The Public Record Office Victoria has released a new free online training course to help Public Sector staff improve their recordkeeping skills.
The Office said its new online course, Recordkeeping Essentials, could be completed in less than 30 minutes and was perfect for sharing among colleagues.
“All Victorian public sector employees and Government agencies must manage any records created or received at work in accordance with the Public Records Act 1973,” the Office said.
“But many government workers do not fully understand the requirements or why they are important,” it said.
“This training is designed to increase awareness and improve understanding of recordkeeping requirements within the Victorian Public Service (VPS).”
The Office said the module could be accessed for free by anyone at any time via the Public Record Office Victoria website.
It said the training covered: what a record is; why government agencies keep records; individual recordkeeping responsibilities; when to create a record; and how long records needed to be kept.
“The last point in particular is an important one, with a common myth that records should only be kept for seven years,” it said.
“Those records deemed to be permanent can never be destroyed and must be transferred to Public Record Office Victoria as state archives.”
The Public Record Office Victoria said permanent records were a significant part of the state archival collection, accessed by citizens, researchers and historians to better understand decisions of the past.
The training course can be accessed via this PS News link.
