Enquiries

The Government Recordkeeping (GRK) program of the State Archives and Records Authority of New South Wales is here to help public offices with any recordkeeping queries or issues they may have. We regularly receive enquiries about our services, recordkeeping responsibilities, training events and more. We also receive allegations and complaints about instances of poor recordkeeping in the NSW public sector.

We are committed to delivering the highest standard of enquiry and complaint management (submitted to govrec@records.nsw.gov.au), including:

• Acknowledgement of an enquiry within 1 business day.
• Provision of accurate and up to date information.
• For simple enquiries, provision of an answer within 5 business days.
• Advice on the likely time frame of the progress of more complex matters. *

* In cases of enquires that trigger further assessment, we may not be able to guarantee the provision of an answer within a specific timeframe. However, we commit to maintaining communication with you throughout our assessment and resolution of your enquiry. 

Requests for records management advice

We understand that records management and recordkeeping can be a confusing process, but it doesn’t have to be.

GRK is here to assist the NSW public sector develop robust, ‘fit for purpose’ recordkeeping systems, and are willing to provide advice upon request. We are often asked to advise on storage standards, records disposal, legal responsibilities, business systems, induction of new employees and much more. In the provision of advice we commit to (submitted to govrec@records.nsw.gov.au):

• Acknowledgement of request for advice within 1 business day
• Provision of advice within 5 business days.

This being said, sometimes there is a need to develop tailored advice to specific situations, which may take more time to arrange (for example, we may need to collect more information first). In these instances, we will be upfront in our communication as to when we expect to have advice ready for delivery, as it could be longer than 5 business days.

Assisting retention and disposal authority development

The State Records Act 1998 (the Act) creates a statutory framework for authorising the disposal of State records and for deciding which records will be retained as State archives. Under the Act, State Archives and Records NSW can, through its Board, give permission for the disposal of records. Disposal is usually authorised through retention and disposal authorities issued by the State Archives and Records NSW following approval by the Board.

The State Archives and Records NSW may require records to be retained as State archives, permit the destruction of records or, in certain specific cases, permit the transfer of records from NSW Government ownership to private or other ownership.

A core service of GRK is to review the development of retention and disposal authorities by NSW Government Agencies, in preparation for submission to the Board. In provision of this service we commit to:

• Initial response to request to review within 1 business day
• Being willing to discuss requests (in-person or via phone) as soon as convenient for both parties
• Developing a retention and disposal authority can be a lengthy process that requires frequent communication between GRK and the drafting agency, and we endeavour to respond to communications and provide feedback as soon as possible.

Records management training

Records management professionals (and staff members who are trained in records management) are essential to the proper function of records management programs in any NSW public sector organisation. GRK is committed to training as many public servants as possible to ensure widespread records management excellence throughout the entire NSW public sector. GRK provides a number of training courses throughout the year, as well as online e-learning modules. In provision of these training services we commit to:

• Hosting regular training events throughout the calendar year.
• Hosting online e-learning modules on a range of records and information management topics.
• Hosting training events in a number of regional locations to ensure accessibility for staff from regional NSW.
• Meeting learning and accessibility requirements of all attendees.
• Providing professional and excellent training courses and material.

Complaints and allegations about poor recordkeeping in the NSW public sector

Individuals may make a complaint about serious instances of poor recordkeeping or non-compliant records management within a NSW Government organisation.

We only accept complaints which will enable us to support improved recordkeeping practices within NSW Government organisations.

NSW State Archives and Records has discretion in deciding which complaints we will accept and what action, if any, we will take.

For further information on making a complaint to us, please see Assess serious matters of poor recordkeeping .

We value your feedback

We aim to continually improve the quality of the services we provide and appreciate feedback about our services or performance. We encourage you to contact the staff member who is dealing with your enquiry—they will work with you to quickly resolve the matter. While most enquires can be resolved quickly, if the matter is complex or serious, a more detailed response may be required.

For more information on making an enquiry or formal complaint please read our Complaint Handling Policy https://www.finance.nsw.gov.au/policy-document/complaint-handling-policy and our Code of Ethics and Conduct https://www.finance.nsw.gov.au/about-us/our-code-conduct.

Contact Us

General Enquiries: info@records.nsw.gov.au  (02) 9673 1788

NSW Public Sector Recordkeeping Enquiries: govrec@records.nsw.gov.au  (02) 8257 2900