Decommissioning

Last updated:

June 16, 2025

What is decommissioning?

Decommissioning is the process of removing a business system, such as a database, shared drive, email application or other business information system, from use in an organisation.

When should systems be decommissioned?

Systems should be removed from use when they are upgraded or replaced by new products that provide similar functionality, when the technology is performing poorly or when the technology is no longer supported.

Drivers for system decommissioning include:

system replacement
physical asset replacement
project completion
organisational restructure
business functions moving to a different public office
business processes are no longer required.

Systems must be regularly audited and reviewed for their suitability in meeting the recordkeeping requirements and obligations of the organisation.

What happens to records when a system is decommissioned?

Most business systems will contain records that need to be captured and retained. Preparations for decommissioning must ensure that records and their metadata remain complete, accessible and properly managed until they are able to be lawfully disposed of. This can be achieved through migration into another system or transfer of permanent records to PROV.

Systems should not be decommissioned without considering how the records they hold might be needed in the future.

Risk management during decommissioning

Engaging with stakeholders is an essential step in identifying and managing potential threats to records during the decommissioning process. Public offices should conduct a risk assessment involving:

business owners who can provide context and identify records that are in current use
records managers who understand the business and legal requirements for records and relevant organisational processes and systems
system administrators who understand the functions and limitations of the systems in use.

Preservation and risk mitigation strategies should be developed and implemented to ensure that records maintain their completeness and integrity. Risks to consider include loss, corruption, degradation or breach of data and metadata. High value and high risk records should be prioritised.

Decommissioning and recordkeeping requirements

Determine if records are covered by an existing RDA

Records held within the system must be analysed to determine if they are covered by an existing Retention and Disposal Authority (RDA). The RDA will specify the minimum retention periods for the records and can help to identify which records will need the most attention. Typically, this will be records with permanent value and long-term temporary records.

If records are not covered by an existing RDA, public offices can work with PROV to develop a new RDA. See the how long should records be kept topic page for more information or contact us for advice.

Migrate records

When systems undergo transition, arrangements must ensure that the records and associated metadata continue to be complete, retain their context and remain accessible and useable for their minimum required retention period.

Decisions about which records to migrate should be made in conjunction with business owners. They will be able to identify records that are in current use and the records that are not in use and can remain in the decommissioned system or be stored offline until their retention period ends.

Developing a migration strategy will enable key technical and recordkeeping issues to be identified and addressed. The strategy should be approved by the appropriate senior officer and include:

which records and metadata are to be transferred
where the records will be migrated to
how metadata will be mapped to the schema used in the new drive or system
how migration will be tested to ensure records and metadata have been transferred successfully.

Migration tools can be used to assist with the migration process in some instances. For example, obtaining a comparison report of what was migrated compared with what was in the prior system can help identify any missing content. See the migration topic page for more information.

Transfer permanent records to PROV

Records that are no longer in use and have been appraised as permanent using the appropriate RDA should be transferred to PROV for preservation as State Archives. For further information see the transferring records to PROV topic page.

Conduct disposal actions

Decommissioning a system provides an opportunity for public offices to conduct record disposal activities. Regular and managed disposal reduces the information management overhead, storage costs and aids in the discovery of reliable, relevant and accurate information.

Records that are no longer required by the public office must be stored until they can be disposed of according to the relevant RDA. Disposal can be by authorised destruction or the transfer of custody.

The Disposal Standard issued by PROV contains the mandatory requirements for disposing of public records.

Manage remaining records

Records that cannot be extracted or do not need to be retained long term can remain on the drive or in the system after is has been decommissioned, until they can be lawfully destroyed. Where records cannot be extracted, the system or drive will need to be actively managed for the required retention period of the records.

Developing a management plan that outlines how the records that remain on the system or drive will be managed is critical. It will ensure the records remain readable and useable for as long as they are needed.

This plan will need to consider:

Software needed to access and use records. Records may need to be converted to different formats to remain accessible over time. PROV recommends the use of formats specified in the Long Term Sustainable Formats Specification.
Hardware and media the system is maintained on. Media may need to be refreshed, or a specific storage environment may be required.
Whether vendor involvement is needed in the ongoing management of proprietary or cloud-based systems.
Contractual agreements that may need to be reviewed.

The ongoing management of the records may involve conducting regular checks on samples of records, using a consistent and documented sampling method to identify signs of corruption or other risks to the records so they may be mitigated while the records remain required. PROV's Backup Technologies and Records Management Policy may help guide decision making.