legal agreements, contracts and other legal documents.
This manual is provided to ensure that all areas that do manage their own records have the tools and the guides to ensure they meet the minimum requirements to manage university records.
The Records and Archives Office manages those records of the Central Administration.
3. Who is Responsible for University Records?
All university employees have a responsibility to ensure university records are appropriately created and managed in accordance to the University Recordkeeping Plan and the Records Management Procedures. Staff are directed to appendix 2 of the Records Management Procedures for a brief outline of their responsibilities in regard to the management of university records.
Staff should also be aware that a breach in their responsibilities could result in a breach of the State Records Act 2000 and lead to possible prosecution, with a penalty of up to $10,000 per breach.
The Records and Archives Office is responsible for providing a central repository for areas located within the Vice Chancellory and buildings 100 and 101 records, those areas of the Vice Chancellory located outside those building may still choose to have their records maintained by the Records and Archives Office or may choose to establish and set-up a recordkeeping unit within their area to ensure official university records are maintained in accordance to the University Recordkeeping Plan and Records Management Procedures.
The Records and Archives Office is also responsible for issuing guidelines, such as this manual, and other information, advice and assistance to help all areas to conform to the requirements of university recordkeeping.
Areas external to the Vice Chancellory are required to establish and set-up appropriate recordkeeping centres, office or units to facilitate the collation and official registration of University records.
All senior staff within the university such as managers, unit heads, team Leaders, Area Heads, Heads of Schools, Directors, Executives, Deputy Vice Chancellors etc are responsible for ensuring their area, unit, School, Division etc are complying with the University Recordkeeping Plan and Records Management Procedures in regard to the management of all university records, including administrative, student, staff, committee and any other record type created.
There are many different functions within the University as explained within Part 3 of this manual, however apart from the different categories university records can fall into we also have different versions, drafts, working documents, file notes, post it notes and other formats. So what do we do withal these types of records?
- Policy Documents
- Procedure Documents
- Legal Documents:
- Agreements
- Contracts
- Tender Documents
- Settlements
- University wide manuals
- High level committee documents
- User manuals
- User guides
- Committee reports
- are distributed for information purposes e.g. newsletters, brochures, advertisements, invitations, circulars, general notices, copies of document extracts;
- are drafts of documents (except where they track significant changes which may be referred to in an evidentiary way);
- are created solely as part of the preparation for other records;
- are personal messages and announcements which are unrelated to official University business.
- drafts relating to University policy or procedures, with significant or substantial changes relative to a previous version, or the subsequent version; or containing annotations made by a more senior officer, whose views on the draft are important, or who is the officer who is responsible for the final document;
- drafts relating to the formulation of legislation or amendments to existing legislation;
- drafts of legal documents e.g. Agreements, Contracts, Tenders for Provision of Service.
- working papers/records of a staff member who is working on a project/investigation, where the papers constitute the original, substantive record of the project/investigation (i.e. they contain substantial and valuable information not found elsewhere);
- papers in an "unofficial" filing system, where a registered file has yet to be created within the University's recordkeeping system. Such papers must be sent for filing when the project/investigation is complete.
4.1 Original Record
The original record is always the most important record and therefore is the record that must be retained. However if the original is being sent as part of its action to another Area/School/Division etc, or to an external organisation then obviously the original cannot be retained as it must be sent to the recipient, in this case a copy of that original must be made and placed on file as the university official copy.
The original record will always be used as the most official version of any record, such as in a court of law the original record (untampered with) will always be the best evidence of any action, however this is not to say that a copy has no evidence as a copy provides evidence that the original does or did exist.
Staff must ensure they do not place original university records on working files, or personal office files, they must be placed on official university files at all times.
4.2 Version Control
Often when a record is being created there may be more than one version of the document. A version is where a user decides to edit the original record , but instead saves a copy of the original and subsequent versions for historical or reference purposes. It is also a case where a document is updated through a review process and the existing version is superseded with a new version. Commonly version control is used for policy and procedure development and legal documents.
Depending on the type of document many versions of documents need to be retained as evidence of the documents development, this is especially the case for any policy documents, procedure documents, legal documents, tender documents and high level committee documents.
