Archive or destroy?

In addition to allocating retention periods, General Disposal Authorities (GDAs) are also legal documents that confer the authority of State Records NSW, allowing for records to be disposed of. Disposal refers to the action undertaken at the end of a records useful life or the end of its minimum retention period and typically involves either the archiving or destruction of the record.

If your records are no longer in use but have not yet met their minimum retention period under the relevant GDA, you may want to archive the records. It is generally appropriate to archive records if they have not been used or referred to for two or more years. Both physical and digital records can be archived, with digital archiving stored in Unirecords.

For help assessing whether your records should be archived, please contact records@csu.edu.au. If you are archiving physical records and have the materials boxed up and ready for labelling, you can fill out the Archive Box Content list and send it to the records team via email with your enquiry.

Physical records with a retention period of more than 45 years may be eligible for transfer to the Charles Sturt University Regional Archives. Contact records@csu.edu.au to confirm whether your records are eligible.

Where records are not eligible for transfer to the Regional Archives, you will need to ensure they are stored according to State Records NSW's Standard on the physical storage of State records.

Destruction of a record that has met its minimum retention period must not be undertaken without the approval of the Manager, Policy and Records, in accordance with the Records Management Procedure. If you believe you have records that have met their minimum retention period, follow the directions on the Requesting authority to destroy records page in Confluence.

If you have a large and growing body of records that require regular destruction, please see the Pre-approval to destroy records page in Confluence.

Preferred methods of destruction for physical records include secure shredding or pulping. This protects any private or confidential information that may be present in the records. Secure shredding bins are available at most campus locations. If you do not have ready access to a secure shredding bin, please contact Facilities Management for help.