Last updated:

October 3, 2023

Disposal

Public records must be disposed of when:

  • they are no longer needed for administrative use by an agency, and
  • the retention period they must be kept for under Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) standards has expired.

Proper disposal of public records reduces storage and other costs and helps ensure that records are preserved for the appropriate time period. Disposal can involve either destruction of records of temporary retention value or transfer of state archives to PROV or a registered Place of Deposit. Any destruction of public records by your agency must be lawful.

 

Disposal StandardDisposal Standard PROS 10/13Retention & Disposal Authorities (RDAs)Developing Disposal Authorities Specification PROS 10/13 S1Implementing Disposal Authorities Specification PROS 10/13 S2Transfer of State Archives to PROV Specification PROS 10/13 S3Developing an RDA Guideline PROS 10/13 G1Implementing a Disposal Programme Guideline PROS 10/13 G2Transfer of records to PROV: Physical Guideline PROS 10/13 G4Destruction Guideline PROS 10/13 G3Transferring records to PROV Fact Sheet

Issued by PROV, the Disposal Standard provides a set of mandatory principles for Victorian government agencies regarding disposal of public records.  Your agency is expected to fully comply with each principle contained in the standard by implementing the particular requirements as detailed in the relevant specification/s.

 

Guidelines

Note: These guidelines have expired but may provide some assistance for you:

 

Fact Sheets

The following suite of fact sheets will help agencies with understanding the transfer process to PROV and with completion of the transfer forms.

 

Material in the Public Record Office Victoria archival collection contains words and descriptions that reflect attitudes and government policies at different times which may be insensitive and upsetting

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples should be aware the collection and website may contain images, voices and names of deceased persons.

PROV provides advice to researchers wishing to access, publish or re-use records about Aboriginal Peoples