Review of the General Retention and Disposal Schedule for Administrative Records

Queensland State Archives is currently undertaking a major review of the General Retention and Disposal Schedule for Administrative Records (GRDS) following the introduction of the Financial Accountability Act 2009. The GRDS is issued in accordance with the Public Records Act 2002 and authorises the disposal of administrative records created by all public authorities.

The Financial Management section of the GRDS has been substantially revised to improve coverage of financial records in line with the Financial Accountability Act 2009 and the associated Financial and Performance Management Standard 2009.

Queensland State Archives is now undertaking whole-of-Government consultation on the proposed changes to the GRDS. A revised draft of the GRDS has been prepared following:

• consultation with Queensland public authorities that have primary responsibility for financial records including Queensland Treasury and the Queensland Audit Office
• feedback from users of the current version of the GRDS.
• assessment of disposal coverage for similar records in other Australian archival jurisdictions.

The following changes have been incorporated into the draft GRDS as part of this review:

• alignment of the Financial Management function of the GRDS with the Financial Accountability Act 2009, the Financial Accountability Regulation 2009, the Financial and Performance Management Standard 2009 and other finance related legislation
• targeted priority changes in other functions of the GRDS including record classes covering superannuation and radiation safety
• minor changes to some classes outside of the Financial Management function
• reformatting of the GRDS in line with the current Queensland State Archives retention and disposal schedule template.

All record classes which have been substantially revised are indicated with an asterisk *.

The GRDS has also been renumbered in line with the Guideline for the Development of Retention and Disposal Schedules to provide a clear distinction between functions, activities and transactions. The renumbering will support future plans to review the GRDS on a function-by-function basis.

Feedback

Feedback is sought from all Queensland public authorities on the proposed changes to the GRDS and in particular from business areas responsible for financial management and recordkeeping.

Queensland State Archives seeks feedback on a number of specific questions:

1. Do the revisions to the GRDS meet the needs of your agency regarding records disposal coverage and suitable retention periods?
2. What recordkeeping tools should be developed by Queensland State Archives to assist public authorities in successfully implementing the new version of the GRDS once it is released?
3. In which formats does your agency require the GRDS to be available (e.g. pdf, doc)?
4. Queensland State Archives plans to begin the review of another function of the GRDS in 2010. Which function of the GRDS should be reviewed next based on your usage of the Schedule?
5. Does your agency wish to raise any further issues or make any further comments with regard to the review of the GRDS?