This Recordkeeping in Brief has been designed for records managers to distribute it to their staff and other users of the collection. Records managers may need to alter some information to suit their particular polices, practices and resources. Much of the information in this Recordkeeping in Brief has been extracted from the National Archives of Australia's Archives Advice series. Their assistance is gratefully acknowledged.
Records are an important resource for public offices.
They assist in decision making, they allow the organisation to be accountable and they protect the rights and interests of the organisation's clients and staff. Staff and users should be encouraged to follow these simple guidelines to ensure that records are handled correctly so that they survive and are useable for as long as they are required. General handling rules Only authorised users should access the organisation's records. Always handle records carefully, supporting them so that minimal damage occurs. If you damage records in handling, please inform the records manager rather than attempting to repair the records yourselves.