Superseded manuals or guides are also often retained as part of a history of how the organisation operated and have many times been referred to as a reference to past information about an organisation, Curtin is no different.
The following is a guide to what must be retained;
The following are optional but recommended version control documents;
In general staff are requested to contact the Records and Archives Office if they are unsure whether a version of a record should be retained.
4.3 Ephemeral Records
If the University was to keep every piece of paper, email, drawing or other record created at the University there would simply be a continuous build up of paper that could never be managed and that paperwork would contain many items of very little value to the organisation, today or in the future.
Records of very short term or only local value are defined as ephemeral records, these records contain information that is of little to no value to anyone else or for that fact the university at all, these may be simply email messages asking you to go to lunch, or asking when a meeting is or be a piece of advertising, there are many records that are considered ephemeral, some examples are records which;
4.4 Duplicate Records
Photocopiers, printers and other printing machines are the culprits of the ever increasing volume of duplicate material within offices at the University, with a common duplicate record being committee records.
Duplicate records cost money and take up valuable space on shelves, in cupboards and staff resources to manage them. Staff are asked to ensure when making a duplicate it is marked as being a duplicate so it can safely be identified as being a duplicate and therefore have no value past its current reference needs.
Financial records are also prolific, as are student and staff records, staff must become vigilant in making copies ad obtain access to records through appropriate means of the official file.
Staff must also be aware that a duplicate can be become an original record if the duplicate is annotated with information that is meaningful and would be required to be retained as evidence as a university record.
4.5 Drafts
Like version control drafts can also be of importance to show how a document has been created, a draft often provides the insight and reasons why a document was created and how it was created.
Drafts however can be prolific and often documents are drafted and never actually created and/or finished, therefore care must be taken as to what drafts are to be retained, the following guide id provided as to what drafts are to be retained;
4.6 Working Documents
Working documents are very much like drafts, however these are the documents that usually lead to a draft being completed, commonly working documents are the data for a document and the draft is the document is development.
As with drafts there are some working documents that need to be retained, these include;
4.7 Electronic Records
Records are records regardless of whether they are on paper or on screen, regardless of format all records need to be managed in accordance to the University Recordkeeping Plan and Records management Procedures
Users of this manual are directed to Part 7 on Electronic Recordkeeping for more detailed information.
4.8 Facsimile Records
Documents that are received by fax are also records however due to the nature of facsimile and there purpose of use, facsimile documents are usually require urgent attention or action. For this purpose it is normal for the facsimile document to be sent direct to the recipient instead of being placed on file first. It is then the responsibility of the recipient to ensure the facsimile message is placed on the official file once the urgent action has been attended to.
Where a facsimile machine still uses thermal paper all facsimiles received on that machine that are to be placed on file must be copied onto standard paper and the copy placed on the file, thermal paper has only a short life span and therefore is not a suitable medium for the storage of university information. Once a copy has been made the thermal copy may be destroyed.
When sending a facsimile the date the document(s) were faxed should be clearly written/stamped onto the document itself to denote it has been faxed, this is for evidentiary purposes. Some facsimile machines also provide a receipt of transmission, if this is the case attach that receipt to the document for placement onto file.
Often the original document will arrive a few days later as confirmation of the sending of the record, where this is the case the original document must also be placed on file, and not in place of the facsimile copy,. This is due to the facsimile showing evidence that it was received via facsimile.
The same is for sending facsimile messages, out, users may optionally after sending the facsimile out to follow that facsimile up by sending the original copy ensuring the recipient has received the information. Where the original is sent a copy of the original is to be placed on the appropriate file.
4.9 Post-it Notes
Post it notes are not to be used for recording any university information that would constitute it as a university records. Post it notes are to be only used for ephemeral information only.
Where a post it note has been used to convey information that is meaningful and is of value to the university it must be photocopied onto an A4 piece of paper and then placed on file. Post it notes themselves should not be placed on file they often fall of and the glue on the post it notes can damage a the ink on a record within the file.
4.10 Telephone Conversations.
During a telephone conversation there can be significant amounts of information discussed that if a decision is made or an authority is given then that has value to the university as evidence of a transaction. Staff when using the telephone for business should assess the conversation and determine whether a record of the conversation is warranted, this is usually the case where approval of something has been given a decision has been made, an agreement has been made or something similar.
