Public Record Office Victoria Annual Report 2019–20 A report from the Keeper of Public Records as required under section 21 (1) of the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic)
Published by Public Record Office Victoria 99 Shiel Street North Melbourne VIC 3051 Tel (03) 9348 5600 Public Record Office Victoria Annual Report 2019–20 September 2020 © Copyright State of Victoria through Public Record Office Victoria 2020
Except for any logos, emblems, and trademarks, this work (Public Record Office Victoria Annual Report 2019–20) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia license, to the extent that it is protected by Copyright. Authorship of this work must be attributed to Public Record Office Victoria. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/. Published on http://www.prov.vic.gov.au. ISSN: 1320-8225
Cover image: H.G. Wells and Jill the Platypus, Healesville Sanctuary, 1939. Victorian Railways. Photographic Collection (c.1883–c.1983). Public Record Office Victoria, VPRS 12903/P1, Item 415/04
Public Record Office Victoria Annual Report 2019–20 A report from the Keeper of Public Records as required under section 21 (1) of the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic)
Hon Danny Pearson Minister for Government Services Level 5, 1 Macarthur Street East Melbourne VIC 3002 Dear Minister I am pleased to present a report on the carrying out of my functions under section 21(1) of the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic) for the year ending 30 June 2020. Yours sincerely
Justine Heazlewood Director and Keeper of Public Records Note: The Minister responsible for Public Record Office Victoria was, until his retirement in March 2020, the Hon Gavin Jennings, Special Minister of State. Thereafter the Premier of Victoria, Daniel Andrews was responsible until the appointment of the Hon Danny Pearson as Minister for Government Services in June 2020.
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Contents Vision and Purpose 7 Values 8 Message from the Director 9 Message from the Public Records Advisory Council President 10 Public Records Advisory Council 11 Overview 12 Organisational Structure 14 Contact 15 Highlights 17 Report on Performance Strategic Initiatives Improve Recordkeeping Practices Across the Public Sector Increase Use of the Collection Increase Community Engagement with Public Records Build Our Profile Identify and Preserve Records of State Significance Strengthen Our Culture and Capability Deliver, Embed and Leverage Our Systems Output Measures 2019–20
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Appendices 34 Appendix 1: Assets 34 Appendix 2: Financial Statement 34 Appendix 3: Workforce Data 35 Appendix 4: Standards and Advice 36 Appendix 5: Recordkeeping Standards Framework Documents Issued 2019–20 36 Appendix 6: Retention and Disposal Authority (RDA) Documents Issued or Varied 2019–20 36 Appendix 7: Approved Public Record Office Victoria Storage Suppliers (APROSS) 41 Appendix 8: Staff Achievements 41 Appendix 9: Volunteers 44 Appendix 10: Victorian Community History Award Winners 45 Appendix 11: Local History Grants Program Recipients 46 Glossary 49
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Pat Cupples (nee Ruby) on horseback, Tarra Valley National Park, 1947. Victorian Railways. Photographic Collection (c.1883–c.1983). Public Record Office Victoria, VPRS 12903/P1, Item 653/05
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Vision and Purpose Public Record Office Victoria’s Vision Statement is ‘Public Records Publicly Available’. ‘Public Records Publicly Available’ expresses our vision that the records of Government be kept and protected so that all Victorians can have access to their history and important information about themselves. Purpose To support the effective management and use of the public records of the State of Victoria, to ensure that the Government is accountable to the community and that its historical memory is preserved, secure and accessible.
Daily Operations
Mission Statement
Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) was established under section 3 of the Public Records Act 1973 (the Act), ‘for the better preservation, management and utilisation of the public records of the State’. The Act provides the legal framework within which PROV operates, and specifies the core functions of PROV and the Keeper of Public Records with respect to government records. These functions, pursuant to sections 7, 11 and 12 of the Act include:
We will provide leadership to Government on the use and management of public records. We will ensure that the historical memory of the Victorian Government endures, is secure and accessible. We have identified three outcomes that represent the ongoing goals for the organisation:
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Establish standards for the efficient management of public records, including creation, maintenance, security, selection of those worthy of preservation, transfer for archiving, and segregation or disposal of those not worthy of preservation
• Preservation: The records of Government are preserved so that they are available and accessible for as long as they are required. • Management: The records of Government are managed to enable accountability, efficiency and innovation. • Utilisation: The records of Government are used by communities to connect to their history and culture.
• Assist public officers to apply these standards to records under their control • Take public records into custody, preserve archives and provide security • Classify records and publish indexes and guides to facilitate access • Provide facilities for viewing, and make records in custody accessible • Duplicate or reproduce and authenticate public records.
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Values The Public Administration Act 2004 (Vic) requires that public sector employees demonstrate public service values as outlined in the Code of Conduct for Victorian Public Sector Employees. Public Record Office Victoria actively implements, promotes and supports these values. PROV, as a public sector body, has developed the following set of values which are based on and consistent with the Code of Conduct: Responsiveness
Leadership
• We will demonstrate and deliver best-practice recordkeeping across Government and our community.
• We will proactively promote and share our unique capability widely.
