State Records Commission Standards

State records are defined by the State Records Act 2000 as any record of information however recorded.

The State Records Commission has set standards for the management of records of information and the State Records Office provides advice on how these Standards should be applied to record keeping.

Any Western Australian entity considered a “State organisation” in the Act must comply with the requirements of the Standards. Some examples are:

• Government departments
• Boards and Committees
• Ministerial offices
• Local government authorities including Regional Councils
• Public universities
• Government trading enterprises such as Port Authorities
• Electricity corporations and water corporations established by WA legislation
• Parliamentary departments including the Legislative Council, Legislative Assembly and the Parliamentary Services Department

Under section 10 of the Act the principal officer of an organisation is responsible for ensuring compliance with the Act, including compliance with SRC Standards.

Non government entities do not need to comply with the Standards, although they are welcome to use them for guidance on better records management practice.

Records Management Standards

• SRC Standard 1: Government Recordkeeping (PDF)
• SRC Standard 2: Recordkeeping Plans (PDF)
• SRC Standard 3: Appraisal of Records (PDF)
• SRC Standard 4: Restricted Access Archives (PDF)
• SRC Standard 6: Outsourcing (PDF)
• SRC Standard 7: State Archives Retained by Government Organizations (PDF) and associated Archival Storage Specification (PDF)
• SRC Standard 8: Managing Digital Information (PDF)

Also available from the Western Australian Legislation website under