Letter to the Attorney-General
To:
The Hon Kyam Maher MLC
Attorney-General
This annual report will be presented to Parliament to meet the statutory reporting requirements of State Records Act 1997 and the requirements of Premier and Cabinet Circular PC013 Annual Reporting.
State Records of South Australia (State Records) is a business unit within the Attorney-General’s Department (AGD) and as such the administrative reporting relating to State Records that is required under PC013 is included in the consolidated AGD Annual Report.
This report is verified to be accurate for the purposes of annual reporting to the Parliament of South Australia.
Submitted on behalf of the State Records of South Australia by:
Stephanie Coleman
Director, State Records
From the Director
In 2022-23, State Records published a new Strategic Plan 2023-2026. Expanding on past achievements, the new Plan articulates how we will continue to build our Identity, Priorities for Aboriginal Peoples, the Archive and Information Governance over the next four years and describes the strategies and actions we will take to continue to progress to shape our future.
A significant achievement during the year was the much anticipated replacement of ArchiveSearch, our online catalogue. This was a substantial undertaking by all involved. Released in March 2023 the new ArchiveSearch catalogue provides an improved user experience and enhanced searching for the physical records held in the archive.
State Records continued its commitment to National Family History Month in August 2022 and the South Australian History Festival in May 2023. These events included behind the scenes tours of the repository, talks from State Records staff about using the archives to research family history, and events run in collaboration with National Archives of Australia.
The 150th anniversary of the Overland Telegraph line was commemorated with a display in the GPO Exchange Foyer in August 2022, featuring the diary of Charles Todd, the Postmaster General who managed the construction of the line.
State Records continued to prioritise the refresh of our information management policy suite with the release of an updated Information Management Strategy.
After extensive consultation, State Records also released the newly developed:
- Information Governance Guideline
- Information Governance Self-Assessment Tool
- Information Privacy Strategy; and
- Protecting Personal Information – the Privacy Fundamentals.
Looking forward, State Records will be continuing our commitment to the Tandanya Declaration by completing a review of State Records’ response, to assess the actions taken since 2019, and set a revised plan of action to be completed.
In addition, we will develop a new digitisation guideline to underpin the Disposal Standard and undertake an information management maturity survey to assess all state and local government’s current information management practices against the Information Management Standard as a benchmark for future surveys.
State Records will continue to work through the Deadline 2025 project to digitise and preserve magnetic media and films in the archive collection. This will include a detailed audit of all magnetic and film formats held, liaison with state and local government agencies responsible for these records, and the commencement of digitising items.
Stephanie Coleman
Director, State Records of South Australia
Overview: about the agency
Our Purpose | State Records of South Australia (State Records) is responsible for the administration of the State Records Act 1997 (the Act) on behalf of the Attorney-General. |
Our Vision | Information assets of the State are created, preserved and accessible. |
Our Value | Our advice and services facilitate information governance maturity that supports a modern and trusted government by improving the integrity and accessibility of information assets. We preserve records of enduring value and share the state’s recorded history. |
Our legislative functions, objectives, and deliverables | State Records has the following functions under section 7 of the Act; (a) to receive official records into its custody in accordance with this Act; (b) to ensure the organisation, retention, conservation and repair of official records in its custody; (c) to make determinations (with the approval of the [State Records] Council) as to the disposal of official records under this Act; (d) to publish, or assist in the publication of, indexes of, and other guides to, the official records in the custody of State Records or official records whose delivery into State Records' custody has been postponed or is subject to an exemption granted by the Manager; (e) to provide for public and agency access to the official records in the custody of State Records in accordance with this Act; (f) to assist in identifying official records in the custody of State Records the disclosure of which might constitute a contravention of aboriginal tradition; (g) to provide advice and assistance to agencies with respect to their record management practices; (h) to issue standards (following consultation with the Council) relating to record management and assist in ensuring that agencies observe the best record management practices; (i) to promote awareness of State Records and its functions; (j) to perform any other functions assigned to State Records by this or any other Act or by the Minister. In accordance with section 7(j) of the Act, State Records also
- Information Privacy Principles Instruction
Administers the State Government’s copyright use agreements. |
At 30 June 2023, State Records comprised of four teams:
- Archive
- Executive
- Information Governance
- Operations and Improvement.
State Records is a business unit of the Attorney-General’s Department (AGD). As a result, information related to any State Records activity in the following categories is included in the consolidated AGD 2022-23 Annual Report:
- Employment opportunity programs
- Agency performance management and development systems
- Work health, safety and return to work programs
- Executive employment in the agency
- Consultant disclosure
- Fraud detected in the agency
- Strategies implemented to control and prevent fraud
- Public interest disclosure
- Public complaints
- Audited financial statements
- Carers’ Recognition Act 2005.
The agency’s performance
Performance at a glance
State Records upholds the South Australian Public Sector Values and contributes to whole of Government objectives by;
- Facilitating and supporting public and agency access to government records in the archive to preserve records of enduring value and share the state’s recorded history.
- Developing and maintaining information management policies for public sector agencies to improve the integrity and accessibility of information assets.
- Providing education on recordkeeping.
- Investing in technology to ensure that records in the archive are maintained and available.
- Engaging with our customers and the South Australian community, and
- Providing awareness on best practice approach to protecting individual’s personal information privacy.
Agency specific objectives and performance
Indicators | Performance |
|---|---|
Audit of magnetic media and film in response to the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia’s Deadline 2025 discussion paper. Conservation and digitisation of glass plate negatives. | 413 films have been tested for acidity levels to determine preservation status and priority for digitisation. In January 2023 a project to re-house and digitise 276 glass plate negatives created by photographer Frank Hurley in 1935 was completed. Following the success of this project, a long-term plan to re-house and digitise approximately 12,000 more glass plate negatives commenced in February 2023. |
Indicators | Performance |
|---|---|
Program of information management policy works identified and delivered to support agencies. | The Information Management Strategy 2023-2026 was published in April 2023. The Information Governance Guideline was published in April 2023, which expands on the behaviours underpinning the Information Management Standard. The Self-Assessment Tool was released, which enables agencies to assess their information management program’s compliance and practices against the Information Management Standard. The Information Privacy Strategy was published in June 2023. This Strategy is underpinned by the Protecting Personal Information – the Privacy Fundamentals also published in June 2023. |
Indicators | Performance |
|---|---|
Implement tools and technologies to improve customer experience. Conduct community engagement programs. | The ArchiveSearch catalogue replacement was implemented in March 2023. Community engagement programs included:
|
Indicators | Performance |
|---|---|
Develop a Strategic Plan outlining how State Records will meet its vision and purpose from 2023 to 2026. | Following public and agency consultation, the State Records Strategic Plan 2023-2026 was published and is available on the website. |
Indicators | Performance |
|---|---|
Progress listed actions. | The Aboriginal Reference Group continued to meet. State Records:
|
Reporting required under any other act or regulation
| Act or Regulation | Requirement |
|---|---|
| State Records Act 1997 | Section 16 – Inadequate record management practices to be reported. If the Manager is of the opinion that the record management practices of an agency are inadequate, the Manager must report the matter to the Minister. Section 32 – Annual Report
The Minister must cause a copy of the report to be laid before both Houses of Parliament within six sitting days after being provided with the report. |
Section 16 - Inadequate record management practices
No reports of inadequate record management practices were made during the reporting year.
Further information
More detail regarding programs and initiatives under this Act can be found on the State Records website and in the Annual Activity Statement of State Records for 2022-23.