UNOFFICIAL
Glenn Sanders Spoketh...

"generally across government in Australia personnel files are kept for
something like 75 years after termination. It used to be shorter, but
with asbestosis they don't even get sick for forty years, so it got
upped to 75."

I can't speak for the States, but in the Australian Commonwealth
Government, personal files are generally kept for 75 years after date of
birth (which hopefully will not change very often) or 7 years after last
action (because there is no maximum retirement age), whichever comes
last. 7 years after termination is the minimum statutory retention
period. 75 years of age was chosen because it was slightly longer than
the life expectancy of the general population at the time (and because
people leaving and later rejoining the public service can have some
entitlements recognised).

The National Archives of Australia have issued a large number of
disposal classes relating to people - some of which get a 'whole of
life' type retention period. That sort of approach makes a lot of sense
to me. 

Hopefully, explaining that the records serve no purpose in providing
evidence of employee entitlements after their death will strike a chord
with the people claiming that permanent retention is needed. I am
assuming that no one can make a claim on entitlements after death (I am
not a lawyer, and even if I was, I know very little about US law). Of
course, logic is sometimes not always understood.

Usual disclaimer: I speak for me in this message, not my employer.
However I was involved (many years ago) with the drawing up of the
relevant disposal classes in the National Archives of Australia's
'Administrative Functions Disposal Authority'

John


John Lovejoy
[log in to unmask]
Operations and Preservation Branch
National Archives of Australia



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