Transfer of records to the Archives Office

The Archives Act 1983 stipulates that relevant authorities must transfer State records more than 25 years old to the Archives Office unless the records have been authorized for destruction or a written exemption has been obtained from the State Archivist. The State Archivist may also impose conditions in respect of the management of, and the provision of access to, the State records that are the subject of an exemption.

Records identified as having ‘permanent’ status in an authorised disposal schedule, and records that have been selected for permanent retention by agencies and the Archives Office should be transferred to the Archives Office 25 years from the date of creation. Agencies may make application to the Archives Office for earlier transfer of particular groups of records and the Archives Office may also initiate an earlier transfer arrangement.Currently (2006) however, limitations on available storage space means that it is highly unlikely that, in response to such an application, it will be possible to accept any early transfer of records.

Records for transfer to the Archives Office must be packed in archival quality acid-free boxes or other suitable packaging so that these records will have the best protection against deterioration. These boxes can be obtained from the specialist suppliers.

State Records Guideline No. 2 provides information about the obligations to transfer records to the Archives Office. The procedures for preparing records for transfer are detailed in Recordkeeping Advice No. 12.