Disposal of University Records Guidelines
Application
These guidelines apply to all staff members and students at the University.
Purpose
These guidelines provide further information and recommended best practices for implementing the Records Management policy.
Guidelines
Disposal of University Records
Relocations are often seen as an opportunity to tidy up, cull and then dispose of or delete unneeded and unwanted materials and files. Where these materials are University records there is a policy regarding what may be disposed of and what must be retained.
The individual staff member is not authorised to decide what to keep and what to dispose of without reference to either the University’s General Disposal Authority (GDA) in respect to specific categories of record and the University’s approved disposal process; or the Faculty’s, Large Scale Research Institute’s or Division’s Records Co-ordinator.
University records are covered by the Public Records Act 2005 and a legally binding General Disposal Authority (GDA) has been authorised by the Chief Archivist. The GDA establishes the minimum time specific types of record are required to be kept. The University may, however, elect to retain some records for longer periods if there is an identified need to do so.
Details of this can be found on the Records Management page on the staff intranet.
Contact the Records Management Programme Manager (ext 84586) for more information or advice.
Definitions
The following definitions apply to this document:
General Disposal Authority (GDA) refers to the General Disposal Authority for University Records including such extensions to the mandatory minimum periods as my be approved by the University of Auckland.
Public record refers to a record created by a public office when carrying out its activities. The University is defined under the Public Records Act 2005 as a public office. A public record does not include a special collection or records created by the academic staff or students of a tertiary institution, unless the records have become part of that institution. For records created by staff or students which become part of the public record, see University records below.
Staff member refers to an individual employed by the University on a full or part-time basis. This includes permanent, fixed-term or casual staff members.
University refers to the University of Auckland and includes all subsidiaries.
University Records refers to public records created by the University when carrying out its activities. "University' includes any entities in which the University has an ownership stake of 50% or more. Academic research materials, personal teaching materials and materials created by students are not public records, unless specifically designated as such. Research materials, personal teaching materials and materials created by students should, where appropriate, be managed in accordance with the University's Research Policy Manual and Guidelines, and Intellectual Property including Inventions and Patents Policy.
Key relevant documents
Include the following:
Document management and control
Content manager: Director, IT Strategy PP
Owned by: CIO
Prepared by: Records Management Programme Manager
Date: 31 August 2017