Identify your records for transfer
Confirm with your records management area that the:
Contact us to discuss your transfer
If you are planning to transfer RNA records to the National Archives please contact us, through the Agency Service Centre, so that we can discuss the process with your agency.
Please also refer to the Initial assessment questions which are used to inform each transfer proposal. The timing for each transfer is agreed on a case by case basis. For physical records, the preservation and storage requirements of the records will inform the repository location your records will be transferred to.
For digital records, we discuss digital transfer requirements such as:
- records classification and format
- application of the National Archives' Preservation Digitisation Standards
- volume of records in gigabytes/terabytes
- checksums
- metadata required, including application of the National Archives’ minimum metadata set
- migration of records to an external storage device for transfer.
Prepare your records for transfer
Make sure the records:
- are sentenced as 'Retain as national archives' (RNA) using a current records authority
- are no longer needed for current business use
- belong to the same series
- have the same security classification within the designated transfer. Arrangements for transfer of records with a classification of 'protected' or above must be discussed on a case by case basis prior to transfer.
- are in record number (control symbol) order
- are in an appropriate digital format for transfer if created from 1 January 2016, or are digitised to National Archives' preservation standards. When the prescribed conditions of General Records Authority 31 (GRA31) are met, the physical records may be destroyed after digitisation.
Please contact us early for specific guidance prior to transfer through the Agency Service Centre.
Provide digital records to us on an agreed portable storage device such as a USB or hard drive.
For more details, refer to Preparing records for transfer.
Complete and return transfer documents
We will send you transfer documents to complete and return as part of the transfer process. These are similar for physical and digital transfers.
The transfer documents include:
- a Transfer Proposal Approval (TPA) form
- an unclassified format specific item list
- guidelines on how to complete each form.
Check the records match the information in the item list and TPA form.
Transfer approval and confirmed delivery date
After reviewing your TPA form and item list, we may have further questions or may ask you to revise the transfer documents before we approve the transfer.
When we approve the transfer, we will:
- schedule the transfer delivery date and location
- advise you of the next steps to take.
Transfer completion
Your agency transports the records to the agreed National Archives repository on the agreed delivery date, at your agency's expense. The records should remain in your agency’s custody until then.
Follow the Australian Government Protective Security Framework for handling and transporting classified records. Ask your agency security area for advice.
We will let you know when your transfer is complete and provide you with relevant documentation.