• We will maintain the highest levels of quality and accuracy in our advice and service to our colleagues and clients. • We will celebrate innovation, ideas and challenge, where it is positive and constructive. Integrity • We will show courage in giving feedback, making requests and offering ideas. • We will share knowledge, information and results willingly and openly.
• We will seek opportunities to enhance and improve our programs, processes and products. • We will show leadership through demonstrating our values and unique behaviours at all times. Human Rights • We will consider Human Rights in all our plans, decisions, advice and interactions and abide by all relevant legislation. • We will observe zero tolerance for harassment, bullying or discrimination.
• We will consider the security of our records and historical memory in our decisions.
• We will facilitate the preservation and expression of the diversity of Victoria’s cultural heritage through our work.
Impartiality
Collaboration
• We will invite, encourage and value the views, contribution and capabilities of all colleagues.
• We will seek to engage and consult with internal and external stakeholders as ‘partners’ with shared objectives.
• We will provide objective and impartial advice to all stakeholders. • We will account for all activities and results with honesty and transparency. Accountability • We will accept both personal and shared responsibility for all actions and ‘follow through’ to ensure agreed outcomes. • We will consider the public good and the public purse in all activities and decisions. Respect • We will show professional and personal respect, courtesy and positivity to all colleagues and clients. • We will be thoughtful and generous with praise and acknowledge a job well done. • We will treat all colleagues, clients, stakeholders and actions fairly, objectively and without bias.
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• We will seek opportunities to support and assist each other. • We will consult and engage through direct communication where possible.
Message from the Director The pages of this year’s Annual Report feature photographs from one of our social media content streams: Animals at the Archives. During the last financial year our social media channels, website and other online engagement tools became more important than ever to keep our researchers, stakeholders and other audiences engaged with archives and the continued importance of recordkeeping – even from home. In 2019–20 our services, like so many others, were affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Between March and June 2020, we sadly had to close our reading room, suspend our volunteer program and ask all of our staff to work from home. Significantly, this meant major delays in the development of our new ordering and copy request system which was planned for completion in the tail end of the 2019–20 financial year. Recordkeeping from home Whether working remotely occasionally or for a prolonged period, recordkeeping obligations for the Victorian Government remain the same. We in the public sector must continue to create and manage records appropriately, so information about decisions and actions is kept and can be accessed and understood. This is critical for the continued functioning of government and will ensure information created now is accessible into the future. With so many Victorian Government staff working from home during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, in April 2020 we released guidance on maintaining good recordkeeping practice when not in the office, including: • • • • • •
What records to create and keep Document naming and version control Capturing and storing records Using Office 365 Keeping records secure Disposing of records.
In addition to this resource, we launched our new Recordkeeping Essentials e-learning program, to increase awareness and improve understanding of Victorian Government recordkeeping obligations at work. Both programs of work are described in greater detail further on in this report. Digital presence Our program of work to redevelop our digital presence continued this year, and though we weren’t able to launch in June as we’d planned, we have made great strides in creating new systems for searching, ordering and requesting copies of public records. The beta catalogue we launched in 2018–19 has also been garnering great feedback
and further suggestions from stakeholders and researchers throughout the year. We look forward to completing these projects in the next financial year. Achievements and acknowledgments This year saw a change in the Minister responsible for PROV. We would like to thank the Hon Gavin Jennings, previous Special Minister of State, for his support during his time as PROV’s responsible Minister and wish him well on his retirement. Minister for Government Services, the Hon Danny Pearson, was appointed as our responsible Minister in June 2020 and we look forward to working with him in the years ahead. Thank you to all staff for rising to the challenge that working from home presents including finding new ways to meet virtually, new ways to assist users and engage the public online. Successfully reopening the Victorian Archives Centre Reading Room to the public in mid-June 2020 required the development and implementation of an appropriate service delivery model to protect visitors, staff and tenants. I would like to acknowledge the staff involved in these significant efforts. I also want to thank our volunteers for remaining engaged with our work and our collection. I would also like to thank the Public Records Advisory Council (PRAC) members for all their assistance in what has certainly been a challenging, yet eventful, year.
Justine Heazlewood Director and Keeper of Public Records
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Message from the Public Records Advisory Council President I was pleased to serve as the President of the Public Records Advisory Council (PRAC) for another year, alongside council members Jeremi Moule, David Brous, Belinda Ensor, Deidre Missingham, Prof. Keir Reeves, Susie Zada, Bonnie Chew, Jodie Quilliam and Steve Stefanopoulos. I would like to thank all PRAC members as well as the Keeper of Public Records, Justine Heazlewood, and PRAC secretary Rebecca Young for another successful, yet unusual, year. Generally as a council we enjoy visiting regional towns across Victoria, holding at least two of our meetings in local council halls, historical society rooms or libraries. This gives us a chance to hear from local groups about what matters most to them when it comes to history and archives. Unfortunately due to the coronavirus pandemic our plans for regional meetings were replaced with virtual meetings in both April and June of this year. Before any of us had ever heard the word coronavirus, in October 2019, I was pleased to again assist in hosting the Victorian Community History Awards which PROV runs in partnership with the Royal Historical Society of Victoria each year. The Awards recognise those community groups and individuals who collate, share and promote local history throughout Victoria. In 2019, for the first time, a shortlist was announced four weeks prior to the main event bringing an extra sense of excitement, and friendly competition, to the ceremony. Attendees enjoyed a speech by ABC’s Lyn Gallacher about the importance of oral history, and we were again pleased to welcome Catherine Andrews who joined me in presenting the final award, the Victorian Premier’s History Award, to Phil Roberts for his stunning book Avenue of Memories written with the Arch of Victory/Avenue of Honour Committee. As the President of PRAC I would like to extend my thanks and best wishes to the Hon Gavin Jennings, previous Special Minister of State, responsible for PROV from 2014 until his retirement in March 2020. I welcome the Hon Danny Pearson to his role as Minister for Government Services.
