Car towing caravan on Suttor Dev Road and Peak Downs Highway, c 1970s – 1980s
Nearly! We know it has been a long and winding road but the release of the new General Retention and Disposal Schedule is fast approaching. We thought we would give you a few reminders of some things you might need to think of between now and then.
To make sure you are keeping your records for appropriate periods of time, you must always use the most current version of a schedule when destroying records. The release of the new GRDS will be a game changer in this regard.
Currently undertaking disposal?
We are aiming to release the new GRDS in September 2016. Once it’s out it means that the current version of the GRDS is revoked and can no longer be used to authorise disposal. If you are planning on using the current version to complete a disposal program it will be a good idea to keep this timeframe in mind.
Disposal plans after September?
If you have disposal plans for the second part of the year, it is worth keeping in mind that the new GRDS may provide greater coverage to your agency and assist in broadening your disposal program.
Once released, there are also a few things that may need to be done in order to make the transition to the new version. You may need to:
- work out if any retention periods have changed since your records were sentenced, including any increases or decreases – we will provide a summary of changes and mapping tools to help you with this
- calculate any changes to destruction dates for your records if retention periods have changed
- if you use standing endorsements, make sure you check that the retention period remains the same under the new GRDS
So what’s new?
You have previously told us that you would love a numbering pattern that offers less change and is easy to manage now and into the future. Which is why we are so excited about our new record class numbering pattern. If you missed it the first time have a look at our blog What’s in a number? to find out more.
To keep up to date all things recordkeeping at QSA why don’t you follow us on our new Twitter account @QSA4Gov . We would love to keep you in the loop!
And of course remember you can contact us at any time via email, telephone, blog or Twitter.
Sarah Probst
Appraisal Archivist
