University of Tasmania (UTAS)
Background information
(please provide the following information – the size of your University e.g. the number of students and staff, the organisational structure of your records area, where you sit within your university’s organisational structure and your
client base)
The University of Tasmania has three main campuses, Hobart (Sandy Bay), Launceston and Burnie (Cradle
Coast) and various other smaller sites including NSW (campus for Nursing). We have 6 Faculties, 3 Institutes including Menzies Research Institute, Australian Maritime College & the Institute for Marine & Antarctic
Studies and various Cooperative Research Centres. In 2009 our staff numbers were 2548 excluding casual staff and we had 24 455 students enrolled.
The Records Management Unit current structure is:
Manager, Records & Information (HEO 7) Permanent
Disposal & Training Officer (HEO 6) Fixed Term 12 mth position
Quality Information Officer (HEO 5) Permanent
Records Management Officers (HEO 4) x 2 1 Permanent & 1 Fixed Term 12 mth position.
The Records Management Unit reports to the Director of Governance & Legal; who reports to the Executive
Director Finance & Administration (soon to be rebadged as Executive Director, Finance) who reports to the
Vice Chancellor.
Recordkeeping is decentralised across the University with the majority of business areas responsible for their own records.
The RMU provides various levels of services & support to business areas across the University. We provide advice and expertise to all areas of the University in relation to recordkeeping best practice including disposal, storage, education & training. We also capture all University contracts into the Contract Register where they do not have access to the EDRMS. Support to areas not accessing the EDRMS is largely reactive rather than proactive due to the limited resources within our unit.
Areas that utilise the EDRMS (TRIM) have a higher level of support including quality assurance, TRIM education & training, classification and disposal. Those areas that utilise TRIM include:
Vice Chancellor’s Office, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) & Provost Office, Pro Vice Chancellor
(Research) Office, Pro Vice Chancellor (Students & Education) Office, Executive Director Planning &
Development Office, Executive Director Finance & Administration Office, Governance & Legal (all areas),
Asset Management Services, Accommodation Services, Awards & Grants Office, Director Financial Services
Office, Director Transnational Education, Occupational Health & Safety Unit and Research Office
Commercialisation Unit.
We also provide a direct service (includes opening mail, scanning, capturing emails etc) to the following areas: Vice Chancellor’s Office, Executive Director Finance & Administration Office, Governance & Legal
Section at this point in time.
If you use a records management software package, what do you use and what records are captured and managed with it and who uses it?
We use TRIM Context 6.2.2#8617. We currently have 130 seat licence.
Business areas that utilise TRIM:
Vice Chancellor’s Office, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) & Provost Office, Pro Vice Chancellor
(Research) Office, Pro Vice Chancellor (Students & Education) Office, Executive Director Planning &
Development Office, Executive Director Finance & Administration Office, Governance & Legal (University

Secretariat, Legal Office, Academic Governance, Student Complaints & Discipline, Risk Management &
Audit Assurance, Policy & Delegations), Asset Management Services, Accommodation Services, Awards &
Grants Office, Director Financial Services Office, Director Transnational Education, Occupational Health &
Safety Unit and Research Office Commercialisation Unit.
TRIM is used to capture all ‘final’ documents by the majority of areas, and involve those records created or received in the specific business units. Records include correspondence, memo’s, committee minutes/agenda/agenda papers, plans, video footage (security) where incidents occur, contracts (this is our contract register), certificate of titles, templates etc.
If you use a records management software package is it integrated with other systems?
Not at this point in time but currently investigating linking with our Research Management Database.
Do you have a records policy framework? If so, please provide details and/or a copy of the policy etc
Partially, some areas still under development but policy and associated procedures & guidelines are http://www.utas.edu.au/governance-legal/records/policies--and--guidelines
We also have a recordkeeping component included in the Internal Audit process.
Is any digitisation of hard copy records being undertaken? If so, what is being digitised and how is the digitisation process managed?
Yes pretty much everything that comes through our unit. Procedures & best practice for format, process, quality assurance are in place within the unit and encouraged for use by other business areas.
Please nominate any difficult disposal questions that you would like to discuss.
Any other issues you would like to report on?
How do other universities manage committee records electronically? Are they captured as one document or split into agendas, minutes and appendices. We are grappling of how best to place into the system to ensure they are retrievable. Do you still maintain a hardcopy?
Management of Research Data
University business entities, how do you deal with the records of university ‘companies’ (they fold and then they want us to look after them.