Judy Maddigan President, Public Records Advisory Council
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Public Records Advisory Council
Establishment and Functions
Summary of Activities
The Public Records Advisory Council was established under section 4 (1) of the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic). The functions of the Council, as specified in section 5 of the Act, require that it:
The Council met on five occasions in 2019–20:
(a) In consultation with the Keeper of Public Records, shall promote cooperation between Public Record Office Victoria and public offices.
• 18 February 2020, Victorian Archives Centre
(b) May report and make recommendations to the Minister on any matter relating to the administration of the Act. PROV provides support to the Council by preparing Council agenda papers, coordinating the scheduling of Council meetings, providing assistance with the appointment of new Council members, as well as providing assistance and administrative support for Council sub-committees. Council membership Section 4 (1A) of the Act requires that the Council consist of not more than ten members with knowledge and experience in such areas as public administration, local government, records management, business administration, historical research, Indigenous heritage and genealogical research. The current Council is comprised of:
• 21 August 2019, Victorian Archives Centre • 16 October 2019, Victorian Archives Centre • 8 April 2020, Video Conference • 17 June 2020, Video Conference Council meetings This year the Council welcomed two new members, Jodie Quilliam, representing information management, and Steve Stefanopoulos, representing local government. Both new members bring considerable experience to the Council. The Council would like to thank the Keeper of Public Records, Justine Heazlewood, and Council Secretary, Rebecca Young for their continued support throughout the year.
Judy Maddigan, President Jeremi Moule, Department of Premier and Cabinet representative David Brous, Public administration Belinda Ensor, Historical research (public history) Deidre Missingham, Finance and business administration Prof. Keir Reeves, Historical research (academic history) Susie Zada, Genealogy and local history Bonnie Chew, Indigenous heritage Jodie Quilliam, Information management Steve Stefanopoulos, Local Government Rebecca Young, Secretary
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Overview Executive
Protected disclosure
Headed by Justine Heazlewood, Director and Keeper of Public Records, the executive team is located at 99 Shiel Street, North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; phone (03) 9348 5600.
The Protected Disclosure Act 2012 (Vic) is designed to help people make disclosures about improper conduct within the public sector without fear of reprisal. The Act aims to make the public sector more open and accountable by encouraging people to make disclosures and protecting them when they do.
Act administered: Public Records Act 1973 (Vic) PROV’s operations are governed by the Public Records Act 1973, which defines the role of both the Keeper of Public Records and the organisation. The Act is available for inspection on the PROV website www.prov.vic.gov.au and at our North Melbourne and Ballarat offices. Regulations made and administered Regulations are made under section 23 of the Public Records Act 1973 and are known as the Public Records Regulations 2013. The Regulations prescribe fees for making and supplying copies of public records and set out conditions for the inspection of public records and use of facilities provided by PROV. All Regulations are available for inspection on our website www.prov.vic.gov.au/ about-us. Portfolio responsibility The Department of Premier and Cabinet has portfolio responsibility for PROV. PROV is an administrative office under the Public Administration Act 2004. Freedom of information The Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic) gives members of the public a right to access documents held by Victorian Government agencies, including PROV. For the 12 months ending 30 June 2020, PROV received no Freedom of Information applications. FOI requests for PROV agency documents should be addressed to: Freedom of Information Officer Public Record Office Victoria GPO Box 2100 North Melbourne 3051
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PROV is committed to the aims and objectives of the Act. PROV does not tolerate improper conduct by its staff or reprisals against those who come forward to disclose such conduct. The procedures for protecting people who make protected disclosures under the Protected Disclosure Act 2012 are available on our website www.prov.vic.gov.au/ about-us/legislation-and-governance. Public Record Office Victoria standards and authorities PROV issues standards for records management and authorities for retention and disposal under section 12 of the Public Records Act 1973. A full list of current standards and authorities is provided on our website at www.prov.vic.gov.au/government and at our North Melbourne and Ballarat offices.
