How long do I need to keep my records for?

The period of time for which you need to keep your records is determined by State Records NSW's General Disposal Authorities (GDAs). The GDAs set out minimum retention periods for different types of record based on its functions and activates and prescribe the action to be taken after that time has elapsed. For more on what to do with records that have exceeded their minimum retention period, see the Archive or destroy? page. Records must not be destroyed without the approval of the Manager, Policy and Records in accordance with the Records Management Procedure.

GDAs must be applied to every University record. Policy and Records manages the application of GDAs in Unirecords behind the scenes, but if you have any questions about the retention period of records held physically or in another system, please contact records@csu.edu.au.

Some common retention requirements have been summarised here for internal use:

• Records retention guide
• Student records register.

More generally, the University is required to comply with the following GDAs:

• Administrative records (GA28)
• Childcare services, provision and regulation of (FA404)
• Education: Higher and further education records (GA47)
• Health services, public: Patient/client records (GA17)
• Original or source records that have been copied (GA45)
• Source records that have been migrated (GA48)
• Transferring records out of NSW for storage and maintenance by service providers outside of the State (GA35).