Implementing a retention and disposal authority

How to sentence records

Before you start

To sentence records effectively:

Understand your organisation's role, structure, functions, and activities, both current and historical.
Familiarise yourself with retention and disposal authorities, which outline how long records must be kept and whether they should be destroyed or retained as State archives.
Retention and disposal authorities must be up-to-date, approved by the Board of State Records NSW, and issued by State Records NSW for use by that public office.
Read authority introductions and guidelines for specific advice.

Regardless of whether a record has been approved for destruction or is required as a State archive, a public office or an officer of a public office must not permanently transfer possession or ownership of a State record to any person or public office without the explicit approval of State Records NSW.

Find more information how to develop retention and disposal authority guidelines.

Sentencing steps

Follow these six steps to sentence records:

Determine the applicable authority
- Identify the correct general or functional retention and disposal authority. See the directory of retention and disposal authorities (XLSX 421.92KB) to find the authorities that can be used by your agency.
- Use up-to-date authorities; contact State Records NSW if unsure.
Determine the functions and activities
- Examine the record to identify its purpose and organisational function.
Identify the disposal class
- Use the authority’s index to find the correct disposal class.
- If multiple classes apply, choose the one with the longest retention period.
Sentence the record
- Apply the disposal action and identify the trigger event (e.g., completion of action).
- Separate records to be destroyed from those to be retained as archives.
Implement the disposal action
- Confirm and approve disposal actions if the trigger event has occurred.
- Retain disposal authorisation records.
Set a review date (if needed)
- For records still in use, set a future review date and update control records.

General rules for sentencing

Use the longest retention period: If multiple classes apply, retain records for the longest period.
Do not remove pages from files or break up a record: Maintain file integrity unless explicitly permitted.
Check file contents: Ensure file titles match contents, especially for older records.
Document your decisions: Maintain metadata and records of disposal actions.

Interpretation of disposal triggers

It is very important that triggers are appropriately interpreted and understood by those implementing the authority. Sometimes they rely on information from elsewhere in the organisation, e.g. date of birth of an employee. Where possible, the organisation should build the recording of the dates or required information into standard records procedures so staff will know, for example, when a file should be marked as inactive or closed.

This is the most common disposal trigger in the authority. 'Action completed' refers to the final transaction of business, e.g. the final document is attached to the file and the file is closed. An action does not include a file movement or audit (unless the organisation determines an audit is an action).

In the case of paper-based registers the date of the last entry in the register may be a suitable trigger for when action is completed (providing all actions associated with the matters recorded in the register have been completed). In the case of electronic registers, however, it may be more appropriate to apply the disposal action to individual entries in the register rather than the register as a whole (as the last action on the register as a whole may be indefinite). In this case the trigger can be calculated from the last time an individual entry in the register was updated or amended, or from when the data has become obsolete.

This trigger usually applies where ongoing use of the records is likely to be short term, or where ongoing reference use of the records is linked to the conduct of business processes and the determination of appropriate periods for retention relies on an organisation's assessment of its own business needs and uses. This can vary from one organisation to another depending on the nature of its business.

For the purposes of implementing the authority and facilitating the production of reports or triggers for the review of these records as part of a regular disposal program the organisation may wish to define a standard retention period for these types of records. Suitable standard retention periods can be defined through discussions with business units or action officers who use the records.

This trigger is commonly used for contracts, agreements, licences etc. The organisation needs to determine how long this will be, based on the individual circumstances.

In the case where there are set periods of operation built into contracts, agreements etc this will be straightforward to convert to an 'after action completed' trigger. However, any extension of the contract, agreement etc would require a change in the retention period

This trigger usually relates to policies, procedures etc. The organisation needs to have a mechanism to note when policies, procedures etc are replaced so that the trigger can be applied.

This trigger is used when the statutory limitation period for commencing a legal action or claim will vary from an adult to a child (e.g. when it is dependent on the person's age). The organisation is responsible for seeking advice regarding the expiry of the statutory limitation period before implementing the disposal action.

On some occasions, classes are divided into 'major', 'significant' or 'substantive' versus 'minor' or 'routine' records or events. When these classes occur, there are usually examples provided of types of records or events that may fall into each category in order to guide organisations.

As a guide, the types of events or matters that may be considered to fall within the category of 'significant' or 'major' include those that:

affect the whole-of-government or portfolio function
concern major liabilities or obligations of the organisation or the State
relate to the development of legislation, regulations or policies
relate to controversial matters (i.e. subject to formal or parliamentary inquiry or intense media scrutiny)
have wide community interest
otherwise significantly affect the organisation's functions or structure.

Managing the calculation of triggers and disposal processes

Public offices need to consider and plan how they are to manage the implementation of triggers. For some it may be possible to automate the process. For example, a date of birth may be entered into the public office's human resource management system and automatically applied as a 'after date of birth' trigger in the records management system.

If automation is not possible, the development of business rules or procedures may be required to ensure that information is communicated by the relevant business unit to the records management unit so that the trigger is applied.

When disposal dates have been reached, procedures should also be in place to ensure the circulation of lists or details of records proposed for destruction to relevant action officers for internal authorisation and approval before any disposal action takes place. These officers can identify if circumstances have changed, e.g. extensions of contracts or legal cases, which will affect the implementation of disposal decisions and may warrant the retention of records for longer periods as appropriate.

Implementing alternative disposal actions

Some disposal classes provide two or more alternative disposal decisions, depending on the nature of the records (e.g. most classes for records relating to agreements provide a minimum retention period of 12 years for specialty contracts and a minimum retention period of 7 years for standard contracts or agreements). These disposal decisions require the user to apply the correct decision.

To enable the automation of sentencing in electronic systems, all such disposal decisions are labelled with (A), (B) or (C). This letter can be added to the disposal class number in electronic systems, thereby providing a unique identifier for each disposal action.

Managing the records after sentencing

Efficient management plans are essential for sentenced records:

Transfer to secondary storage

Store records on-site or with a storage provider, ensuring digital records remain accessible and authentic.

Destruction of records

Follow stringent procedures for record destruction once minimum retention periods have been met. Refer to destruction of records guidelines.

Transfer to State archives to Museums of History NSW

Transfer records that are required as State archives once they are 25 years old or earlier if no longer in use.

View transferring State archives for more information or contact Agency Services (transfer@mhnsw.au) for assistance.

Normal administrative practice (NAP)

NAP allows the destruction of records that do not document business decisions or significant activities. Develop internal policies to define and authorise NAP processes.

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Related information

Retention and disposal of records FAQ