Access Services
Government Services
The goal of Access Services is to ensure that our unique collection is widely known and accessible to the people and Government of Victoria. This is achieved through:
Government Services develops the recordkeeping requirements which all Victorian public sector agencies must meet and provides a range of products, tools and services to support them to manage their records effectively and compliantly. This is done through:
• A program of digitisation to improve access to our collection and services through our website • The provision of public reading room services and online access to PROV’s collection and research tools • Preserving archives within their region of origin, ensuring equality of access for communities in regional Victoria • Providing culturally appropriate services, procedures and tools that enhance access by the Koorie community • Transmitting information to clients about the collection • Issuing records in a manner that meets government needs and community expectations • A program of exhibitions, publications, educational resources and outreach activities. Corporate Services Corporate Services supports staff across PROV through the provision of the following services: • Budgeting, financial management and reporting • Risk management • Environmental planning and reporting • Strategic planning and reporting • Communications and online engagement • Information communication technology
• Developing mandatory standards and specifications, associated advice and guidance products •
Working across the Victorian public sector to appraise the functions of Government in order to assess the value and significance of the records they manage and to specify records required as state archives
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Managing and promoting the Victorian Electronic Records Strategy (VERS) and working with strategic partners to assist agencies to transition to digital recordkeeping
• Working with agencies to schedule, plan and manage the transfer of permanent value records to PROV, focussing on high-value and at-risk records • Providing advice to individual agencies and developing and publishing a comprehensive set of guidelines, case studies and tools to assist them • Engaging in committees and taskforces and partnering with other organisations on projects and initiatives designed to improve recordkeeping •
Delivering a program of awareness and recognition events, and investigating and reporting on the state of recordkeeping in Victoria including associated challenges and issues.
• Information management • Human resource management • Organisational development.
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Organisational Structure
Minister for Government Services
Secretary Department of Premier & Cabinet Deputy Secretary Department of Premier & Cabinet
Governance, Policy & Coordination
Director Public Record Office Victoria
Public Records Advisory Council
Government Services
Access Access Services Services
Corporate Services
Standards & Policy
Digital Digital Projects Projects
Finance & Risk Management
Government Recordkeeping
Collection Collection Services Services
Facilities
Community Community Engagement Engagement
Communications & Online Engagement
Technical Services
People & Culture
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Contact As at 30 June 2020, PROV operated two public reading rooms and had 47 staff members (FTE).
Public Reading Rooms Email: enquiries@prov.vic.gov.au Website: prov.vic.gov.au Victorian Archives Centre Harry Nunn Reading Room 99 Shiel Street North Melbourne VIC 3051 Phone: (03) 9348 5600 Ballarat Archives Centre Joan Hunt Reading Room at the Eureka Centre 102 Stawell Street South Ballarat Central VIC 3350 Phone: (03) 5333 0306 Follow us on Facebook @PublicRecordOfficeVictoria Twitter @PRO_Vic Instagram @vic_archives
Access Services A/Assistant Director: David Taylor Phone: (03) 9348 5678 Email: david.taylor@prov.vic.gov.au Public enquiries: enquiries@prov.vic.gov.au
Corporate Services Assistant Director: Renee Kjar Phone: (03) 9348 5681 Email: renee.kjar@prov.vic.gov.au Public enquiries: enquiries@prov.vic.gov.au
Government Services Assistant Director: David Brown Phone: (03) 9348 5621 Email: david.brown@prov.vic.gov.au Agency enquiries: agency.queries@prov.vic.gov.au
People & Culture Assistant Director: Nicole Tighe Phone: (03) 9348 5725 Email: nicole.tighe@prov.vic.gov.au
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Royal Melbourne Show 1936. Victorian Railways. Photographic Collection (c.1883–c.1983). Public Record Office Victoria, VPRS 12903/P1, Item 370/25
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Highlights Look History in the Eye
Time and Tide at the Docklands
In July 2019 we released Look History in the Eye, a publication produced both in hard copy and online formats for university students and those new to archival research. Each page uses one or two records from our collection to delve into a story from Victoria’s past, ranging from our most significant and famous records, such as the Ned Kelly collection, to records about women’s rights and Aboriginal Victorians, through to lesser known petitions, crime records, maps, plans and even inquests. Tips on researching the collection are scattered throughout the booklet which was short and succinct with limited use of advanced archival terminology so that it was understandable to an audience unfamiliar with archives. It served as an introduction to archives and PROV’s collection. The design was also carefully considered to highlight the beauty, importance, and relevance of each record with bold headings and colours in keeping with PROV’s brand. Since its launch, we have put approximately 500 copies directly into the hands of university students and new researchers, and it has been accessed online more than 500 times.
In the 2018–19 Annual Report we reported on our volunteer-led exhibition featuring digitised photographs from the Melbourne Harbour Trust. They selected their favourite images for the exhibition which they called Time and Tide: The Presence of JBO Hosking in honour of the Melbourne Harbour Trust engineer who collected the photographs, many of which depicted projects he himself oversaw, such as the development of Appleton Dock. The exhibition was displayed at the Victorian Archives Centre from May 2019 to November 2019 with feedback from the public including:
“Wonderful exhibition - it is fantastic to see Victorian history and the Victorian community celebrated in this way.”
“An excellent exhibition that allows the viewer the time to contemplate what has been. It gave me a sense of calmness and time things we don’t have much of these days. Well done Public Records!”
