
[Released under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982; FOI 27_2016]
CER Normal Administrative Practice
This policy refers to:
Information management
Published date:
04.05.15
Date for review:
Application:
Purpose:
Owner:
CER Chief Information Officer
Contact:
Shaun Keane
Category:
Information management
The electronic version published on the intranet is the current policy.
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Contents
Overview ......................................................................................................................................................... 3
Purpose ........................................................................................................................................................... 3
Scope ............................................................................................................................................................... 4
How do these guidelines relate to me? .......................................................................................................... 4
Guidance on normal administrative practice ................................................................................................. 4
What is normal administrative practice? .................................................................................................... 4
Records that may be destroyed using normal administrative practice ....................................................... 4
Facilitative, transitory or short term items: ................................................................................................ 5
Rough working papers and/or calculations: ............................................................................................... 5
Drafts not intended for further use or reference: ...................................................................................... 5
Copies of material retained for reference purposes only: .......................................................................... 5
Published material that does not form an integral part of the Clean Energy Regulator’s business records:
.................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Records that must not be destroyed using normal administrative practice ................................................ 6
Consultation .................................................................................................................................................... 9
Endorsement ................................................................................................................................................... 9
Approval .......................................................................................................................................................... 9
Version control ................................................................................................................................................ 9
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Overview
The purpose of these guidelines is to provide guidance on the destruction of records under the normal
administrative practice provisions of the
Archives Act 1983. Note that this practice is in accordance with the
Clean Energy Regulator’s Information Management Policy.
Many low‐value records should be disposed of when no longer useful, in accordance with normal
administrative practice.
Records may be divided into two broad categories;
useful or important; and
low‐value.
Useful or important records are to be saved into the Clean Energy Regulator’s recordkeeping systems.
Low‐value records, are those that are:
facilitative, transitory or short‐term items
rough working papers and/or calculations
drafts not intended for further use or reference
copies of material retained for reference purposes only
published material not included as part of an agency's records
These records should not be saved into the Clean Energy Regulator’s recordkeeping systems and may be
disposed of by Clean Energy Regulator staff in accordance with normal administrative practice.
Normal administrative practice allows Clean Energy Regulator employees to routinely destroy records that
are not needed as evidence of the Clean Energy Regulator’s day‐to‐day business and that do not need to
form part of the Clean Energy Regulator’s corporate records.
Purpose
The purpose of these guidelines is to highlight that disposing of low‐value records as soon as their usefulness
expires is good administrative practice and is a responsibility of all Clean Energy Regulator employees.
Continuing to keep low‐value records impinges on efficiency and effectiveness and unnecessarily complicates
the task of finding the more valuable or useful records.
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Low‐value records may be stored temporarily on SharePoint sites or in email folders and deleted when no
longer useful. Clean Energy Regulator employees are not required to record the disposal of low‐value records
that are disposed of in accordance with normal administrative practice, nor are they required to notify the
Records Management Team or the National Archives of Australia.
Scope
These guidelines apply to all Clean Energy Regulator employees and also apply to the products of all aspects
of Clean Energy Regulator business. They cover all business related records in any format including email
messages created using Australian Government systems.
How do these guidelines relate to me?
If you are:
Then your responsibility is:
All Staff
Take an active role in disposing of low‐value records as soon as their usefulness
expires. Ensure that low‐value records are not saved as corporate records, either
electronically or in hard copy.
Guidance on normal administrative practice
What is normal administrative practice?
Section 24 of the
Archives Act 1983 provides that Commonwealth records can be destroyed:
as required by a specific law;
with the permission of the National Archives of Australia using a Records Authority; or
in accordance with a normal administrative practice.
Normal administrative practice allows:
Clean Energy Regulator employees to routinely destroy records that are not needed as evidence of Clean
Energy Regulator business and that do not need to form part of its corporate records; and
agencies to manage the volumes of records they create and use every day in an efficient and accountable
way.
