Systems of record

What is a UNSW System of Record? 

These are University business systems that have been evaluated for their suitability for the capture and management of University records. All University records must be captured to a system of record. 

They include transactional systems such as PiMS, SiMS, NewSouth Financials and the University’s recordkeeping system, RAMS. 

They do not include your email account, network drives, cloud-based network drive providers (e.g.; Dropbox, Google Drive) or collaborative tools such as MS Teams and WhatsApp. 

Email and network drives provide a convenient, quick solution to storing draft documents, to communicating and collaborating with colleagues, and to managing workflow but they are not suitable for the storage of University records.  

Records held in network drives and email accounts are: 

• Not available across the University (no value as corporate assets) 
• Not protected from deletion or alteration (no value as evidence) 
• Not organised in a controlled manner (no lifecycle management as records) 

If you are storing copies of records in these systems, you must capture an original record to RAMS or an alternative system of record. It is a requirement of all employees of the University that records of your activities are made and kept.

What are the current UNSW Systems of Record?

What if the system I’m using is not listed?

Please continue to use the system, responsibility for the system and the information it manages resides with the business system owner. If you would like further assistance, you are welcome to contact Records & Archives.

As a business system owner

You are responsible for the capture, storage and subsequent migration or disposal of all records captured to the system.

If you think the system you are responsible for should appear here, please contact Records & Archives for assistance.

What defines a System of Record?

A UNSW system of record must:

• Be a system that is managing UNSW records
• Be capable of meeting any specific legislative requirements for these records (over and above those of the NSW State Records Act as addressed here)
• Be able to capture (and return) fixed, complete, authentic, reliable, useable records
• Be able to capture (and show) core metadata (description, structure, context, related, events, retrieval information) now (and beyond the life of the record itself.)
• Be able to restrict access to records (and metadata) (or groups of records) to meet accountability, legislative and business requirements
• Be able to prevent deletion of records and metadata unless as part of authorised disposal activity
• Be able to capture an audit log of system activity
• Be able to support migration and/or controlled disposal of records depending on the period of time for which records must be retained.
• Be authorised as a UNSW system of record, have an identified system owner and business owner and have its status as a system of record reviewed annually