In a Nutshell

To assist the records unit in classifying emails, the same structure should be applied to all emails that are public records.

Templates or forms may assist in this area

In Depth

• Construct emails using forms or style templates that have mandatory fields that assist in bringing structure to email (e.g. a tick box indicating this is a 'Business Message', a file reference field, an author name field, a title and organisation fields).
• Identify business transactions. Categorise or index your correspondence as: 'business', 'information only' or 'private'.
• Include signature and salutation blocks in emails. Details should include name, title, organisational unit, etc as this will add valuable contextual information to the email.

Questions

Click here to check your understanding.

Policy

Click here to link to the policy.

Management

Do you need a style guide for emails that are public records?

Record Staff

Public authorities must ensure the evidentiary value of email transactions, and the general reliability and availability of the email system is maintained. Emails of continuing value are to be migrated across programs, applications and platforms to preserve their original structure, context and content.

Servers will facilitate the maintenance of emails that are public records over time. Electronic records requiring ongoing retention should be captured, stored and managed in accordance with recognised data management practices in an Electronic Document and Records Management System (eDRMS).