Recordkeeping
As a UNSW staff member
- You must make and keep records of your activities
- Anything that provides evidence of the University's business activities is a record
- It is against the law to destroy or delete University records without authorisation
What is a record?
A record is any document you make or receive as part of your work that provides evidence of action.
The University owns all records created and received by its employees. These records provide evidence of what was done or decided and together, they form a vital University asset.
What is an archive?
An archive is a record we have committed to keeping forever for its cultural, historical and/or evidentiary value. This may be for legislative requirements or it may be based on the University’s own requirements.
The University Archives is where these materials are stored and maintained by our archivists.
Which records do I need to keep?
You need to make and keep records of your work at the University and ensure these records are captured to an appropriate business system. Appropriate systems will manage the records in the right conditions for the right period of time for you.
What are my responsibilities?
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- You must make and keep full and accurate records of your activities.
- You must never destroy records without the proper authorisation.
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You must identify the records that document your Unit's activities, ensure these records are appropriately captured and managed, and confirm that staff within your Unit are aware of their recordkeeping responsibilities and how to meet them.
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You must identify the records that document your Unit's activities, ensure these records are appropriately captured and managed, and confirm that staff within your Unit are aware of their recordkeeping responsibilities and how to meet them.
You are responsible for the capture, storage and any subsequent migration or disposal of records captured to the system.
This requirement extends to addressing recordkeeping requirements prior to the purchase and implementation of any new business system that is intended to capture records.
How can I meet these responsibilities?
By completing the Introduction to Recordkeeping at UNSW, by using appropriate business systems to capture and manage records, and by making yourself familiar with the requirements for the appraisal of records.
Records in email folders, network drives, cloud-based network drives (OneDrive, Dropbox) do not meet the requirements of a record.
These records are not discoverable across the organisation, they have not been organised in a manner that realises their value and they are not protected from deletion or alteration, undermining their evidentiary value.
In this section
Can't find what you're looking for?
We will provide assistance in all aspects of recordkeeping.
Introduction to Recordkeeping
All staff members are asked to complete the Introduction to Recordkeeping at UNSW
Have a question?
Contact the Records Team on 02 9385 2861 or email records@unsw.edu.au / Contact the Archives Team on 02 9385 2906 or email archives@unsw.edu.au