“A wonderful way to go back in time and see the workings behind the docks. The images are so clear and immediate although photographed so long ago.”
The showing proved so popular with history and maritime lovers alike that the City of Melbourne Library at the Dock then displayed the exhibition from January to February 2020. It was there that Victorians with a personal connection to the photographs visited and shared their stories with us, including Howell Hosking, son of JBO. Howell said JBO’s love of photography originated during his role as an astronomer for the Melbourne Observatory where he was responsible for photographing a solar eclipse expedition. It was after returning from this expedition he went onto become the Harbour engineer where he continued to take photographs of his work.
“He had an engineering background and he wanted to record the work that was being done.”
Those photographs now form part of the public record of Victoria. Look History in the Eye was published in 2019.
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Recordkeeping Assessment Tool Our Recordkeeping Assessment Tool (RKAT) was launched in June 2020. RKAT is a new online self-assessment platform developed by PROV to enable agencies to conduct an assessment of their records management capabilities against PROV Standards. Once completed, a report of the assessment results is emailed back to the agency.
JBO Hosking’s son Howell. Photograph by David Taylor.
Recordkeeping Essentials In 2019–20 Public Record Office Victoria released a new free online training course Recordkeeping Essentials. All Victorian public sector employees and government agencies must manage any records created or received at work in accordance with the Public Records Act 1973. But many government workers do not fully understand the requirements or why they are important. This training was designed to increase awareness and improve understanding of recordkeeping requirements within the public sector. The training covers five areas: • • • • •
What is a record? Why do we keep records? Your recordkeeping responsibilities When should I create records? How long do I need to keep records for?
Since it launched, the training course has been accessed by 1096 people and seven Victorian government organisations have embedded the tool within their own existing e-learning systems. Visit https://elearning.prov.vic.gov.au to access the course.
RKAT will enable agencies to better understand their records management environment, build a program of continuous improvement and identify gaps in records management. The reports will provide executive level management with evidence of the progress the agency is making over time. PROV recommends that agencies use RKAT as part of an ongoing audit program, to regularly assess recordkeeping practices across their organisation. RKAT is free for anyone to use and is available on our website.
Recordkeeping when working remotely To comply with the Public Records Act 1973, all Victorian public offices must meet the standards for recordkeeping issued by the Keeper of Public Records. In the 2020 coronavirus (COVID-19) environment, so many staff working from home brings a new set of challenges to recordkeeping in the public sector. To assist government agencies to continue to meet their recordkeeping requirements, we developed and published guidance on Working remotely - recordkeeping responsibilities. This was approved by the Public Sector Administration Committee (PSAC) and distributed to all heads of agencies across Victoria, as well as recordkeeping and IM professionals. The page was viewed almost 3000 times between launch in April 2020 and end of June and provided public service employees with guidance and advice that will remain useful going into 2021 and beyond as workplaces become even more flexible with more working from home arrangements in place than ever before.
A government employee tries out the new Recordkeeping Essentials e-learning tool.
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Report on Performance Corporate Plan 2017–18 to 2020–2021 PROV’s four-year Corporate Plan provides the strategic direction for the period 2017–18 to 2020–21. The Plan articulates the mission, primary strategic objectives and values of PROV; describes our current and emerging operating environment; and details our three overarching outcomes and strategic initiatives. It also details the guiding principles that we use when implementing these initiatives.
Initiatives •
Improve recordkeeping practices across the public sector: We will continue to support effective recordkeeping in agencies by creating and mandating standards, promoting their implementation, and surveying and reporting on agency adherence and practice.
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Increase use of the collection: We will continue to make our collection more accessible and ensure the needs of different communities accessing the collection are met.
• Increase community engagement with public records: By supporting communities and engaging in community interaction, we will increase usage of the PROV collection and encourage good community collection management practices. •
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Deliver, embed and leverage our systems: We will complete the development and implementation of a new digital archive that is capable of supporting our electronic recordkeeping standard, and deliver additional business solutions to improve the efficiency and delivery of our service to government and the public.
Detailed information about our activities under each of these initiatives can be found in the next section of the report.
Build our profile: Our reputation as an inspiring, accessible and educational agency will be further increased with targeted communication campaigns to highlight the importance of government recordkeeping to the state and to the public, and our important service to the public and community, online and offline.
• Identify and preserve records of state significance: We will work with agencies to identify records of significance, determine how long records should be kept to meet the government’s needs, support organisational accountability and meet community expectations. •
Strengthen our culture and capability: Our programs over the next four years will ensure that our staff are equipped and supported to work in our changing technology environment. We will strive to be a leader in diversity and inclusion and develop an employee value proposition.
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Strategic Initiatives Improve Recordkeeping Practices Across the Public Sector
Victorian Electronic Records Strategy (VERS) 2019–20
2019–20 Actions in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
The Victorian Electronic Records Strategy is about ensuring the creation, capture and preservation of authentic, complete and meaningful digital records by the Victorian public sector.
