Public Records Acts: Custody and Disposal Duties

Identify the Public Records Law and Record

Start with the public body’s jurisdiction and statutory record definition. Australia has separate public-records regimes, with different coverage and decision-makers.

Victoria’s Public Records Act 1973 defines public offices and public records, with exclusions that matter to classification. A file’s presence in a government office is insufficient on its own to resolve every case.

For the Commonwealth, use the Archives Act 1983 and National Archives framework. Do not apply a state Act merely because the agency or its lawyer works in that state.

Record the agency’s legal identity, the function being performed and how each record arose. Separate bank originals received from another party from agency-created copies and analysis. Identify any special legislation affecting the records.

Public-record status and confidentiality answer different questions. A record can require preservation while access remains restricted. Classify it under the records law, then assess privacy, privilege and disclosure permissions separately.

Determine Custody and Responsibility

Name the public body responsible for the records and the officer accountable for compliance before allocating tasks to a provider. In Queensland, section 11 places compliance responsibility on the chief executive for an authority that is not an individual.

Sections 14 and 15 require records of the authority’s actions and their context, preservation of controlled records and access arrangements for external storage. The Queensland Act also sets ownership rules in section 13. Those rules must be applied to the particular authority and record.

Keep four matters distinct in the engagement record:

• Physical possession identifies who holds the files or storage media.
• Legal control identifies who can require retrieval, use or return.
• Access permissions identify who may see the information and for what purpose.
• Recordkeeping responsibility identifies who maintains an accessible, usable record and approves its treatment.

An external lawyer or analyst may possess a working copy while the agency retains responsibilities. The contract must express the agency’s requirements for the particular arrangement.

PROV’s procurement and contract guidance explains why Victorian public offices must address recordkeeping through supplier contracts. Suppliers are not themselves bound by the Act in the same way as public offices. Outsourced government functions still require public records to be managed under PROV standards.

Apply Disposal Authorities and Preservation Duties

Match the record’s function and class to an applicable disposal authority before considering any disposal action. A minimum retention period alone does not establish permission to act.

In Victoria, retention and disposal authorities are standards issued by the Keeper that authorise disposal. In Queensland, the State Archivist authorises disposal under section 20. The agency must identify the authorisation covering its particular records.

Queensland’s Records Governance Policy addresses planned disposal, internal endorsement and documented actions. Section 12 of the Act distinguishes mandatory standards from policies authorities must consider and guidelines they may consider. Check the status of the instrument being applied.

Before approval, check for litigation or reasonably anticipated proceedings, investigations, access requests, statutory preservation duties and applicable disposal freezes. Record who checked each source of restraint. An unresolved hold keeps the affected records preserved while the responsible officer resolves it.

For Commonwealth records, National Archives disposal guidance explains the section 24 framework and records authorities. Disposal includes custody or ownership transfers and certain alterations, as well as destruction. Its freezes and retention notices override existing records authorities. Outsourcing arrangements also need assessment against General Records Authority 40.

This article supplies a classification and decision workflow. It provides no authority to destroy records.

Keep Source Statements and Derived Analysis Connected

Keep the source documents and the records explaining their analysis connected throughout the engagement. A transaction summary needs enough context for a future authorised user to locate the supporting statement.

Consider a fictional Queensland department investigating disputed payments. Its matter file contains bank PDFs received for the investigation, extracted transactions, a cited findings report and legal advice. Assume the department receives or keeps these materials for its statutory work.

Section 9 covers records evidencing the authority’s activities, contextual information, copies and parts of records. On these assumptions, the department treats all four categories as public records. Their retention classification and access permissions still require separate decisions.

As a practical handback specification, require a manifest listing each delivered file and version. Preserve original filenames or maintain a mapping when filenames change. State the page-number convention so a citation points to the intended statement page.

FinTrace’s findings cite the source PDF filename and page, giving the agency’s lawyers and accountants direct access to the underlying statement evidence. Include the delivered report, ledger and relevant source references in the agency’s handback requirements.

Set contract terms for custody, permitted copies, security controls, subcontractor access and incident reporting. Specify the return format and what happens to working copies after handback. Keep any proposed deletion subject to the agency’s lawful authority and holds, including where a supplier’s standard terms otherwise require automatic deletion.

Record Transfer, Access and Disposal Decisions

Create a decision record that allows another authorised officer to understand the proposed action and its legal basis. Use the following fields for each record group, separating groups when their authorities or holds differ.

For a transfer, finish with a retrieval check from the receiving system. An authorised user must be able to open a source PDF, locate a cited transaction and identify the report version. Test the restricted advice separately so the check also confirms that access permissions survived the move.

If a record is missing, preserve the remaining files and logs. Record the last known location, affected identifiers and custody history. Escalate to the agency’s records lead and legal team, then apply the relevant authority’s notification requirements where triggered.

Treat suspected unauthorised disposal as an incident requiring assessment. Stop related routine disposal while its scope is established. Close the transfer only when the receiving officer can retrieve the agreed records and every outstanding exception has an assigned owner.