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Records Management Procedure - Committees

This is not a current document. It has been repealed and is no longer in force.

April 2022 – This document is rescinded and is replaced by the Records Management Policy, Records Management Procedure and local processes as relevant.

Section 1 - Purpose

(1) The document sets out Charles Sturt University's procedure on the management of Committee records.

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Section 2 - Glossary

(2) Nil.

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Section 3 - Policy

(3) Refer to the Records Management Policy .

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Section 4 - Procedures

Part A - Committee Records

(4) The agendas, supporting documents and minutes of the committees listed below are vital records of Charles Sturt University (the University):

  1. Council and its committees;
  2. Academic Senate and its committees;
  3. Faculty Boards and the committees of Faculty Boards established by Academic Senate;
  4. School Boards;
  5. the Campus Advisory Councils;
  6. committees the University is obliged to establish by legislation (e.g. Occupational Health and Safety Committees); and
  7. committees established by the Vice-Chancellor.

(5) The secretaries of the above committees are responsible for the management of the committees' records in accordance with these procedures.

(6) The secretaries of other University committees are encouraged to manage the records of their committees in accordance with this policy also.

Part B - Agendas and Attachments

(7) The agenda and supporting documents will be assembled and printed for distribution to members by the committee secretary in accordance with the Style Manual for Agendas and Minutes, the Charles Sturt University By-law (Division 5) and the Rule for the Conduct of Meetings.

(8) After the meeting, the agenda and the original supporting documents shall be sent by the committee secretary to the Regional Archives as the official record of the committee. A printed working copy of the agenda paper and supporting documents shall be retained by the committee secretary.

Part C - Late and Tabled Documents

(9) The original of documents distributed separately to the agenda and documents tabled at a committee meeting shall also be sent to the Regional Archives with the agenda and other supporting documents. Printed, working copies of late and tabled papers will be retained by the committee secretary.

Part D - Confidential Documents

(10) Confidential documents are documents which are only available to members of the committee. They are of two types:

  1. those that are only confidential until the meeting is held; and
  2. those that remain confidential after the meeting is held.

Confidential Until the Meeting

(11) Committee documents that are confidential only until the meeting at which they are considered shall, after the meeting, be treated in the same way as other documents with respect to their storage in the Regional Archives and in the committee secretary's file station.

Confidential After the Meeting

(12) This includes all personal information relating to any individual.

(13) Committee documents that remain confidential after the meeting at which they are considered shall be dealt with as follows:

  1. the original of such documents shall be sent to the Regional Archives in a sealed envelope on which is recorded the name of the committee, the meeting date, the agenda item number to which the documents relate and the title of the University Officer (e.g. Vice-Chancellor) who has the authority to grant access to the documents; and
  2. the working copy of such documents shall be kept in the file station of the committee secretary either with the agenda and supporting documents or separate from them in such a way that unauthorised access to the documents is prevented.

Part E - Minutes

(14) The signed minutes of committee meetings will be sent to the Regional Archives at least annually by the committee secretary.

(15) A working copy of the minutes plus the action sheet for the meeting which lists the action to be taken as a consequence of the meeting, will be filed in the lever arch file in which the agenda and supporting documents are filed.

Part F - Storage

(16) Committee records will be housed in the file station of the unit in which the committee secretary resides. See also Confidential After the Meeting (clauses 12 to 13) above.

Part G - Disposal Schedule

(17) The agendas and supporting documents and the signed minutes will be housed in the Regional Archives in accordance with the requirements of a Disposal Schedule for Committee Records. See also Confidential After the Meeting (clauses 12 to 13) above.

Part H - Resolution Retrieval

(18) Committee secretaries will maintain an electronic file of the text of all resolutions of their committees which can be searched by text-find software in accordance with protocols developed by the Records Officer.

Part I - Committee and General Records

(19) Some matters dealt with by committees are of primary importance to the work of particular officers. In such cases, the following procedures are recommended as good practice.

(20) To ensure that all information on important topics is located in the one place and is readily retrievable, supporting documents considered by committees and the decisions they take in respect of them, should be recorded on the relevant subject file.

(21) The author of such documents which go as an agenda attachment to a committee, should ensure that the file number of the subject file to which the document relates appears on the document and that a copy of the document is attached to the paper file or saved in the electronic file.

(22) Where a committee approves, amends or otherwise actions a document (rather than just noting or receiving it) the author of the document should ensure that the committee's decision is recorded on the subject file. This may be done by means of a notation on the document or by attaching a copy of the relevant resolution to the file. The date of the meeting and the resolution number should be recorded on the file in such cases.

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Section 5 - Guidelines

(23) Nil.