State Records Guideline No. 3

Managing Records of State or Local Authorities being Abolished or Amalgamated

Issued: 13 July 2005 (download the formal issued MS Word version)

Authority

This guideline is issued under the provisions of Section 10A of the Archives Act 1983. Guidelines issued by the State Archivist under this Section set standards, policy, and procedures relating to the making and keeping of State records. This section also requires all relevant authorities to take all reasonable steps to comply with these guidelines, and put them into effect.

Ian Pearce
State Archivist

Table of Contents

1. Purpose
2. Definitions
3. Process and Requirements
3.1 Abolished authorities
3.2 Amalgamated authorities
Appendix 1 - Compliance Checklist

1. Purpose

This guideline is to provide information about, and stipulate the process for, dealing with State records in the custody of State or local authorities which are being abolished or amalgamated.

Section 8 of the Archives Regulations sets out the broad parameters for the processes to be followed by the ‘relevant authorities’ of organisations whose records are covered by the Archives Act 1983 and are being wound up. This guideline provides additional context for these mandatory requirements.

This guideline does not apply to administrative arrangements in relation to the re-assignment of functions between State government departments.

2. Definitions

abolished authority -is an organisation that is a State or local authority which has ceased to exist or had its functions terminated and whose functions have not been transferred to, or vested in, some other organisation which is covered by the provisions of the Archives Act 1983.

amalgamated authority -is an organisation that is a State or local authority which has ceased to exist or had its functions terminated and whose functions have been transferred to, or vested in, some other organisation which is covered by the provisions of the Archives Act 1983.

government department -is a department of the State Service established under the State Service Act 2000.

local authority -is a councilor body corporate established by or under an Act or in the exercise of prerogative rights of the Crown and having jurisdiction limited to a district, locality or part of the State.

record -is a document or an object that is, or has been, made or kept by reason of any information or matter that it contains or can be obtained from it or by reason of its connection with any event person, circumstance, or thing. A document includes any printed or written material and an object includes a sound recording, coded storage device, magnetic tape or disc, microfilm, photograph, film, map, plan, or model or painting or other pictorial or graphic work.

relevant authority -means the Secretary or head of a Government department or agency, or the person directly responsible to the Minister concerned for the administration and direction of that department, service; or body. It means, in relation to a State authority or a local authority that is incorporated, that authority; or in relation to a State authority or a local authority that is unincorporated, the secretary, clerk, or other principal executive officer of that authority.

State authority -is a body, an authority, a royal commission or a board of enquiry, that is not a Government department or a local authority, whether that body, authority, royal commission or board is incorporated or not, and that is established or constituted by or under an Act or in the exercise of prerogative rights of the Crown where that body, authority, royal commission or board, or its governing authority, wholly or partly comprises a person appointed by the Governor, a Minister or another State authority; or the Crown has a controlling interest, or is a major shareholder, in that body, authority, royal commission or board.

State records - are records of State government agencies/departments, State authorities, or local authorities. These public bodies are defined in Section 3 of the Archives Act 1983.

3. Process and Requirements

When the relevant authority is aware that the organisation is to be abolished or amalgamated the State Archivist should be notified formally in writing and contact should be made with the Archives Office to arrange for the management of the records involved. It is also a formal requirement of the Archives Regulations 2004 that a list of the organisation’s records should be sent to the State Archivist.

In the preliminary planning stages of these processes it is likely that the records not already covered by a current records disposal schedule will be appraised by the Archives Office in collaboration with officers of the organisation to be abolished or amalgamated. This will ensure that records due for destruction are identified and authorised for destruction before they are forwarded to the Archives Office, and that any records identified in this category are not retained for an un-necessary length of time.

3.1 Abolished authorities

If the organisation is to be abolished the relevant authority should arrange for all the organisation’s records to be forwarded to the Archives Office.

Before the records are transferred to the Archives Office they should be listed on the Application to Dispose of State Records and prepared in accordance with Recordkeeping Advice No. 12, Preparing Records for Transfer to the Archives Office.

Any records authorised for destruction in a current records disposal schedule, or following appraisal by the Archives Office, and are due for destruction, should be destroyed.

3.2 Amalgamated authorities

If the organisation is to be amalgamated and its functions continued as part of another organisation, it’s records must be forwarded to the successor authority.

The successor authority should make arrangements to transfer to the Archives Office records that are not required for the ongoing business of the successor authority. These records should be listed on the Application to Dispose of State Records and prepared in accordance with Recordkeeping Advice No. 12, Preparing records for transfer to the Archives Office.

It is important to note that if records that are more than 25 years old are required for the ongoing business of the successor authority, then they must be dealt with through the provisions of Section 11 of the Archives Act 1983, and an application for exemption from transfer be made to the State Archivist.

Any records authorised for destruction in a current records disposal schedule, or following appraisal by the Archives Office, and are due for destruction, should be destroyed.

Compliance checklist

1.	*Abolished authorities*
1.1	The State Archivist is notified of the abolition of the organisation.	Yes	No
1.2.	A list of the organisation’s records is sent to the State Archivist.	Yes	No
1.3	Records are appraised in consultation with the Archives Office, to identify: records that are due for destruction records to be transferred to the Archives Office.	Yes	No
1.4	Scheduled records due for destruction are destroyed before the organisation is abolished.	Yes	No
1.5	Records not due for destruction are transferred to the Archives Office before the organisation is abolished.	Yes	No
2.	*Amalgamated authorities*
2.1.	Records are appraised in consultation with the Archives Office, to identify: records that are due for destruction records to be transferred to the Archives Office.	Yes	No
2.2.	Records required for ongoing business are forwarded to the successor authority.	Yes	No
2.3.	Records not required for ongoing business are transferred to the Archives Office.	Yes	No
2.4.	An exemption from transfer is obtained from the State Archivist for records more than 25 years old that are required for ongoing business.	Yes	No