Under Section 13 of the Public Records Act 2002 public authorities may not dispose of public records without the written authorisation of the State Archivist. A disposal action could consist of:
It does not include records that are transferred to another agency as a result of a transfer of functions or powers (see Section 8.4 of the Public Records Act 2002).
Appraisal is the process of evaluating business activities and records to determine which records need to be captured and how long these records need to be kept to meet business needs, accountability requirements and community expectations. As an outcome of the appraisal process, a disposal authority (or retention and disposal schedule) is developed by the agency and submitted to QSA for review and approval. The disposal authority is registered and numbered with a Queensland Disposal Authority Number (QDAN). Once an agency has obtained a disposal authority for its records, it may dispose of the records described in the authority without further reference to QSA.
The Guideline for the Development of Retention and Disposal Schedules provides information on the process involved in developing and seeking approval of a schedule, including templates that can be downloaded for completion and submission to QSA.
In addition to using the guideline, agencies should contact QSA and advise that the agency is developing or reviewing its core business schedule. This allows QSA to incorporate the schedule into its workplan, and ensure that staff are available to assist and offer advice in developing/reviewing the schedule.
Any agency wishing to dispose of records not covered by an existing approved disposal authority should contact QSA for advice before proceeding with a disposal action.
This Guideline provides public authorities with advice on implementing a Retention and Disposal Schedule approved by the State Archivist. It provides practical guidance on sentencing and disposing of public records and includes templates to assist public authorities in documenting these activities.
The destruction of original paper records after digitisation or scanning is disposal under the Public Records Act 2002 and permission of the State Archivist is required. The Digitisation Disposal Policy sets out what records may be eligible for authorisation and what conditions must be met.
The destruction of original paper records after microfilming is disposal under the Public Records Act 2002 and permission of the State Archivist is required. The Microfilming Disposal Policy sets out what records may be eligible for authorisation and what conditions must be met.
