In a Nutshell

Emails created or received in the course of business are public records.

Emails relating to business activities can be legal documents, and as such need to be managed accordingly.

In Depth

• Sending or receiving a business-related email is a business transaction. Therefore, the resulting evidence of this activity and conduct of affairs is a public record subject to legislation and to legal processes.

• Emails are to be treated as 'documents' as defined in s.7 (1) of the Freedom of Information Act 1992 and may be subject to applications under the same Act.

• Emails created or received while carrying out a public authority's function remain the property of the State of Queensland regardless of custody or location. This also applies to emails held in temporary custody by contractors and other third parties, including non-public sector or Commonwealth Government agencies.

• Emails are potential evidence in civil and criminal cases and may be required to be presented in a court of law.

It is important to be able to identify public records that need to be captured before progressing with the rest of the module. The following email classification activity will assist you in clarifying your knowledge in relation to this concept.

Public Records Activity

Questions

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Policy

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Management

What policies do you have in place for the capture of emails that are public records?

Record Staff

Emails must be readily accessible in a useable and meaningful form, irrespective of the origin, location or format of the records, to meet business and accountability requirements for as long as they have value. Emails must be stored, preserved and actively managed to ensure these records remain accessible, useable, reliable and authentic. Emails requiring ongoing retention should be captured, stored and managed in accordance with recognised recordkeeping practices in an Electronic Document and Records Management System (eDRMS).

Generally, to preserve electronic records designated for long-term retention, media and migrations need refreshing across successive software and hardware platforms. Migration policies and processes are to be documented as part of a public authority's overall information management plan.