After reading our Knowledge Pack and determining with National Archives whether your agency needs to develop a new records authority or to review an existing one, you should seek support from your senior management to undertake a records authority project. Your Check-up survey results will assist you to identify information and records management issues in your agency, including the need to improve your agency’s disposal practices. This may indicate that a new or a revised records authority is required. Developing a business case justifying the need for new or revised disposal coverage and assessing the risks and benefits for taking on the records authority project will assist with ensuring support from within your agency, including from your agency’s information governance committee and Chief Information Governance Officer (or equivalent).

Please contact the Agency Service Centre if you need advice on how to build a business case for a records authority project.

A start-up meeting with National Archives is the formal commencement of a records authority project for us. This meeting will focus on the project expectations, requirements, responsibilities and scope. It is also an opportunity to ask questions about the process. A start-up meeting form will be sent with the Records Authority Knowledge Pack. It will need to be completed and returned to National Archives with the request to schedule a start-up meeting.

Following advice received during the start-up meeting, the next phase involves completing a Records Authority Submission form. This standalone form will be sent to your agency with the Records Authority Knowledge Pack.

The records authority submission identifies and describes agency core business functions and records that fall within the scope of the project. It proposes minimum retention periods and what should happen to the records once those periods have passed. You will need to complete a submission form and include a copy of your agency's current NAP policy with your submission, along with any supporting documentation, such as a gap analysis. This submission will require approval from senior management before it can be lodged with National Archives. Testing the records authority submission is a required step ahead of submitting your form to National Archives.

National Archives will assess your submission with a primary focus on identifying 'retain as national archives' (RNA) records. National Archives will work with your agency to discuss and resolve comments and questions about your submission. We acknowledge that you understand your business needs and, in most cases, we will accept your recommendations for keeping temporary records, where appropriate justifications are provided.

Exceptions to this will arise if the rights and entitlements of particular stakeholders do not appear to have been addressed, if the suggested retention period could expose the Australian Government to some liability, or if National Archives decides that records in a temporary class should be retained as national archives. Where such situations arise, further testing of the records authority submission may be needed.

After your agency and National Archives are satisfied with the draft records authority, you will need to seek agreement from your agency's senior management (e.g. a branch head) responsible for information management within your agency.

National Archives will authorise and issue the records authority to the head of your agency when your agency agreement has been received. It will then be published on our website.

Once the records authority has been issued, you can begin to use it to sentence your agency's records.

If you need advice on how to sentence records in complex databases, please contact us. We also encourage your agency to get in touch to set up transfers.

National Archives will be happy to assist your agency with implementation of your records authority.

If you have any questions about the process, do not hesitate to contact the Agency Service Centre for assistance.