402 FILE DISPOSAL AND DESTRUCTION

Legislative Background

1. Under the Archives Act 1983, it is illegal to destroy, dispose of, transfer ownership or custody, damage or alter a record unless required by law, authorised by National Archives of Australia, or is a 'Normal Administrative Practice' (see section 101).

2. Under normal administrative practice, destruction can occur if the information is duplicated, unimportant or of short-term value. Records that document significant operations of the organisation or with long term value for research may not be destroyed.

3. Records may not be destroyed if they are the subject of a Freedom of Information request or any other legally binding request for access, or if they are deemed to have any enduring value for the University or the research community.

4. Most records or files do not need to be kept beyond that point in their life cycle where the information they contain loses its significance. Straightforward case files and other files dealing with everyday administration often only need to be kept for a relatively short time after action is completed.

5. Only those records that have been sentenced against an approved disposal authority may be destroyed when the specified retention period has been reached (see section 401). All destruction should be carried out in accordance with National Archives’ disposal procedures.

6. Where files sentenced for destruction reach the end of their retention period, the ANU Delegate with authority to approve destruction will be given a list of the records. If it is determined that there are files which warrant a longer period of retention, they will be returned to storage for a further period.

7. Once the Delegate is satisfied that files can be destroyed, University Records will notify the storage provider to destroy these records and sign a destruction certificate for subsequent reference. Records that are destroyed in accordance with valid disposal authorities will exonerate the creator from any penalty if, at some future date, that record is sought as a result of legal action, FOI request, etc. (The records system will be updated to indicate the status of these records.)

Normal Administrative Practice

8. The Archives Act 1983 includes a provision for 'Normal Administrative Practice' ('NAP') which allows for some records to be destroyed without formal authorisation from the National Archives (see Section 401).

9. As a general rule, unimportant records which can be destroyed under NAP should not be placed on file. Whilst not exhaustive, the following list contains examples of the types of records which may be destroyed as a 'normal administrative practice':

- publications (superseded manuals, catalogues and trade journals, some library materials press statements or publicity material);

- computer records (superseded computer logs, test data and systems back-ups which are no longer required for audit purposes, reference copies of user manuals, copies of word processed documents held in electronic form after printing or updating);

- correspondence (letters of appreciation, requests for copies of maps, advertising material or other stock information);

- address lists, change of address notices, calendars, office diaries and appointment books (except those belonging to senior management);

- facsimiles (where a photocopy has been made for file);

- rough drafts of reports, correspondence, routine or rough calculations;

- routine statistical and progress reports compiled and duplicated in other reports;

- abstracts or copies of formal financial records maintained for convenient reference;

- printing, review or distribution of forms;

- stationery (unused or superseded);

- telephone directories (except one master set of internal telephone directories;

- telephone message slips.

10. If ANU staff have any doubt about the potential value of a record, and whether it may be destroyed under NAP, they should contact University Records (see Help page).

[Click here to go back to the Records Manual Index]