RECORDS MANAGEMENT POLICY


Date approved	26 September 2006	Date Policy will take effect	26 September 2006	Date of Next Review	January 2012
Approved by	Administrative Committee
Custodian title & e-mail address	Senior Manager, Enterprise Content Management, ARD ecm-request@uow.edu.au
Author	Records Management Content Officer
Responsible Faculty/ Division & Unit	Enterprise Content Management Unit, Academic Registrar’s Division
Supporting documents, procedures & forms of this policy	Records Handling Guidelines Records Management Compliance Guidelines Records Management System Guidelines
References & Legislation	State Records Act 1998 (NSW) Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW) Freedom of Information Act 1989 (NSW) Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988 (NSW) Protected Disclosures Act 1994 (NSW) University of Wollongong Act 1989 (NSW) and the By Laws and Rules of the University Privacy Policy University Archives Policy Standard on the Physical Storage of State Records (issued 2000) Standard on Digital Recordkeeping (issued 2008) Standard on Counter Disaster Strategies for Records and Recordkeeping Systems (issued 2002) Standard on Full and Accurate Records (issued 2004) Standard on Managing a Records Management Program (issued 2004) State Records NSW
Audience:	Public – accessible to anyone
Expiry Date of Policy	Not applicable

Contents

1 Purpose of Policy 3
2 Definitions 3
3 Application & Scope 4
4 Policy Principles 4
5 Compliance management 4
6 Roles & Responsibilities 4
7 Version Control and Change History 5

1 Purpose of Policy

1. The purpose of this Policy is to outline responsibilities and compliance controls regarding records management, with the objective of:

a. ensuring compliance with the State Records Act 1998 (NSW); and
b. contributing towards the development of efficient and effective knowledge management at UOW.

2 Definitions

Word/Term	Definition
Business activities	Business activities refers to any action that contributes towards UOW’s decision-making process or service delivery, including all UOW’s functions, processes, activities and transactions.
Executive Managers	Executive Managers refers to Directors, Faculty Deans and the University Librarian.
Full and accurate record	A full and accurate record is a record that: correctly reflects what was done, communicated or decided, and can be trusted as a true representation of the transactions or events which it documents; is authentic, for example the record can be proven to be what it claims to be, to have been created or sent by the person claimed to have created or sent it, and to have been created or sent at the time claimed; has integrity by virtue of being complete and protected against unauthorized access, alteration, deletion or loss; and is usable by virtue of being understandable, complete, retrievable and available through time.
Managing records	Managing records refers to any action relating to the life cycle of a record, including the storage, assignment of metadata, retrieval, transfer, preservation, and eventual destruction of records.
Knowledge management	Knowledge management is a multi-disciplined approach to achieving organisational objectives by making the best use of knowledge. Knowledge management focuses on processes such as creating, acquiring, sharing and preserving knowledge and corporate history, and the cultural and technical foundations that support them. The aim is to align knowledge processes with organisational objectives.
Metadata	Metadata is the information used to describe the context and structure of records and their management through time. The purpose of using metadata is to help users retrieve relevant documents without having to read the actual document, to define who is allowed to access the document, to provide contextual information such as who created the document, and to define how long the document needs to be kept.
Record	A record is any document or other source of information compiled, recorded or stored in written form or on film, or by electronic process, or in any other manner or by any other means. Records may include, but are not limited to, any staff member’s paper based records, emails, or electronic documents stored at UOW or on UOW equipment. A record does not include personal and/or private documents that are not part of official UOW business records.
Records management system	A records management system is a record management system that meets requirements outlined in the Records Management System Guidelines.
Records System Administrator	The Records System Administrator is a UOW employee whose responsibility is to provide services to help UOW achieve: efficient and effective records management that meets UOW’s business needs; and compliance with the State Records Act 1998 (NSW).

3 Application & Scope

1. This Policy applies to all UOW records, including, but not limited to, student records, research records, staff records, and financial records.
2. This Policy replaces all previous Records Management Policies.

4 Policy Principles

1. UOW must comply with its legal responsibilities under the State Records Act 1998 (NSW).
2. To ensure business continuity, and contribute towards efficient and effective knowledge management, it is essential that adequate records of UOW’s business activities are made, and that these records are adequately managed.

5 Compliance management

1. Under section 15 of the State Records Act 1998 (NSW), the State Records Authority (the “Authority”) can access UOW’s records for the purpose of monitoring compliance. The Authority may report compliance failures to the relevant Minister, and may also include in its annual report incidents where UOW has failed to comply.
2. To ensure continued compliance the Record Systems Administrator may, with reasonable notice, and with the permission of the relevant Executive Manager, conduct an appraisal of records management systems and practices within any Faculty or Unit.
3. The appraisal will be conducted in accordance with procedures and principles developed in consultation with Executive Managers. The procedures will be reviewed in consultation with Executive Managers every 2 years, or as deemed necessary by Executive Managers or the Records Systems Administrator.
4. Any deliberate breaches of, or failure to comply with the requirements of this Policy or the State Records Act 1998 (NSW), may result in disciplinary action. Breaches may include, but are not limited to, deliberate and unauthorised falsification, destruction or removal of records.

6 Roles & Responsibilities

1. Record Systems Administrator’s responsibilities

1.1. To meet the service standards outlined in the Customer Service Charter (see https://intranet.uow.edu.au/recordsmanagement/services/index.html ).
1.2. To provide assistance to Executive Managers in meeting their obligations under this Policy.

2. General record management responsibilities

2.1. All staff must make and manage full and accurate records of all UOW’s business activities in accordance with UOW’s guidelines (https://intranet.uow.edu.au/content/groups/public/@web/@rm/documents/doc/uow039587.pdf ).
2.2. All staff must understand records management requirements and have read and understood relevant information provided on UOW’s records management website (https://intranet.uow.edu.au/recordsmanagement/). This may require records management training, but the amount and type will vary depending upon staff members’ job descriptions and experience.

3. Executive Managers’ responsibilities

3.1. Executive Managers must take reasonable steps to ensure that all records management systems deployed within their Faculty/Unit are being used as intended by UOW and in accordance with legal requirements as specified in:

a. State Records Act 1998 (NSW)
b. Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW)
c. Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW)
d. Freedom of Information Act 1989
e. Independent Commission Against Corruption Act, 1988 (NSW)
f. Protected Disclosures Act 1994 (NSW)
g. University of Wollongong Act 1989 (NSW)
h. The By-Laws and Rules of the University.

7 Version Control and Change History

Version Control	Date Effective	Approved By	Amendment
1	26 September 2006	Administrative Committee	Entire policy redrafted to improve structure and ensure that compliance controls were explicitly outlined.
2	6 May 2009	Vice-Principal (Administration)	Migrated to UOW Policy Template as per Policy Directory Refresh
3	18 February 2010	Vice-Principal (Administration)	Policy reviewed and minor editorial corrections made. Policy Custodian changed. New Review Date identified.