In a Nutshell

Emails must be captured into an identifiable recordkeeping system as routinely and as automatically as possible.

Systems must be in place for the capture, archiving and retrieval of emails that are public records.

In Depth

• Electronic recordkeeping should be incorporated into all government business activities conducted in the electronic environment, including electronic service delivery and e-commerce activities.
• Emails need to be captured into recognised recordkeeping systems where they can be managed as records, not merely as a communication interchange
• Emails required as evidence of business activity may be captured, in an electronic recordkeeping system or printed and filed into a paper-based recordkeeping system.

The following diagram summarises who has the responsibility for capturing the email in the recordkeeping system.

Link to email capture diagram

Questions

Click here to check your understanding.

Policy

Click here to link to the policy.

Management

What recordkeeping system do you currently have in place?

Is this sufficient to deal with current/future volumes of emails?

If not, have you considered this as part of your ICT Strategic Planning Activity?

Record Staff

Recordkeeping functionality may be built into email systems for the capture and ongoing management of records; however, the recordkeeping system should be appropriately secure and separate from the transaction system

Emails should be captured into an identified recordkeeping systems as routinely and as soon as possible. Storing emails on servers or private drives should be discouraged as these practices prevent adequate recordkeeping. Storing emails in authorised recordkeeping systems allows for greater control and access to emails that are public records. It also facilitates better disposal practices.

An electronic recordkeeping system must:

• provide for designating when a document is a record;
• allow segregation of permanent and temporary records;
• have sufficient capacity to store records for their authorised retention periods;
• provide for the grouping of related records into classifications according to the series or functions;
• permit easy and timely retrieval of both individual records and files or group of related records;
• retain the records in a useable format for their required retention period as specified by approved Retention and Disposal Schedules;
• facilitate regular scheduled disposal;
• provide for records to be accessible; and
• preserve the transmission and receipt data.