Staff should make a file not of the discussion and any conclusions that come form the conversation, they should then provide a copy of the file note to the other person in the discussion and check the file not is correct, obviously the file note is to be attached to the relevant file.
5. Examples of University Records
The University has a diverse number of functions across all campuses and as such has various types of records created in its daily operations, the following is provided as a guide to those record types but it is not an exhaustive list.
- setting up a committee;
- terms of reference;
- meetings;
- minutes and agendas;
- attachments or tabled papers;
- membership information, including selection and election procedures
Academic Ventures
Records relating to the establishing or developing academic ventures for mutual understandings and cooperation, whether formal or informal, between departments, faculties, schools, colleges, universities (and equivalents) or other academic organisations for the exchange of information, expertise, staff and students and for general academic cooperation including joint research in fields of mutual interest and benefit, with the implicit intention that contact and collaboration should continue.
Committee Records
These include records of:
Community Relations
Records relating to establishing rapport with the community and raising and maintaining the University's broad public profile. Includes marketing, advertising, media liaison, exhibitions, celebrations, ceremonies, speeches, official representation at functions and participation in community activities. Also includes relationships with professional bodies and industry (but not private relationships with staff individually), the management of customer services, handling reactions to those services and customer consultation and feedback.
Compensation
Records covering the function of providing compensation to personnel and visitors injured while proceeding to or from work, during working hours or on the organisation's premises. Includes the rehabilitation of injured workers, and compensation for damage to property where such damage is claimed as the organisation's responsibility.
Contracts/Agreements
Includes records relating to the drafting or drawing up of terms and conditions, legal agreements, contracts, settlements and also includes the signing of agreements. Original agreements should be transferred to the Records and Archives Office for appropriate vital record storage, as most agreement files would be vital records.
Course management
Records relating to the development and management of courses provided by the University. Includes the development, establishment, accreditation and management of the University's programs and courses, methodology and policy for evaluation of the courses and programs.
Equipment and Stores
Records relating to acquiring, supplying, maintaining, repairing and disposing of equipment and stores stocked and used by the organisation. Items of equipment include instruments, implements, tools, machines, plant, furniture and furnishings. Stores include chemicals, hardware, homeware items, kitchen/cleaning items, medical supplies and stationary.
Establishment
Records related to establishing and changing the organisational structure through establishing and reviewing positions. Includes classification and grading of positions and the preparation of organisational charts.
Financial Management
Records dealing with managing the organisation's financial resources. Includes establishing, operating and maintaining accounting systems, controls and procedures, financial planning, framing budgets and budget submissions, obtaining grants, managing funds in the form of allocations from the Consolidated Fund and revenue from charging, trading and investments. Also includes the monitoring and analysis of assets to assist the delivery of economic and social services to government, industry and the community.
Fleet Management
Records related to acquiring, managing, maintaining, repairing and disposing of vehicles. Vehicles are any means of conveyance owned or used by the organisation to transport people or items.
Government Relations
Records related to administering the formal relationship between the University and those processes of government. Includes the University's relationship with Ministers and Members of Parliament and the political processes of Government; liaison with bodies carrying out investigations and participating in formal inquiries and investigations such as Royal Commissions, and inquiries by Parliamentary Committees and the Ombudsman; and relationships with other Local, State, Commonwealth or overseas governments.
Industrial relations
Records related to establishing formal relations with the University's employees and their representatives to achieve a harmonious workplace. Includes negotiations conducted to obtain determinations, agreements or awards, industrial disputes settled within the University or by an external arbitrator and reports of the state of industrial relations within the University.
Information Management
Records related to the management of the University's information resources. Includes creating, capturing, registering, classifying, indexing, storing, retrieving and disposing of records and developing strategies to manage records. Also includes the acquisition, control and disposal of library and other information products, items kept for reference purposes, and the provision of service to internal and external customers, based on information resources. Also includes data administration, archival records and the handling of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests
Legal records
Covers records relating to the function of providing legal services to the organisation. Includes the interpretation and provision of advice to the organisation regarding legal matters, the drawing up of legal agreements and the handling of legal action and disputes. Also includes legal advice received from in-house consultants and external sources including the Crown Solicitor's Office.