PROV is working with the Victorian Government and Commonwealth, State and Territory archival authorities to address the Royal Commission recommendations. In consultation with a range of advocacy groups and support services, PROV has developed and published resources to assist careleavers find and understand their records, and in July 2019, PROV issued the Retention and Disposal Authority (RDA) for Records of Organisational Response to Child Sexual Abuse Incidents and Allegations - Public Record Office Standard (PROS) 19/08. After rigorous consultation during development, the RDA was issued to meet recordkeeping recommendations of the Royal Commission. The new RDA, along with the Guidelines developed in 2018, enables Victorian state and local government agencies to meet their recordkeeping responsibilities. Retention and Disposal Authorities In conjunction with the new RDA outlined above, PROV undertook a review of over 120 current RDAs and many non-current RDAs, to identify any further action required to meet both the recommendations of the Royal Commission and the requirements of PROS 19/08. We identified 30 RDAs which required variation at different levels of complexity. The list of varied RDAs is available on the website landing page for PROS 19/08 and in the Appendix of this report. The web page for PROS 19/08 has comprehensive guidance on the relationship between PROS 19/08 and existing RDAs, and also includes: • Guidance on applying PROS 19/08, its scope and exemptions in its coverage • Stakeholder feedback on its development and PROV response • Advice on re-sentencing for relevant expired RDAs which are all listed. The changes have been communicated via the PROV website as well as directly to the sectors and agencies impacted.
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In 2019–20 we began the transition from our VERS 2 Standard to VERS 3 VEO creation, using the new specifications within PROS 19/05 Create, Capture and Control Standard. VERS 2 is now 20 years old, and focused mainly on Electronic Document and Records Management (EDRMS) recordkeeping. The new VERS 3 requirements are still applicable to EDRMS but also allow more flexibility to preserve digital records from a variety of other systems reflecting more contemporary digital record keeping and enabling PROV to accept and preserve a broader range of digital formats. As part of the transition from VERS 2 to VERS 3, from next year 30 June 2021 we will no longer test new vendor products under VERS 2. Instead, we will test a product’s ability to create Version 3 VEOs. To test for other recordkeeping requirements, vendors and agencies will be able to self-assess products using PROV’s Recordkeeping Assessment Tool (RKAT) which is detailed under the highlights section of this report.
Records Management Network
Office365 and SharePoint Online
The Records Management Network (RMN) was established to provide a forum for knowledge exchange and discussion on issues affecting records management within the VPS. We held one Records Management Network event in 2019–20. The event, held in November 2019 focussed on recordkeeping in the health sector, with presentations about the variety of challenges faced by public health sector workers in managing their records appropriately. The event was very well attended and feedback on the presentations was overwhelmingly positive.
Building on the Office365 (O365) survey results from 2018–19, our focus this financial year was on investigating changes in records management practices needed to manage records in O365 environments. Initiatives have included extensive engagement with agencies who are implementing O365 to hear of their experiences and issues; exploring the development of tools to assist with implementation of records management practices; and improving our understanding of how O365 and similar evergreen collaborative environments work.
A second planned event had to be cancelled due to coronavirus (COVID-19). New ways of producing these events online are being explored for 2020–21 to ensure continued learning and development. Review of PROV Standards and Specifications Under the Public Records Act 1973, the Keeper of Public Records is responsible for issuing mandatory Standards for Victorian public offices. PROV is undertaking a review of these Standards and accompanying Specifications, in consultation with stakeholders. In 2019–20 PROV revised and issued Strategic Management, Operational Management, Access and Create, Capture and Control Standards. Specifications for Digitisation, Minimum Metadata, Long Term Sustainable Formats, Constructing VERS Encapsulated Objects (VEOs) and Adding Metadata Packages to VEO’s were also issued.
PROV has published guidance on configuring and implementing O365 to ensure recordkeeping requirements can be met. We have also developed a report on the implementation of O365 and SharePoint by government agencies and have established a working group with Australasian Digital Recordkeeping Initiative (ADRI) members to develop functional requirements. PROV continues to take opportunities to engage with Microsoft and suppliers of third party products. This work fits with PROV initiatives such as the Record Keeping Assessment Tool (RKAT) and VERS 3; the first being a means for agencies to assess any system for compliance with PROV Standards and the second providing a more flexible approach to preserving digital records over time.
Work has commenced on reviewing the Storage Standard and associated Specifications.
