Before you undertake work on developing a retention and disposal authority (or engage a consultant to do so) contact NSW State Archives and Records to discuss the project. We are happy to meet with you to outline requirements and discuss any issues or concerns you may have. This will assist you to determine your requirements and scope and plan the project accordingly.

We will also be able to advise whether there is an existing approved retention and disposal authority that may be appropriate for your organisation. This could include the whole authority or relevant sections of it. If an assessment confirms that an existing authority is appropriate the Senior Responsible Officer for your organisation can seek formal permission to use the authority via an email to the Manager of Recordkeeping Standards and Advice.

Please email us at govrec@records.nsw.gov.au.

Determine the disposal authorisation your organisation requires

To begin to plan and scope your project you need to determine what action is required to ensure you have the necessary disposal authorisation.

If your organisation has...	Then...
no disposal authorisation for some or all of its unique functional records	you will need to prepare a retention and disposal authority for approval, or seek permission to use an existing retention and disposal authority that provides appropriate coverage. Contact NSW State Archives and Records to discuss.
disposal authorisation approved 5 or more years ago	review the retention requirements outlined in the authority to ensure they still meet current organisational requirements and check the authority provides comprehensive coverage for all core functional records. If the review process identifies a need to update or amend the authority, contact NSW State Archives and Records to discuss.
disposal authorisation approved 10 or more years ago	review the retention requirements outlined in the authority to ensure they still meet current organisational requirements and check the authority provides comprehensive coverage for all core functional records. If the review process identifies a need to update or amend the authority, contact NSW State Archives and Records to discuss. If the review process confirms that the authority continues to provide comprehensive coverage for all core functions and that the retention requirements and disposal actions outlined in the authority continue to reflect the organisation’s legal, business and accountability requirements contact NSW State Archives and Records to confirm ongoing use of the authority is permitted. Note: the Board of NSW State Archives and Records has prioritised the review of disposal authorities that are still in use that were approved more than 10 years ago. If you are currently using such an authority please contact govrec@records.nsw.gov.au Note: NSW State Archives and Records may not accept the transfer of records as State archives using authorities approved over 10 years ago unless ongoing use of the authority has been confirmed by NSW State Archives and Records.
disposal authorisation approved for use by a predecessor organisation	review the retention requirements outlined in the authority to ensure they still meet current organisational requirements and check the authority provides comprehensive coverage for all core functional records. If the review process identifies a need to update or amend the authority, contact NSW State Archives and Records to discuss. If the review process confirms that the authority continues to provide comprehensive coverage for all core functions and that the retention requirements and disposal actions outlined in the authority continue to reflect the organisation’s legal, business and accountability requirements contact NSW State Archives and Records to confirm ongoing use of the authority by your organisation is permitted.
no disposal authorisation for records relating to functions and activities no longer carried out	contact NSW State Archives and Records.

Please Note

Longer retention does not need to be authorised

Retention and disposal authorities permit the destruction of records after the specified minimum retention periods applying to them have been met. There is no need to seek NSW State Archives and Records’ authorisation or permission to retain records for longer than the minimum retention period.

Be aware of the disposal coverage provided in general retention and disposal authorities

It is particularly important to have a good understanding and awareness of the disposal coverage already provided by general authorities, especially the General retention and disposal authority: administrative records. Knowing what types of records are covered by the general authorities will help you determine what records need disposal authority coverage.

Remember, you do not need to seek further authorisation or permission from NSW State Archives and Records for the destruction or longer retention of records already covered by a general authority. You only need to seek authorisation for records not covered by a general authority.

All current general retention and disposal authorities can be accessed on NSW State Archives and Records’ web site. If you need advice about the scope and application of the general authorities and how they relate to your organisation specific functional authority please contact NSW State Archives and Records.

Administrative change does not necessarily require development of a new authority

Retention and disposal authorities are designed to link records to the functions they document rather than to specific organisational or administrative structures. The movement of functions between branches or units within an agency does not require the authority to be resubmitted to NSW State Archives and Records for approval. Similarly, when functions move from one public office to another the public office that inherits the new function may continue to use the existing authorisation. However you should contact NSW State Archives and Records at govrec@records.nsw.gov.au to confirm ongoing use of the authority by your organisation is permitted.

Consider adopting or developing common authorisation for organisations performing the same or similar functions

If you have identified an organisation performing the same or similar functions to your own organisation and that organisation already has a current retention and disposal authority for its records, consider the potential for seeking authorisation to use that organisation’s authority. This could ultimately save your organisation from having to commit the time and resources to developing its own. Contact NSW State Archives and Records to discuss.