Museums, Galleries and Collections
Records relating to the management of museums, collections and galleries of the University.
Occupational Health and Safety
Records related to implementing and coordinating occupational health and safety and associated legislation throughout the University. Includes safety policy and the monitoring of safe work practices, procedures, and preventative measures. Includes the establishment of committees to investigate and advise on health and safety issues in the workplace.
Policy and Procedures
Records relating to the development, including drafts, of university policy and procedures. Policy and procedure files must also contain the final approved version of the policy and/or procedure to provide to users of these files a final approved copy for reference.
Property Management
Records related to managing land and working, storage, or living space within premises, and of acquiring, constructing, fitting-out, managing, maintaining, protecting, and disposing of property. Includes buildings and land allotments either owned, rented or leased by the organisation, such as office blocks, repositories, and workshops. Also includes the removal of pollutants and waste.
Also includes records related to the process of acquiring a new facility or carrying out construction, alterations or refurbishment fitouts in order to fulfill an accommodation need for the University. This also encompasses new works and modifications associated with existing roads, carparks, pathways, landscaping, lighting and signage.
Publications
Records related to having works, irrespective of format, issued for sale or distribution internally or to the public. Includes drafting, manual or electronic production (design, layout, typesetting, printing etc.), marketing, and supply of publications by the University. Includes external publications (such as technical papers, issue papers, articles for professional journals and reports) and leaflets which aim to promote the services and public image of the University; and internal publications (such as newsletters, circulars, procedure manuals etc.) which are not produced for public relations reasons. Also includes multi-media publications, CD ROM and on-line information services.
Research Management
Records related to managing the research activities of the university for the purpose of seeking new knowledge and the adaptation of that knowledge for practical and commercial use by both staff and students. Includes pure, applied and clinical research as well as the development and commercialisation of the products of that research.
Staff Development
Records related to encouraging staff to develop their skills and abilities (through activities, programs and events) to maximise their potential and increase their productivity. Includes identifying and implementing all aspects of training needs and programs (internal and external) available to staff.
Staff Management
Records related to managing all employees in the University. Employees include permanent, temporary, and part-time employees, people working under scholarships, fellowships, traineeships, apprenticeships and similar relationships. Includes appeals, overtime, salaries, superannuation and working hours when related to persons rather than to Industrial Relations. Also includes arrangements for staff travel and the provision of childcare by the organisation.
Strategic Management
Records related to applying broad systematic management planning for the University. Includes the activities involved with the development, monitoring and reviewing of business plans, strategic plans, corporate plans, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) plans, Ethnic Affairs Policy Statements (EAPS) and agreements, energy and waste management plans, and other long-term organisational strategies. Also includes the development of the corporate mission, objectives, continuous improvement processes, quality assurance and certification, and the formulation and amendment of legislation that provides the legislative basis for the University.
Student Management
Records relating to recruiting, selecting, admitting, enrolling and managing students at the University, including local, interstate and international students. Includes planning, administering and setting procedures for: recruitment; assessment and graduation of undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Student Services
Records related to providing services and support to students through student services for the personal and academic development of students through residential life, extracurricular activities, student associations, social, health and career counseling.
Teaching and Learning
Records related to developing, establishing and imparting knowledge, giving instruction and undertaking the learning process for the benefit of students at the University. Includes formal assessment processes, research and development of educational methods, methods of teaching used, teaching materials and study notes.
Technology and Telecommunications
Records relating to developing or acquiring, testing and implementing applications and databases to support the business needs of the University to capture, store, retrieve, transfer, communicate and disseminate information through automated systems. Includes the evaluation of software and hardware and the acquisition, tendering, leasing, licensing, and disposal of systems. Also includes communication network systems such as videoconferencing, voice mail and electronic mail and the technical aspects of the Internet, Intranet and Web Sites.
