The State Records Act and the accompanying State Records (Consequential Provisions) Act received the Governor's assent on the 28th November 2000 and were formally proclaimed in the Government Gazette on the 30th November 2001.
The State Records Act 2000 (the Act) is the result of many years of hard work and commitment by current and former members of the State Records Office (and the former State Archives), the Library Board of Western Australia, the Parliamentary Counsel's Office and the recordkeeping community of Western Australia.
The Act replaces the archives and recordkeeping aspects of the Library Board of Western Australia Act 1951-1983. The Act strengthens public sector accountability through effective recordkeeping, provide a standard-setting and monitoring function reportable directly to the Parliament and take account of technological and administrative trends in recordkeeping.
The State Records Act 2000 provides for an independent State Records Commission with standards-setting, auditing and reporting responsibilities. The State Records Commission is accountable directly to Parliament. Membership of the Commission is at a level commensurate with the high degree of accountability and transparency that are hallmarks of the legislation. The four members of the Commission are the Auditor General, the Information Commissioner, the Ombudsman, and an appointee with recordkeeping experience from outside Government.
Under the Act a State record is defined as any record of information (in any form) created, received or maintained by a government organisation or parliamentary department in the course of conducting its business activities. State records can come in any format on which information can be stored including maps, plans photographs, films, magnetic and optical media.
A cornerstone of the legislation is an instrument of accountability called the "recordkeeping plan", a document to be formulated by every Government organisation. The plan will set out the matters about which records are to be created by an oranisation, how those records are to be managed in the context of the organisation's functions, and for how long records are to be kept. The plans will be submitted to the State Records Commission for approval.
The Act formalises the position and role of Director of State Records. Under the leadership of the Director, the State Records Office functions as the operational arm of the State Records Commission. The Director, through the State Records Office, provides advice, assistance and training for government organisations on recordkeeping matters, in particular the preparation of and compliance with their recordkeeping plans. The State Records Office also provides information about and public access to unrestricted State archives in its custody, and is to create and maintain a register of all State archives including those not in its custody. The Director advises and assists the Commission and reports to the Commission on the operation of the Act including any breaches.
The State Records (Consequential Provisions) Act 2000 is an Act to amend various Acts which are affected by the enactment of the State Records Act 2000. The most significant amedment being the repealing of Sections 22 to 33 of the Library Board of Western Australia Act 1851 - 1983.
Copies of the State Records Act 2000 and the companion State Records (Consequential Provisions) Act 2000 are available for purchase from the State Law Publisher.
The online version of the State Records Act 2000 can be viewed at the State Law Publisher website.
In 2007 the State Records Commission commissioned an independent review of the implementation of the State Records Act 2000 to determine whether the Act is achieving its objectives and to assess the impact on agencies.