Records Retention, Disposal and Destruction

This guideline provides instruction to State organisations on the proper retention, disposal and destruction of their records. It covers requirements and procedures for conducting a retention and disposal program, as well as appropriate methods of records destruction and media sanitisation.  

This guideline is to be consulted whenever any records disposal is being considered or conducted. 

The SRO acknowledges the following sources used in the development of this guideline.

Australian Cyber Security Centre, Information Security Manual, Australian Government, Australian Signals Directorate, https://www.cyber.gov.au/business-government/asds-cyber-security-frameworks/ism (accessed 07 October 2025)
National Archives of Australia, Compliant Destruction of Australian Government Information, https://www.naa.gov.au/information-management/disposing-information/information-disposal/compliant-destruction-australian-government-information (accessed 07 October 2025)
Office of Digital Government, WA Government Cyber Security Policy, https://www.wa.gov.au/government/publications/2024-wa-government-cyber-security-policy (accessed 07 October 2025)
Office of Digital Government, WA Government Information Classification Policy, https://www.wa.gov.au/government/publications/western-australian-information-classification-policy (accessed 22 December 2025)
Public Record Office Victoria, Destruction – Information about destroying records, https://prov.vic.gov.au/recordkeeping-government/a-z-topics/destruction (accessed 07 October 2025)
Public Record Office Victoria, Guideline 3 – Destruction, https://prov.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/documents/pros_1013_g3_v1.2.pdf (accessed 07 October 2025)
Queensland Government, Disposal advice for records managers, https://www.forgov.qld.gov.au/information-and-communication-technology/recordkeeping-and-information-management/recordkeeping/disposal-of-records/disposal-advice-for-record-managers (accessed 07 October 2025)
State Records NSW, Destruction of records, NSW Government, State Records NSW, https://staterecords.nsw.gov.au/recordkeeping/guidance-and-resources/destruction-records#methods-of-destruction (accessed 07 October 2025)