Policy Statement

POLICY STATEMENT

1    Intent

Staff of the University of Tasmania must ensure records are created, captured, maintained, secured and disposed of in a way that complies with legal, administrative, cultural and University business requirements.

2    Scope

This policy applies to all employees of the University and to other parties conducting business on behalf of or acting as a representative of the University.

It applies to all aspects of the University’s business, including all records created and received as a result of transactions, research, teaching & learning, student administration and student services and all applications that generate records including email, databases, applications and websites.

3    Objective(s)

To provide a records management framework to ensure that;

• Records are appropriately created, managed and maintained in accordance with legislative requirements, policy, and recognised standards of best practice.
• Recordkeeping practices are set up to support all activities of the University.
• Recordkeeping practices are consistent and at a suitable standard across the University.
• Levels of responsibility are established regarding recordkeeping pertaining to all functions, processes, activities and transactions of the University.
• Appropriate security and access over University Records is provided.
• Historical documents of the University are captured and preserved.

4    Definitions and Acronyms

Definitions obtained in part from the following-
1,5,6,7      AS ISO 15489 Australian Standard for Records Management
2,3,4,9      AS 4390 Australian Standard for Records Management

5    Policy Maker

Executive Director, Finance and Administration

6    Policy Provisions

'The University of Tasmania Act 1992 provides the legislative structure in which the University is governed. The records in which the University creates are therefore State records, which come under the jurisdiction of the Archives Act 1983.  The Archives Act 1983 requires all relevant authorities to make proper records of the business of their organisation and keep them until they are dealt with through the other sections of the Act'.

The University is required to make proper records of the business in which it undertakes and to keep them until they are dealt with in accordance with business practices. These records are to be created and managed in ways to ensure that they can be reused and understood in the future. This can be for current business purposes, as evidence in legal proceedings, for accountability to internal or external stakeholders, or for future historical research

6.1 Records must be made
Records are made to document or facilitate the transactions of all business activities. Business rules and procedures are to be put in place to ensure that requirements to make records are documented and that systems are in place to facilitate the making of records. All staff are to be made aware of their responsibilities to make records.

6.2 Records must be accurate
Records are made at the time or as soon as practicable after the event to which they relate. All records made by the University are to provide a correct reflection of what was done, communicated or decided.

6.3 Records must be authentic
Records made or received by the University are routinely captured into a formal recordkeeping system and that appropriate metadata is created and captured, or otherwise associated with records.

6.4 Records must have integrity
Recordkeeping systems and storage facilities are designed and implemented to protect records from unauthorised access, alteration, deletion or loss. Unauthorised access, alteration or destruction is forbidden by University policy and practice. Migration of records from one system to another is controlled and documented and complies with best practice.

6.5 Records must be accessible and useable
Records are linked to the business context, which includes records relating to the same business activity or transaction. The location and use of records is to be recorded and tracked. Records are accessible for as long as they are required and disposed of in accordance with University disposal procedures.

7   Supporting/Related Documents

Standards applicable to Record Keeping are-

• AS ISO 15489-1 & 2 Records Management
• AS3806 Compliance Programs
• AS 4269 Complaints Handling
• AS ISO 23081.1 – 2004 Information & Documentation – Records Management Processes – Metadata for Records
• AS/NZS ISO 9001:2000 – Quality Management Systems
• AS ISO 19005.1 Document Management – Electronic document file format for long-term preservation Part 1: Use of PDF 1.4 (PDF/A-1)
• AS ISO 18492-2006 – Long-term preservation of electronic document-based information
• AS ISO 15801-2006 – Electronic Imaging – Information stored electronically – Recommendations for trustworthiness and reliability

Policies/Procedures applicable to the University of Tasmania Record Keeping practices-

• Archives Office of Tasmania Disposal Schedule for Common Administrative Functions Disposal Authorisation No 2157
• Archives Office of Tasmania Disposal Schedule for Short-Term Value Records Disposal Authorisation No 2158
• Archives of Tasmania Disposal Schedule for Temporary Value Source Records Disposal Authorisation No 2159
• Archives Office of Tasmania Disposal Schedule No 32 (DS32) for Student Administration Records of the University of Tasmania
• Archives Office of Tasmania Disposal Schedule for training and assessment records of government Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) Disposal Authorisation No 2135
• Archives Office of Tasmania “Guidelines & Advices” http://www.archives.tas.gov.au/legislative/staterecords
• Australian code of conduct for the responsible conduct of research
• Intellectual Property Policy
• Policy on Council Members Access to Information
• Ordinance of Endowments Prizes and Scholarships (Ordinance 30)
• Ordinance 7 – Execution of documents by the University
• Finance Policy Manual
• Privacy Policy
• Human Resource Administrative Manual – Staff Access to Personal File
• Council Confidential Information Policy

8    Key Words

• Records Management policy
• Records Management
• Record keeping policy
• Record keeping
• Recordkeeping
• Information Management
• Records Policy

9    Supporting Procedures/ Guidelines

• Records Management Guidelines
• TRIM Data Entry Standards
• Record Security Guidelines - Information Security Framework
• TRIM Security Guidelines

RESPONSIBILITIES

Who Needs to Know this Policy?

WHO NEEDS TO KNOW THIS POLICY?

• All UTAS staff

EFFECTIVENESS OF THIS POLICY

• That records are created and identified by placement into a recordkeeping system.
• That records are complete, accurate and placed in context (appropriate application of metadata).
• That business records are accessible by the application of appropriate security and access controls.
• That mechanisms are put in place to provide access to records over time in regards to storage requirements and migration of electronic data.
• That records are disposed of in accordance with University guidelines and procedures.

POLICY HISTORY