As part of developing an authority, and before it is submitted for approval, NSW State Archives and Records recommends that organisations consult with external stakeholders, where appropriate, to determine whether the minimum retention periods and disposal actions identified in the authority are sufficent to meet their needs or requirements for access to information and records held by the organisation.

External stakeholders who may have an interest in or be reliant upon the records covered by the authority can include:

• other government and non-government organisations,
• specific client groups
• researchers.

Each organisation needs to consider the most appropriate means by which to undertake this consultation.

Consulting with other organisations

If your organisation:

• undertakes joint ventures with other organisations
• performs functions or operations in conjunction with other organisations, and/or
• shares client or other business information with other organisations,

you should advise and consult with these organisations about the nominated retention periods for the records in which they have an interest.

Consulting with specific stakeholders

If your organisation has frequent interaction with specific client or research groups, it may be approriate to submit the draft retention and disposal authority for comment to representatives of these groups.

If you find it difficult to identify suitable external stakeholders for consultation, consider whether your organisation has a governing council, board, advisory committees or other groups which include stakeholder representation. Consulting with such groups is often easy, as these groups can comprise representative and readily accessible stakeholders who are familiar with the organisation's business operations and processes.

When submitting an authority to NSW State Archives and Records for approval be sure to outline any stakeholder consultation undertaken in the course of developing the authority and details of how stakeholder comments and feedback have been addressed in the determination of retention periods and disposal actions.