Victorian Archives Conference Room
112 Macaulay Rd, North Melbourne
9:30 You are invited to attend the Official Launch of the Victorian Koorie Records Taskforce by Hon. Keith Hamilton MP,
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs
10:00 Welcome and PROV News
Industry Support Program, New Disposal Schedules, VERS Tender Update, Managing Electronic Records: Advice to Agencies, and much more …
Ross Gibbs, Director, Public Record Office Victoria
Justine Heazlewood, VERS Business Development Manager, PROV
10:15 Managing Email - Developing Effective Policies and Procedures
Following PROV advice to agencies on managing electronic records (see your most recent issue of PROfile), Jenny Robbins will explore the development of policies and procedures for managing email.
Jenny Robbins, Senior Consultant, Enterprise Knowledge
10:45 Contracting, Privatisation and Public Records
Following the release last year of the Report of the Audit Review of Government Contracts, PROV is working with Sophie Sturup, who has extensive experience in energy reform at the Department of Treasury and Finance, to implement the recommendations specifically related to records management (s.3.15 of the Report).
Sophie Sturup, Director, Antur Projects
11:15 Case Studies - Records Management Initiatives
Alistair Bourrilhon, Manager Records Unit, Department of Infrastructure
David Brown, Senior Archival Consultant, Archival Systems
Alison McNulty, Records and Information Manager, Museum Victoria
John McDonald, Principal Consultant, John McDonald Consulting
12:00 Close and Lunch
Welcome/Apologies
Tracey Manallack opened the meeting and welcomed the 80 members present, many of whom had attended the official launch of the Victorian Koorie Records Taskforce by Hon. Keith Hamilton MP, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs.
Apologies: Ross Gibbs.
Tracey Manallack took the Chair in the absence of Ross Gibbs.
PROV News: Justine Heazlewood, PROV.
Justine drew members’ attention to ‘Electronic Recordkeeping: Advice to Victorian Agencies’, included as a handout in the January/February edition of PROfile. The information sheet provides general advice to Victorian government agencies on the management of public records in electronic form, including interim measures which can be carried out by agencies until such time as an appropriate VERS compliant electronic recordkeeping system can be installed.
Justine informed members that the announcement of the successful tenderer for the implementation of VERS within the Department of Infrastructure is expected by the end of February.
Also, the new international standard for recordkeeping (Records Management Standard ISO15489) is expected to be issued as an international standard by the International Standards Organisation in May 2001. Justine noted that when this occurs Standards Australia will no longer support AS4390 Records Management.
PROV News: Tracey Manallack, PROV.
Tracey drew attention to the ‘Industry Support Program: Training what do you want?’ questionnaire, which will be used by PROV to identify training needs within government agencies. Members’ responses will help shape PROV’s training calendar for the second half of 2001.
Managing Email – Developing Effective Policies and Procedures: Jenny Robbins, Senior Consultant, Enterprise Knowledge.
Effective Email management offers agencies the prospect of enhanced operational efficiency, a reduced risk of litigation, added protection from computer viruses, and a reduction in email misuse and wastage of worktime. Jenny outlined the key issues to consider, including how to manage the accuracy and authenticity of email content, how to ‘capture’ email messages, how to manage their disposal, and how (or whether) to restrict the use of email for personal purposes. An email policy should be developed within the existing policy framework of the organisation, be reviewed regularly (especially given the rate of change in the IT environment), and be readily available to all users. Responsibility for audit and the penalties, if any, of non-compliance, should also be documented in the policy.
Jenny’s paper is available on the RMN website.
Contracting, Privatisation and Public Records: Sophie Sturup, Director, Antur Projects.
Sophie provided members with an overview of the PROV project "All Records; All Activities", which has been designed to implement the recommendations of last years’ Audit Review of Government Contracts. Based on PROV’s submission, Section 3.15 of the Audit Review stated that government should:
Sophie drew attention to the variety of entities which now provide public services and which may not be aware of the fact. These include statutory bodies, state owned enterprises, state owned corporations law companies, private companies that have bought government assets or companies, private companies delivering services under contract, and private organisations funded entirely by Government to provide public services. Using the breakup of the former SECV as an example, Sophie illustrated the complexities involved in determining if a particular entity is covered by the Public Records Act.
"All Records; All Activities" has resulted in PROV initiating a relationship with most public sector agencies. In relation to privatised services, where appropriate, PROV has started a process of retrieving public records that were left in possession of the new owners to enable a smooth transition of the functions of the business. PROV is also planning to develop training mechanisms for both contract managers, and contractors to ensure records produced under contracts are managed appropriately. The project is for the long term and PROV is committed to managing all public records in accordance with the Public Records Act.
Sophie’s paper is available on the RMN website.
Case Studies – Records Management Initiatives
Vital Records Project @ Department of Infrastructure: David Brown, Senior Archival Consultant, Archival Systems.
The project, since renamed Business Record Keeping @ DOI, aims to identify information collections across DOI, prioritise collections of electronic and paper information by identifying the value of the collections to various stakeholders, and develop appropriate and effective processes to assist the VERS team. The ER environment within DOI has presented the team with a variety of challenges. Databases, for example, whilst usually being very successful as managers of data and administrative tools, may not satisfy completely the definition of being a full and compliant record. David also explored the question of how disposal processes developed for traditional paper based structures might apply to the electronic world. Some of the issues being: users that can’t/don’t/won’t recognise the documents they create/receive as records, collections of data that are not full ‘records’, uncontrolled and perhaps unmanageable directories of documents, minimal metadata/separate metadata for a document, and disposal schedules that aren’t designed to recognise electronic information. The project has created a set of tools and documents designed to allow the VERS@DOI team to analyse and prioritise work units and data collections.
Davids paper is available on the RMN website.
Hamer Award Winning Solutions @ Museum Victoria: Alison McNulty, Records and Information Manager, Museum Victoria.
Alison was "absolutely thrilled" with winning a Sir Rupert Hamer Records Management Award for her work in developing and implementing a records management program within Museum Victoria. Previously, records management standards varied considerably across the organisation. Officers had difficulty in locating records and archival records were considered to be at risk. This was of concern to senior management. Alison described the program’s development, implementation, and results, noting how important it had been to involve as many people from as many levels of the organisation as possible, and to keep people on-side.
Winning the award has raised the profile of the records management program, helped to market it, and to justify its existence, as well as providing a morale boost for all those involved.
Water Industry Restructuring: the records issues resolved? John McDonald, Principal Consultant, John McDonald Consulting.
John took members on a guided tour of the history of water industry restructure and PROV’s efforts to develop an effective disposal schedule for the agencies involved in water management. Whilst administrative change and privatisation of certain aspects of the industry has posed difficulties for records management, perhaps the greatest challenge has been the development of a dialogue between PROV and those involved in the technical aspects of water management, such as engineers. There was general agreement that past attempts at scheduling had been quite good in dealing with administrative processes, but somewhat lacking in dealing with technical records. John explained how these problems had been addressed, culminating in the issue of the General Disposal Schedule for Water Authorities’ Records (PROS 00/01) last September, and the scheduling of the first training session in its implementation that very afternoon.
Meeting Closed 12.30 pm.
About 20 members adjourned to attend the PROV training session: Implementing Disposal Schedules: Water Authorities.
Any queries regarding the RMN can be directed to
Tracey Manallack: % 9348 5613, fax 9348 5656, tracey.manallack@dpc.vic.gov.au
David Fowler: % 9348 5642, fax 9348 5656, david.fowler@dpc.vic.gov.au