File Notes Guideline

Document Number	000514



File Notes are used to record details of certain University business conducted by staff. Under the State Records Act 1998, University staff are obliged to make and keep full and accurate records of business conducted. It is not possible to define all circumstances in which a record should be kept and how it should be made, but generally you should:

• Only record the facts
• Always keep a record of meetings, discussions, or telephone conversations concerning significant business such as:
  • a grievance or complaint by or about a student or member of staff
  • conduct and performance matters
  • providing advice, instructions or recommendations
  • giving permissions and consent
  • making decisions, commitments or agreements
  • industrial issues
  • any contentious matters
• Sign (if in hard copy) and date all records and forward a copy to the Records Management Office for filing. This can be done electronically by emailing us.
• Advise the person(s) with whom you are dealing that the interaction will be recorded. If there is a request to see the record, you can agree to that request but need not give a copy.

Remember that all records, regardless of format, are State records. These may be read by others in the future, including under a subpoena or Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA) application.

File Note Template

A template is available for download in Word format. To save the template, right-click on the link and select "Save Target As ..." or "Save Link As ...", depending on your browser.

• File Note Template

Related Information

• Records Management website
• Records Management - Policy 000285
• File Note Template
• Creation of Records - Guideline 000785
• Record Retention and Disposal - Other 000284
• Electronic Records Management - Checklist 000053
• Electronic Mail (Email) Management - Guideline 000143

Policy Sponsor	Vice-Chancellor
Policy Owner	Assistant Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Services)
Policy Contact	Senior Records Officer, Records Management Office
Amendment History	Updated FOI to GIPA provisions, 28 September 2010.