In most cases all records, as part of an employees duties, are official records and should be placed on file, however there are many different types of records and different importance of records created daily by staff. Many records have little to no value beyond the local area, while others will have ongoing value beyond the local unit, some examples of records that must be placed on file are those which;
- constitute formal communication between staff; or between staff and students. Often what appears to be an informal exchange may develop into a more serious matter requiring formal intervention. A "file note" which briefly records the principal matters discussed, the people involved, and the date and time of the exchange should be made and filed;
- constitute formal communication between a University entity and another internal or external entity
- approve or authorise actions or expenditure;
- signify changes in policy, or procedure or record policy or procedural development;
- contain an instruction or advice which will constitute a precedent;
- involve negotiations on behalf of the University;
- impact upon other members of the University community individually or upon organisational entities within the University.
7. What Records do not need to go on File?
Records that are not required to go on file are usually records of little to no value to the university, are commonly personal of nature, or have no meaningful information that can be used as evidence. The following are examples of ephemeral records, they include records that are;
- distributed to staff for information purposes only, eg newsletters, circulars, meeting advices, notices, copies of document extracts etc.
- drafts, with exception to Policy, Procedure and legal documents.
- created solely as part of preparation for other records, with exception to Policy, Procedure and legal documents.
- personal messages and announcements not related to official business.
8. When to Create a Records File
A new file should be created whenever there is a need to file a new subject, student or staff member's information. A single file should not be used for more than one subject at any time.
Files are to be created at the commencement of projects rather than at the end of a project to ensure that the information on a file is complete and accurate at all times.
If there is any doubt as to whether to create a file or not, it is better to create one rather than to discover you should have later on when records have been misplaced or destroyed.
The creation of a file will enable related documents to remain together as the subject matter of a file and enable for easier retrieval and access for other users.
All University records are to be placed on official files and are not to be placed on individual working files. University records are owned by the university and may be required to be used as evidence or for reference to other operational functions for the continuation of University business.
Local files may be created for those records required for the operational local area only, that is those records that do not have value beyond the creator or the immediate work area and do not need to be seen, actioned or have a decision made on them by another officer. Commonly these are called internal files and these may be managed by the individual areas as local area files. These files however should still be maintained to a standard that enables easy access and retrieval of the information and also access to them for appropriate disposal.
Although there is no specific restriction on the type of files used to store university records, it is highly recommended that lever arch or hard plastic A4 files are not used, these take up valuable storage space that in most cases is very limited.
Manila files of a good quality should always be used, with a two hole easy clip system to ensure documents are safely attached to a file and cannot fall out. Manila files can be colour coded for easy identification, can have barcodes attached, file labels added and can be coloured themselves to denote area, unit or even subject type files. These files also minimise space wastage as they only utilise the space taken up by the documents held within the file plus the thin cardboard cover.
The Records and Archives Office can provide advice on standards and provide examples of file covers; in general a file cover must not be any less than 280gsm thickness.
All University records must not be accessible to unauthorised persons; this includes staff, students and the general public. At minimum files are to be stored in lockable cupboards or within a lockable office to ensure that they can be safely locked up when unattended at any time.
Staff should not be able to simply access the file storage area and remove files without a method to track who is accessing the file and if the file has been taken from the file shelves. At minimum a file tracking book should be maintained for the files with all files registered as being removed from the file shelf and to whom the file has been sent to or has been taken by. On return of the file the entry can be marked as returned.
Apart from access to the files, some files may require additional security due to their sensitive nature. These files must be clearly marked as confidential and the names of those that have authorised access should be recorded somewhere on the file by an authorised person, usually records staff. These files should only be accessible via appropriate authorised staff and must be requested through those staff to gain access. Staff should not at any time be allowed to access these files without going through the record keeping staff.
11. Disposal of University Records
University records cover many different subjects and as a result there is no one retention period that all records are to be retained for.
As a requirement under the State Records Act 2000 the Recordkeeping Plan includes a University Disposal Authority that lists all known record types created at the University and defines the length of time those records need to be retained before destruction commences.
These retention periods can start from, retain for a few weeks to retain permanently with many different year values in between, such as five, six, 35, 50 or even 100 years before the records can be destroyed.
To ensure records are not destroyed prematurely all records due for disposal are to be placed on a disposal list and that list must be approved by the Manager, Records and Archives (or authorised delegate). No disposal should be conducted until approval has been granted.