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Increase Use of the Collection PROV volunteers Public Record Office Victoria’s 160 highly skilled and trained volunteers participate in digitising, indexing and transcription projects. The contribution of volunteers’ time, efforts and talent adds great value to the collection allowing researchers, genealogists and interested community members to more easily find and use records of Victoria’s history. In the last twelve months several significant volunteer projects have been completed. These include the indexing of 10,504 boxes of Civil Case files (VPRS 267) with 250,000 files in the series. This labour intensive project commenced in March 2016 taking four years and much dedication to complete. The contents of the records commence in the 1850s covering disputes over property, money or services and make interesting reading providing insight into individuals, companies and organisations of the period. During the project volunteers unpacked some amazing discoveries, including samples of an 80-year-old possum fur (pictured) once destined to be made into high quality trims on ladies’ clothing. The volunteer efforts in making the Civil Case records more available has already proved popular with the public. As records are gradually being made searchable by name, genealogists and researchers are now finding more connections when searching our collection. In 2019, 1,423 civil case records were ordered, compared with only 150 in 2015 before the project started. Other projects completed in 2019–20: • • • •
VPRS 870/P0 Registrar of Probates Administration Bonds Files VPRS 9503/P0 Department of Education Ministerial Correspondence VPRS 627/P0 Land Selection Files VPRS 762/P0 Deeds Under 1871 Insolvency Act
A highlight for the volunteers this year has also been our exhibition, Time and Tide, being hosted by the City of Melbourne at the Library at the Dock, as detailed under the highlights section of this report. Our volunteer program was paused from March 2020 due to coronavirus (COVID-19) measures, however, we acknowledge an outstanding volunteer contribution in the months prior and look forward to an equally productive 2020–21.
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Sample from an 80-year-old possum fur. Exhibit from a civil case file indexed by the volunteers. VPRS 267/P2, Unit 17.
University outreach update Following on from our successful pilot project in 2018–19, the University Outreach Program has expanded into more tertiary courses across Victoria this year, as well as solidifying the connections we have previously made. Our presentations to students, both on campuses and at the Victorian Archives Centre, are introducing a new generation to the benefits of working with primary resources and showing them the relevance of our collection to academic research. The response from both lecturers and students continues to be enthusiastic, and a common message we receive is that new researchers are keen to use our collections but the challenge of learning how to navigate our system had been a stumbling block until we provided this support. Due to coronavirus (COVID-19), some lectures needed to be postponed, however most were able to go ahead using video and web-conferencing software to deliver presentations to students working from home. In 2020–21 we will begin holding ‘research boot camps’ where post-graduate students can receive one-on-one help for their projects with members of our University Outreach Unit. This team is made up of staff across all sectors of PROV with specialist knowledge of the collection. Planning is already underway and interest in these sessions is high, with the first boot camp, to be conducted online, having already booked out.
Increase Community Engagement with Public Records Places of Deposit (POD) Program and regional archives
Masters of architecture and urban design students at PROV August 2019.
Writing group update For the fourth year in a row, Hazel Edwards has continued to base her year-long writing mentorship program at the Victorian Archives Centre in a partnership that sees new writers introduced to our collection as they work on their non-fiction books and family histories. Each year the participants finish their books by the end of the program, and in 2019 one student gained considerable attention from the history community and media for the book he wrote and published as a result of the class. Darren Arnott’s No Regard for the Truth used our inquest records and National Archives of Australia military records to examine a case from 1946 in which a Rowville internment camp prisoner, Rodolfo Bartoli, is killed. He launched his book at the Victorian Archives Centre in October 2019. Hazel said the book displays:
“Well-crafted historical detective work.”
We look forward to continuing to support this program to help writers incorporate the archive in their work.
PROV works with a range of organisations across the State to support the Victorian community’s access to the State’s collections. Our Places of Deposit (POD) program encompasses regional archives which manage and provide access to permanent and temporary public records held in local communities. Class A PODs can hold permanent and temporary public records while Class B PODs can only hold temporary records. During the year PROV’s then Minister, the Special Minister of State reappointed 12 Class B PODs taking the total to 94. In late November 2019 a second well-attended POD Collections Day was held at Ballarat’s Eureka Centre in partnership with Australian Museums and Galleries Association Victoria (AMaGA Victoria). It was the Ballarat Archives Centre’s first year in its new home at the Eureka Centre so it was timely to invite PODs to visit and explore the new research hub. Long standing Ballarat Archives Services Officer, Gertrude Cotterill, said the new location provided researchers with a space to access multiple collections from the region:
“We have had many positive comments from researchers, they are very happy about having access to both the Library and Archive collections and are often hopping between the two. Having access to Library staff member Simon Jacks’ knowledge of Ballarat and surrounds is a bonus to researchers as well.”
Public records are accessible at Ballarat with a digitisation project recently completed. We also continued our close relationship with Bendigo Regional Archives Centre (BRAC), run in partnership with the City of Greater Bendigo and the Goldfields Library Corporation. Permanent public records are also held in other Class A PODs at Beechworth’s Robert O’Hara Burke Museum and the Geelong Library and Heritage Centre, and significant progress was made with the digitisation of the records held at Beechworth.
Celebrating the launch of No Regard for the Truth at the Victorian Archives Centre.