Alternatively, if you have identified that there are other organisation’s performing the same or similar functions to your own organisation and they also do not have current comprehensive retention and disposal authority coverage it may be worth considering initiation of a joint project with these organisations to develop the required authorisation. As well as being a more efficient use of resources, this will also ensure consistent retention and disposal outcomes.

Obtain senior management support

Your chief executive officer will need to sign off on the final version of the authority and take organisational responsibility for its implementation. It is therefore important at the outset to have executive support for your project. Preparing or reviewing a retention and disposal authority can be a major project. Be aware that it will take time and require organisational support to develop or review and to implement.

Developing a business case for the project can make it easier to obtain senior management support. See Strategies for Documenting Government Business for further advice about developing business cases for recordkeeping projects.

Obtain broader organisational support

Your project will involve consultation with operational staff in relevant business areas. You should plan at the outset how best to consult with staff. You will need to talk to staff about:

• the business transactions or processes they carry out or managing
• the records they create and maintain and the business systems they use to support the management and documentation of these processes
• the requirements that impact on how long records need to be maintained and accessible
• broader information management issues that affect their daily business operations.

See Appendix 6: Interviewing business managers and action officers for a sample list of questions you may wish to ask staff when developing an authority.

Undertake appropriate project planning

Preparing or reviewing a retention and disposal authority should be undertaken using the usual project planning methods. The project timetable should allow for key stages in the development and authorisation process, such as:

• initial research and analysis
• drafting and internal review
• review of an initial draft by NSW State Archives and Records and amendment, revision or further internal consultation and research as required
• external consultation and the need for amendment or revision that may result from this
• sign off and formal submission by the chief executive of your organisation
• review and approval of the authority by the Board of NSW State Archives and Records (Board meeting are held every two months).

The timetable should take into consideration NSW State Archives and Records' Board meeting submission deadlines (contact NSW State Archives and Records for advice of these).

It is difficult to give an exact time frame for how long it will take to get an authority developed and approved as this depends on many factors including the size and complexity of the organisation, the available resources, currency and extent of existing disposal authorisation, quality and awareness of recordkeeping within the organisation, etc. Factors that can delay the process include:

• the progress of internal and external consultation, review and approval processes
• poor quality analysis and documentation
• changes in project or operational personnel
• administrative change
• lack of organisational support
• submission of non-standard documentation to NSW State Archives and Records.

To develop a retention and disposal authority you will need access to:

• corporate documents such as annual reports
• operational policies and procedures or manuals
• legislation, regulations, standards and codes of practice applying to your organisation, and
• staff with knowledge of business activities and operational processes.

Consider what other information resources may be required and how you can gain access to them as part of your project planning.

Deciding to use a consultant

Consultants may be engaged to develop or review a retention and disposal authority. It is recommended you contact NSW State Archives and Records to discuss your project prior to deciding to engage a consultant. This will enable you to scope the project brief for the consultant appropriately.

If you are intending to use consultants to prepare the authority it is still important that your organisation manages the project. If engaging a consultant you need to make sure that they:

• are competent to undertake the work required (that is, they have the necessary knowledge, skills and experience)
• understand NSW State Archives and Records’ requirements and conventions
• complete all of the required documentation to the standards specified in these procedures, and
• provide your organisation with all documentation necessary for you to maintain and revise the authority in future and to account for the decisions made when their contract has ended.

You also need to ensure the consultant has access to relevant information resources and appropriate personnel within the organisation that they will need to adequately research and analyse business needs, legislative requirements and other necessary considerations that will inform retention and disposal decisions.

Consider final products that could facilitate implementation of the authority once it is approved. For example, would it be useful to have the authority in a particular format to facilitate import into your records management or business systems? You may want to specify certain ‘products’ are to be provided by the consultant as part of the contract to facilitate implementation of the authority following its approval (see Implementation and ongoing maintenance below).

These and other points may need to be addressed in your tender process for selecting a consultant and in the contract you establish to engage their services. 

Please note NSW State Archives and Records is not able to recommend particular consultants.

Implementation and ongoing maintenance

Retention and disposal authorities must be prepared and submitted in a particular format (see Appendix 3: Drafting the authority). However, you may need different formats or tools for implementation purposes.

Before you begin, it is useful to plan how you intend to implement and maintain the authority. Consider how retention and disposal requirements will be conveyed to staff within your organisation, and how the requirements will be maintained and updated.

To support implementation it may be better to convey disposal requirements through internal business unit specific procedures and guidelines which are more user friendly for staff to understand and interpret. Also consider how system functionality and background automation of processes can be utilised to apply retention and disposal decisions and support the management of records disposal processes.

More tips on implementing retention and disposal authorities are provided in the section Implementing a retention and disposal authority.