Vulnerable persons records management toolkit
Information, data and records which may provide evidence of incidents, allegations, disclosures and investigations of abuse of vulnerable persons must be managed in your workplace.
A toolkit is available below to guide your agency in meeting its records management responsibilities.
Your agency should already have a risk management framework in place. This toolkit aims to support your existing framework in the context of interactions with vulnerable persons.
This toolkit will support Queensland government and non-government agencies, including non-state schools.
The Guideline on creating and keeping records for the proactive protection of vulnerable persons was originally developed in response to Recommendation 8.1, in Volume 8: Recordkeeping and Information Sharing of the Final Report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
However, it was also intended to provide practical coverage for Recommendations 8.2-8.5.
| # | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| 8.1 | To allow for delayed disclosure of abuse by victims and take account of limitation periods for civil actions for child sexual abuse, institutions that engage in child-related work should retain for at least 45 years, records relating to child sexual abuse that has occurred or is alleged to have occurred. |
| 8.2 | The National Archives of Australia and state and territory public records authorities should ensure that records disposal schedules require that records relating to child sexual abuse that has occurred or is alleged to have occurred be retained for at least 45 years. |
| 8.3 | The National Archives of Australia and state and territory public records authorities should provide guidance to government and non-government institutions on identifying records which, it is reasonable to expect, may become relevant to an actual or alleged incident of child sexual abuse, and on the retention and disposal of such records. |
| 8.4 | All institutions that engage in child-related work should implement the following principles for records and recordkeeping, to a level that response to the risk of child sexual abuse occurring within the institution.
|
| 8.5 | State and territory governments should ensure that non-government schools operating in the state or territory are required to comply, at a minimum, with standards applicable to government schools in relation to the creation, maintenance, and disposal of records relevant to child safety and wellbeing, including child sexual abuse. |
Watch 'What is RCIRCSA?' or 'Recordkeeping and Vulnerable Persons: an overview' for a quick overview.
The guideline was expanded to also cover records that may be relevant to:
You must create complete and reliable records relating to interactions with vulnerable persons to ensure records are available to support legal claims and redress applications.
It is important that public authorities take a whole-of-organisation approach to consider how your agency proactively protects vulnerable persons as well as to identify what records may be required to document any incidents, allegations, disclosures and investigations of abuse.
The Guideline on creating and keeping records for the proactive protection of vulnerable persons, issued by the State Archivist under section 25(1)(f) of the Public Records Act 2002 (the Act), applies to all Queensland public authorities.
It should complement your agency's existing governance practices, including risk and records management.
This advice applies to paid staff, volunteers, visitors, contractors and outsourcing arrangements. The advice is also applicable to public authorities that infrequently interact with vulnerable persons.
The guideline provides:
- advice on the creation and management of reliable and accurate records in relation to:
- the proactive protection of vulnerable persons, including records of interactions between vulnerable persons and your agency or staff
- an incident, allegation or disclosure of abuse.
- guidance on identifying records that may provide corroborating evidence of contact with vulnerable persons in support of an incident, allegation, disclosure and investigation of abuse
- definitions of who is considered a vulnerable person and the forms of abuse covered by the guideline and relevant disposal authorisations
- advice on identifying, assessing and mitigating risks relating to interactions with vulnerable persons in order to support their proactive protection
- sentencing and implementation advice to determine how long to keep relevant records
- guidance on implementing broader whole-of-government initiatives related to the protection of vulnerable persons.
Watch 'Using the vulnerable persons guideline' for a quick overview.
Recommendation 8.3 additional guidance
Council of Australasian Archives and Records Authorities (CAARA) established the Royal Commission Working Group consisting of representatives from the Australian Government and all State and Territory government archives.
Guidance for identifying and retaining records which may become relevant to an actual or alleged incident of child sexual abuse was produced and can also be considered as part of your records management practices.
The General Retention and Disposal Schedule (GRDS) contains the following disposal authorisations:
| Disposal authorisation | Description of records | Retention period and trigger |
|---|---|---|
| 1558 | Incidents, allegations, disclosures and investigations of abuse - vulnerable persons Records relating to the proactive protection of vulnerable person including:
Includes records that may not document a criminal offence but may require further investigation to ensure inappropriate behaviour towards vulnerable persons is not occurring. | Keep for 100 years after the creation of record |
| 1559 | Evidence of interactions and contact with vulnerable persons Records providing evidence of interactions and contact with vulnerable persons identified following the implementation of the Guideline. Includes records documenting the processes followed to identify corroborating evidence or records relevant to future incidents, allegations, disclosures or investigations of abuse. | Retain until 31 December 2028 |
| 1560 | Governance practices for proactive protection of vulnerable persons Records relating to the development and implementation of a public authorities' policies, plans, strategies, training material and other guidance that sets out requirements for the proactive protection of vulnerable persons. Records may include, but are not limited to:
| Keep permanently |
If your agency's core retention and disposal schedule contains disposal authorisations that also apply to records of vulnerable persons, you should always apply the longest retention period.
Watch 'Vulnerable persons and records we need to keep' for a quick overview.
The Australian Society of Archivists has produced an online training course to assist anyone managing Out of Home Care Records.
You can read Proactive protection of vulnerable persons (PDF, 222 KB) and Queensland legislation changes and vulnerable persons (PDF, 231 KB) for answers to some common questions.