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Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Recordkeeping recommendations & PROV actions. Role of Public Record Office Victoria. Established under the Public Records Act 1973 PROV’s objectives are to:

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Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

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  1. Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse Recordkeeping recommendations & PROV actions

  2. Role of Public Record Office Victoria Established under the Public Records Act 1973 PROV’s objectives are to: • Issue standards regulating the creation, maintenance, security & disposal of public records • Advise and assist agencies in achieving compliance with issued standards • Preserve public records of permanent value as the state archives • Ensure that the archives are accessible to the government and people of Victoria.

  3. Standards issued by the Keeper Recordkeeping Standards & Specifications • Principles for good recordkeeping • Mandatory requirements • Accompanied by guidance products. Retention & Disposal Authorities (RDAs) • Set minimum retention periods for different classes of records • Authorise destruction of records which are no longer required • Identify records to be permanently retained as state archives. Mandatory for Vic public sector, others can use

  4. PROV and government agencies PROV provides support & assistance to agencies Focus on agencies: • Holding critical records for people & government • Facing major issues • Undertaking major recordkeeping improvements • Producing research, products or tools which can be shared with others. PROV works closely with DHHS & DET due to criticality of records, issues they face & the recordkeeping initiatives they are undertaking.

  5. Access to records in PROV Collection • Open to public access – unless closed under one of the sections of the PR Act – requires ministerial approval to close. • Records relating to children who were in ‘out of home care’ generally closed to public access for 99 years from creation (under s9 of the PR Act). • People seeking access to closed records do so through the responsible agency ie DHHS.

  6. RCIIRCSA - Victorian govt response Builds on Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and other NGOs 2013 – Betrayal of Trust Report – which resulted in: • New criminal offences – grooming offence, failure to disclose offence, failure to protect offence • Victorian Child Safe Standards & reportable conduct scheme • Civil law reforms including new duty of care that will allow organisations to be held responsible for child abuse unless it can show it took precautions to prevent & removal of limitation periods that applied to civil actions founded on child abuse, retrospective & prospective.

  7. RCIIRCSA - Victorian govt response Final Report Vol 8 – Recordkeeping and information sharing 23 recommendations – 3 accepted, 20 accepted in principle, PROV involved in progressing 5 of the recommendations. PROV approach: • Working with commonwealth & state / territory counterparts • Working with key Vic government agencies – DHHS, DET & health sector.

  8. RCIIRCSA recommendations 8.1 & 8.2 • 8.1 -To allow for delayed disclosure of abuse 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.

  9. PROV actions 8.1 & 8.2 • Checked 120+ current & expired RDAs to identify classes that relate to child sexual abuse incidents. • Drafted RDA for Records of Organisational Response to Child Sexual Abuse Incidents and Allegations which will replace classes in those RDAs – feedback sought by 31 May 2019. • In discussion with other jurisdictions to try introduce some uniformity.

  10. PROV actions 8.1 & 8.2 Minimum retention periods in draft RDA – • Policy, strategy and procedure records – Permanent, Retain as State Archives. • Reporting and investigation records – Temporary, Destroy 99 years after notification has been received. • Training and development records (conduct of investigations & training developed to implement redress schemes) – Temporary, Destroy 45 years after action completed. Disposal is not authorised under an RDA if it is reasonably likely that the public record will be required in evidence in a current or future legal proceeding.

  11. RCIIRCSA recommendation 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.

  12. PROV actions 8.3 Working group, led by National Archives of Australia, is developing guidance for all Australian institutions. PROV published guideline Creating, Managing and Retaining Records for Current or Future Child Sexual Abuse Allegations • to assist in identifying, creating, managing & retaining records which may become relevant to an actual or alleged incident • sent by Keeper of Public Records to 354 agency heads.

  13. RCIIRCSA recommendation 8.4 All institutions that engage in child-related work should implement five principles for recordkeeping. In summary – • Creating and keeping full & accurate records should be integral part of leadership, governance & culture • Full & accurate records should be created about incidents, responses, decisions affecting child safety & well-being • Records should be maintained appropriately • Records should only be disposed of in accordance with law or policy • Existing rights to access, amend, annotate records should be recognised to fullest extent.

  14. PROV actions to address 8.4 • Principles 1 to 4 - consistent with PROV Standards. But will consider further as part of Standards Review & promote where possible. • Principle 5 - PROV works within the Victorian legal framework to ensure peoples existing rights to access, amend, annotate records are met. • Supporting agencies with National Redress. • Working with other jurisdictions to see if more can be done – i.e. operationalising DSS Access Principles.

  15. RCIIRCSA recommendation 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.

  16. Actions to address 8.5 – DET leading • DET in discussion with non-government school sectors. • Have established a working group with different stakeholders to work through the issues – PROV is a member. • DET and PROV currently redeveloping the Vic Govt Schools RDA – looking at how to align with RDA for Non-government Schools created for the Australian Society of Archivists.

  17. Main points PROV guidance The usual Victorian public sector office responsibilities • Head of every Vic public sector office responsible for ensuring full and accurate records created & managed in accordance with PR Act 1973. Including for outsourced or contracted provider arrangements. • Offence to unlawfully destroy public records – lawful if done in accordance with a Retention and Disposal Authority, UNLESS it is reasonable to assume the record will be required in evidence in a current or future legal proceeding.

  18. Main points PROV guidance Every public sector office which interacts with children must: • Establish policies, processes & systems to ensure RK requirements are met. • Ensure that employees, volunteers, contractors and outsourced providers understand and meet their recordkeeping responsibilities. • Monitor and check recordkeeping activity to ensure that correct action is being undertaken and implement remedial action where necessary.

  19. Main points PROV guidance Full & accurate records of incidents or alleged incidents and investigation must be created, protected, retained. • Detailed, objective and include contextual & supporting information (dates, names etc). • Identify & include supporting records or a copy of them (make sure copies are high quality & complete, include details of where record sourced). Examples – letters or emails making allegations, witness statements, notes of conversations & meetings, medical reports, referrals to law enforcement, briefs of evidence, copies of rosters or sign on sheets.

  20. Main points PROV guidance Determine the records which should be created & kept – in case of a possible future allegation. Risk assessment – based on types of interaction with children – risk will increase if: • Children stay overnight. • A child is likely to be alone with an adult or another child. • Parents / guardians not in close proximity. • Will be in environment where child not under public scrutiny or away from surveillance. Then – what are the records which will be most needed, most helpful if a future allegation made. Possibly, personnel records, rosters, attendance records, details of the program, policies etc.

  21. Main points PROV guidance Offices need to retain the records for the minimum period specified in RDA plus any further time they might reasonably be needed in current or future legal proceedings. Considering • Removal of civil action limitation • Organisational duty of care • Care leaver & community expectations

  22. Main points PROV guidance Need to identify & assess existing holdings to provide access & manage appropriately. Personal information can be held in all sorts of records i.e. administrative, committee, building records. If not sure, conduct a survey of groups of records - • Description, purpose, date range, format, what information is contained • If electronic, what system are they in • If physical, quantity & location? Then can determine actions for different groups of records to preserve and make accessible.

  23. Main points PROV guidance • Store securely so cannot be lost, damaged, altered or tampered with. • Store confidentially so privacy protected and only authorised people can access & use. • Retain in such a way that records can be identified, retrieved, used for legitimate purposes. • Ensure contextual information is retained with records, so that future users are able to understand them and provide good evidence.

  24. In conclusion • Usual good recordkeeping methods & approaches apply • Good recordkeeping = good evidence • Assess risks for your agency • Think about future needs • Use Royal Commission recommendations to improve and promote good recordkeeping in your organisation

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