Important mandatory requirement information

‘Archiving’, in this case meaning taking material out of active use and storing it elsewhere, is the first step in a series of processes to ensure long-term access to government information in electronic formats. If there is an agency need to retain the material for an extended time, and it is not eligible for transfer to the National Archives of Australia, you will need to put in place preservation strategies to make sure the information being archived will remain accessible in future even after multiple changes to hardware and software.

Why must I?

Under s. 24 of the Archives Act 1983 Australian Government agencies must retain their records for designated periods in accordance with records authorities issued by the National Archives of Australia. The Act also establishes that the public generally has a right of access to Commonwealth records.

The Evidence Act 1995 requires that all agencies need to take account of evidence legislation. A court may need to examine records as evidence of an organisation’s decisions and actions.

What must I do?

Websites are Commonwealth records and agencies must meet their legal obligations for retention and disposal of records under the Archives Act 1983. For further information see  Archiving web resources – advice and policy statement (National Archives of Australia).

This policy states:

• Commonwealth websites contain and generate records.
• Commonwealth web resources are publications.
• Commonwealth web-based records need to be kept.
• Conduct business risk assessments of Commonwealth web resources.
• Make and keep adequate records of Commonwealth web resources.

How do I?

The National Archives of Australia provides practical advice on implementation and how to comply with the policy at:

• Archiving web resources – guidelines for keeping records of web-based activity in the Commonwealth Government (National Archives of Australia)
• Secure and store (National Archives of Australia)
• Social media: Another type of Commonwealth record (National Archives of Australia)

Subjects:

• Archiving
• websites