Coffs Harbour City Council

Records and information management strategic review
Coffs Harbour City Council sought advice on the management of its digital and hardcopy records in response to audit findings. We identified many issues that are common to local government relating to managing increasing work volumes, providing adequate records storage, effective records processing and ensuring that the records system supported customer services. Training staff with no formal records qualifications became a key outcome of our review, ensuring that records staff were aware of the legal and business requirements for sound recordkeeping.
Our approach involved extensive staff consultation. We investigated the systems used for information. We assessed the Council’s recordkeeping practices against the State Archives and Records Authority (SARA) NSW, Standard on Records Management (No. 12). The review highlighted the need to focus resources on management of the high risk / high value records. We developed a strategic plan including actions for:
- Governance framework across all council’s activities
- An effective operating model covering physical and digital records.
- A review of policies and procedures.
- Capability requirements for records management.
- Disposal planning.
- Change management.