Records that may be destroyed using normal administrative practice
The following records examples, irrespective of format, may be considered for destruction using normal
administrative practice and in accordance with Principle 8, Disposal of a Record, from the Clean Energy
Regulator’s Information Management Principles
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Facilitative, transitory or short term items:
appointment diaries, calendars (excluding diaries used to record significant meetings and other
important matters or belonging to people holding high level positions, for example the Chief Executive
Officer);
informal communications which do not support, or contribute to the business of the Clean Energy
Regulator, such as with compliments slips, personal emails, some mail from distribution lists;
circulation copies of instructions, circulars, internal newsletters, other than master copies;
unsolicited communication or email (spam) offering goods or services;
email that has been captured into Clean Energy Regulator’s recordkeeping systems;
emails sent to multiple recipients, where another recipient has responsibility for capturing the message
into Clean Energy Regulator’s recordkeeping systems; and
computer backup media that duplicates Clean Energy Regulator’s electronic business transactions as
part of a routine IT process, once the media is no longer needed.
Rough working papers and/or calculations:
routine or rough calculations
working papers and background notes that support the development of drafts;
spreadsheets or word processing documents that have been incorporated into correspondence or a
separate final document; and
system outputs used to verify data, or answer ad hoc queries that are not part of regular reporting
procedures and not required for ongoing use.
Drafts not intended for further use or reference:
drafts of reports, correspondence, addresses, speeches, planning documents that have minor edits for
grammar or spelling;
drafts that do not contain significant or substantial changes or annotations; and
drafts that have been assessed as not required to document Clean Energy Regulator business activities.
(Note: Versions of drafts which contain significant changes to the context of a document must be saved
into the Clean Energy Regulator’s authorised information systems).
Copies of material retained for reference purposes only:
copies of records made for reference purposes or to support the development of other documents,
including summaries or extracts of records held in the Clean Energy Regulator’s recordkeeping systems;
and
duplicates of procedures, manuals, guidelines or plans (other than master or authorised copies).
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Published material that does not form an integral part of the Clean Energy Regulator’s business
records:
promotional or advertising material received; and
external publications.
Paper files may be destroyed under normal administrative practice by the Records Management
Team in the following circumstances:
A client ordering a file in error.
Duplicate file creation.
No papers existing on the file after a stock‐take or audit.
Records that must not be destroyed using normal administrative practice
Useful or important records are not to be destroyed using Normal Administrative Practice.
Records that are useful or important are generally kept:
for accountability purposes;
to support the ongoing efficient administration of Clean Energy Regulator business; and/or
because the records are considered as having cultural or known historical value.
Useful or important records are saved into the Clean Energy Regulator’s recordkeeping systems and are
managed and disposed of by the Records Management Team using Records Authorities issued by the
National Archives of Australia. Records that are covered by a Records Authority are not to be disposed of
using normal administrative practice.
Documents with any of the following characteristics must be treated as significant and not destroyed under
normal administrative practice:
add value to an existing record;
document significant Clean Energy Regulator operations;
record the Clean Energy Regulator’s involvement or interaction with other government agencies or
private individuals;
contain information on the rights or obligations of government or private individuals;
indicate when or where an event happened;
indicate how a decision was made; and /or
are identified as a formal draft of a policy, cabinet submission, agreement or legal document.
If a document does not possess any of these characteristics, it may be treated as a low‐value record and
disposed of under normal administrative practice.
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If you are unsure whether a record is low‐value you should speak to your supervisor or contact a member of
the Records Management Team.
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Consultation
Internal stakeholders:
External stakeholders:
Endorsement
Endorsed on:
04.05.15
By:
Chief Operations Officer
Signature:
Approval
Approved on:
By:
Signature:
Period of effect:
Review date:
Version control
Version Date
Author
Approver
0.1
27/10/2014
EDRMS Project Team
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0.2
29/10/2014
Office of the CIO
0.3
10/11/2014
Dependable Service Operational
Reference Group
0.4
28/04/2015
Alex Hilson
1.0
04/05/2015
Alex Hilson
Endorsed by Chief Operations Officer
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