Once approval has been granted the records may then be destroyed, the method of disposal must ensure confidentiality of the records and render them unable to be read or reconstructed. This may involve shredding or pulping, the University Site Services staff can provide assistance in this area.
Staff are authorised to destroy records that are ephemeral, but are reminded to ensure that they are in fact ephemeral and to request assistance if ever unsure. Staff are reminded that there are penalties for the premature destruction of records as that would constitute a breach of the State Records Act 2000.
12. Recordkeeping Before Leaving the University
University records may not be removed from University custody nor may they be destroyed unless in accordance with approved disposal authority. Every employee has an obligation to ensure University records are captured, maintained and preserved.
The existence and on going work required on many records needs to be maintained and as such all departing employees must ensure the records they have are managed accordingly before they depart.
Occurrences of unauthorized records destruction or removal of classified, restricted or confidential documents from University custody without appropriate approval shall be reported immediately to the Head of School, Department, Unit and the Manager, Records and Archives.
Certification:
The departing employee must certify that all University documents, records and files, regardless of media, including e-mail, have been identified and added to the departments recordkeeping system and/or transferred and reassigned to another employee. The departing employee’s supervisor must initial the certification.
Penalties:
Penalties may apply for the unlawful destruction or removal of University records under the State Records Act 2000, maximum penalty is $10,000 per breach.
Records Management Exit Process
Departing employees and departure dates are to be identified as soon as possible and the departing employee must be made aware of their recordkeeping responsibilities.
Employee
The departing employee shall in consultation with their direct supervisor:
- Identify the location and content of all records, including ephemeral records in the departing employee’s custody, regardless of media (paper, email systems, computer hard drive, compact disks, servers, etc) and create an inventory of such records
- Ensure records (if not already) are captured and are part of the area or units recordkeeping system
- Identify all active records for reassignment to an appropriate officer
- Identify and sentence inactive records
- Prepare inactive records requiring longer retention for inactive storage
- Prepare inactive records due for destruction for disposal in accordance to an approved disposal schedule
- Identify ephemeral records that are the employee’s personal papers and prepare for removal;
- Return any records taken from file stations or records/archives repositories;
- Turn in all filing cabinet keys, vault/restricted access combinations (appropriate clearance assumed), and computer/system passwords needed for access.
- Records are not destroyed:
- without authorisation for disposal,
- until they have satisfied retention requirements
Supervisor
- The employee’s supervisor shall ensure that:
- Active records are reassigned to another employee, (with appropriate clearance)
- Records are captured onto the area or units recordkeeping system
- Inactive records required to be retained are transferred to suitable records repositories
- Records are only disposed of in accordance to University policy and procedures
- Removal of material by the employee is documented and limited to personal papers and a pre-approved amount of non-record copies
Supervisors shall document and report the unauthorized destruction or loss of records to the Department Records Officer and the central Records and Archives Office.
13. Active, Semi-Active and Inactive Records
As a State organisation the University is required to retain records for certain lengths of time, these lengths of time are defined within the university Disposal Authority (including General Disposal Authorities) for most (if not all) record created at the University.
A record goes through various stages after creation of its life cycle; these include Active life, semi active life and then inactive life before finally being transferred to State Archives or being destroyed.
Active records are records that are being worked on regularly as well as being referred to regularly, usually in regard to a subject matter that is currently being dealt with.
Semi-active records are those records that are no longer active and used regularly but are still referred to often enough to not warrant transfer to inactive storage. The Records and Archives Office only accepts records after two years of becoming non-active, this in most cases ensures the records are no longer active or even semi active.
Inactive records are those that rarely get referred to and are only retained due to requirements as set within the university Disposal Authorities as defined by law. These records are transferred to the Records and Archives Office for central management and retrieval if and when required. The Records and Archives Office has two onsite and two offsite storage facilities to storage the various records required to be retained. The records that are deemed State Archives are transferred to the State Archives ten years after receipt to the Records and Archives Office. Those records are now deemed Archives.
More information about inactive recordkeeping and archives is available in the University Archives section.
The Records and Archives Office can be contacted during business hours in the following ways:
Telephone: 9266 7050
Facsimile: 9266 2255
Email: records@curtin.edu.au