The National Archives of Australia (NAA) has issued a directive requiring every Agency in the Australian Public Service to maintain all records relating to child sexual abuse incidents and allegations for at least 45 years.
Responding to the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, the NAA said the requirement complied with recordkeeping recommendations in the Commission’s final report.
Case records of children who had been in the care of, or received services from, an Australian Government institution were to be retained for 100 years.
Director-General of the NAA, David Fricker said the National Archives, through General Records Authority 41, ensured essential records were retained to provide access to evidence for survivors of child sexual abuse.
“The authority also provides clarity for Government about which records are relevant to child sexual abuse incidents and allegations,” Mr Fricker said.
He said the NAA had provided advice to Government Agencies on meeting the recommended principles for records and recordkeeping through its Information Management Standard, issued in 2017.
“The archives is also working collaboratively with Government, State and Territory archives, through the Council of Australasian Archives and Records Authorities, to provide guidance on identifying and managing records that may become relevant to an actual or alleged incident of child sexual abuse,” Mr Fricker said.
The NAA’s General Records Authority 41 can be accessed at this PS News link.
