Transferring Electronic Records to PROV

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1. Transfer documentation
2. Preparing the records
3. Finalising the transfer documentation
4. Approval to transfer

1. Transfer documentation

Public Record Office Victoria’s (PROV) transfer documentation requirements are outlined in the online guide or in the Guidelines for the Documentation and Transfer of Permanent Records to Public Record Office Victoria in Adobe PDF or MS Word format.

After fulfilling the first stages of the transfer documentation requirements, you will have received the following:

• a Victorian Agency (VA) number
• a Victorian Public Record Series (VPRS) number
• a Consignment number
• a Transfer Job number

You can now start to prepare the records for transfer.

2. Preparing the records

Electronic records must be transferred to PROV as VERS Encapsulated Objects (VEOs). To create VEOs, your agency’s electronic recordkeeping system must be VERS compliant. A VERS compliant electronic recordkeeping system will meet PROS 99/007 Management of Electronic Records (Version 2), Specifications 1-5. PROV must test your agency’s system and confirm its compliance prior to the commencement of the documentation and transfer process.

2.1 Testing of VEOs

PROV will only accept valid VEOs. For a VEO to be valid it must comply with PROS 99/007 Management of Electronic Records (Version 2) Specifications.

Before PROV will approve the transfer of electronic records, you will be asked to send in a few sample VEOs to PROV for testing. This will help to identify any problems early in the transfer process and will save you time and effort later on.

2.2 Listing the records

You will need to provide PROV with a manifest of the VEOs that have been accepted for transfer. A manifest is an XML file which contains a list of electronic records to be transferred. It contains the unique identifiers of the VEOs and is used to reconcile what is received with what was agreed would be transferred. A separate manifest must be completed for each consignment being transferred.

For details on how to create a manifest see PROS 99/007 Management of Electronic Records (Version 2), Specification 5.

Completed manifests should then be emailed to PROV.

Once PROV has received a manifest it will be checked for accuracy.

3. Finalising the transfer documentation

Please refer to the online guide or download the Guidelines for the Documentation and Transfer of Permanent Records to Public Record Office Victoria for details on how to finalise the transfer documentation.

4. Approval to transfer

4.1 Transfer of VERS Encapsulated Objects (VEOs) to PROV

VEOs can be transferred to PROV in two ways:

1. Online via the Internet
2. Via physical media (approved media types are listed in PROS 99/007 Management of Electronic Records (Version 2), Specification 5.

At this stage of the documentation and transfer process you must retain your copy of the VEOs. You must not destroy your copy of the VEOs until you have been notified that the transfer has been finalised and that PROV has formally accepted custody of the records. See Section 4.5 Finalising the transfer below.

4.1.1 Online records transfer

PROV provides the mechanism for the secure transfer of VEOs via the Internet. For details about online record transfer see PROS 99/007 Management of Electronic Records (Version 2), Specification 5.

4.1.2 Physical media records transfer

VEOs can be transferred to PROV via approved physical media. The physical media must be delivered to PROV by a reliable courier.

Please refer to PROS 99/007 Management of Electronic Records (Version 2), Specification 5 for:

• current information about approved media types
• labelling instructions
• more detailed information about the transfer of VEOs via physical media.

When the transfer has been finalised and PROV has formally accepted custody of the VEOs, we will destroy the physical media. However, PROV will not destroy the physical media if you have specifically requested their return.

4.2 Validation

After the VEOs have been received by PROV, two forms of validation are undertaken:

1. PROV will check what has been received against what was listed in the manifest
2. The VEOs will be validated against specific validation rules and checked for viruses.

If any problems are detected during validation, PROV may suspend the transfer or request that you correct the identified problems and resubmit part or all of the transfer.

4.3 Quarantine

After validation, all VEOs are sent into quarantine for a period of seven days. At the end of the quarantine period the VEOs are checked for viruses. PROV will notify you if viruses are detected. PROV may then request that you resend part or all of the transfer.

The quarantine period is important when estimating timeframes involved in transferring VEOs to PROV.

4.4 Quality assurance

During the transfer process PROV may undertake additional quality assurance checks.

If, at any stage of the transfer process, VEOs are found to be virus-infected or not valid, PROV reserves the right to suspend the transfer. PROV will advise you of the problems and what action needs to be taken to correct them. It may mean that some or all of the transfer must be resubmitted.

It is important to remember that until you have received notification from PROV that the transfer has been finalised, you must maintain your copy of the VEOs for your own use.

4.5 Finalising the transfer

Prior to the finalisation of the transfer, you will receive a custody report which acknowledges that PROV has formally accepted custody of the VEOs. Receipt of the custody report also signifies that you may destroy your copy of the VEOs.

PROV will notify you when the transfer has been finalised.

A transfer is finalised when:

• the VEOs have been stored securely in the digital archive
• the VEOs are available through the PROV website, www.access.prov.vic.gov.au

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