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In February 2020 the University of Melbourne Archives was appointed as a Class A POD. The University of Melbourne Archives was established in July 1960, to collect and preserve records relating to the University and to business and business people for the purposes of historical research. Today it is one of the largest nongovernment archives in Australia, with a collection of nearly 20km of records. Appointment as a Class A POD will ensure the long-term preservation of permanent public records in its collection and eventually allow for enhanced access through PROV’s online catalogue. The coronavirus (COVID-19) related closure of both Class A and B PODs from March 2020 resulted in the postponement of many planned exhibitions and events and significantly impacted researcher visitation outcomes for the year. Exhibitions November 2019 saw the Victorian Archives Centre Gallery launch a new photographic exhibition entitled In The Shadows. The exhibition featured archival images from the collections of Public Record Office Victoria and the National Archives of Australia, alongside contemporary street photography from Alicia Valle Serrano, Richard Harris, Michael Edwards, Sarah Ruhullah, Kelly Tang, Andrew Wilson, Mark Forbes, Andrew Tan, Cathrin Plunkett, Adrian Whear and Liz Kajko; all chosen from a pool of 131 photographer submissions. Examining both physical and conceptual aspects of shadows and darkness, the archival images included misleading advertising for cigarettes in the 1930s, under-represented communities, as well as spies and espionage. The contemporary photographers explored issues ranging from living under the shadow of ‘big brother’ through to how we turn a blind eye to social issues surrounding us. As previously mentioned in this report, our volunteer-led Time and Tide exhibition went on display at the beginning of 2020 at Library at the Dock and the run of the Wayward Women? exhibition at Old Treasury Building, launched in 2018–19, continued throughout 2019–20, as did permanent displays including Foundations of Melbourne, showcasing records from our collection to an audience of 69,565 Old Treasury visitors.
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In addition to our own exhibitions and existing partnerships, we also offer a loan service that provides other museums with the opportunity to display public records from our collection within their own exhibition programs. As part of this service, our records featured in the Bendigo Post Office Gallery’s Rule Britannia exhibition and Melbourne Medical History Museum’s The Women’s: Carers, Advocates and Reformers, both of which opened in the 2018–19 financial year and continued into 2019–20. New for 2019–20 were the State Library of Victoria’s Velvet Iron Ashes exhibition and Bendigo Regional Archives Centre’s Langston Street in Fifteen Objects. Provenance Provenance is our free online journal published annually at prov.vic.gov.au. The journal features peer-reviewed articles as well as other written contributions that contain research drawing on records in the state archives’ holdings. In October 2019, we were pleased to accept a Mander Jones Award from the Australian Society of Archivists for our 2018 issue, awarded for being the best publication to engage and communicate with clients or potential clients of an Australian archive or archival collection about Australia. The 2019 issue was released in December and included articles that use judicial records to explore and reflect upon the often private histories and experiences of women in nineteenth-century Victoria, as well as a reflection on the rise and fall of the former head office of the State Savings Bank of Victoria in Melbourne. We thank the contributing authors, as well as the experts who peer reviewed articles in the last twelve months. We would also like to acknowledge our dedicated editorial board which supports the production of Provenance each year: • Tsari Anderson, Editor, Provenance; Coordinator, Koorie Records Unit, Public Record Office Victoria • Dr David ‘Fred’ Cahir, Associate Professor of Aboriginal History, Federation University Australia
• Dr Sebastian Gurciullo, Assistant Editor, Provenance; Community Archives Officer, Public Record Office Victoria • Dr Adrian Jones OAM, Associate Professor of History, La Trobe University • Mike Jones, Consultant Research Archivist, the University of Melbourne • Dr Antonina Lewis, independent archival consultant and researcher • Dr Seamus O’Hanlon, Associate Professor of History, Monash University • Dr Dianne Reilly AM, FRHSV, Secretary, La Trobe Society • Katherine Sheedy, Professional Historians Association (VIC) Inc. • Dr Judith Smart, Adjunct Professor, RMIT University; Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne • Dr Rachel Standfield, Lecturer, Monash Indigenous Studies Centre, Monash University.
•
Develops resources, programs and initiatives that increase the knowledge, accessibility and use of Victoria’s unique collection of government records relating to Aboriginal people.
Digitisation of records about Aboriginal peoples in the collection has continued this year. Work has also commenced on a refreshed indexing project of these newly digitised records, as well as a refresh of the Koorie Index of Names platform. Once complete, we will be able to continue to upload data to the index. This will greatly enhance accessibility for clients to records about themselves and their families through the Koorie Index of Names and the Koorie Reference Service. In 2019–20, the KRU’s Koorie Reference Service responded to 89 new research enquiries, involving searches conducted for 464 names and resulting in a total of 2018 index results across the PROV and NAA collections for the names searched. We have also responded to requests and provided copies of records to Aboriginal community organisations and Keeping Places. Other highlights include a presentation at the 2019 Australian Society of Archivists/International Council of Archives Designing the Archive conference, and involvement in the Healing Foundation Victorian Stolen Generations records forum in Melbourne. Map Warper Lunch and Learn event
Editor Tsari Anderson accepts the Mander Jones Award for Provenance.
Koorie records The Koorie Records Unit (KRU) promotes awareness about Aboriginal records within our collection and aims to improve accessibility of these records to the Aboriginal community.
Last year we collaborated with the creator of Map Warper to develop a PROV Map Warper site where maps from our collection could be rectified with current day coordinates to create a comparison between the historic map and the present day. In 2019–20 an additional 7000 maps from our historic plans collection were added to the tool and in late June 2020 we ran an online Lunch and Learn Day event with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) to showcase the PROV Map Warper tool to a new audience of land information and spatial professionals, encouraging them to get involved in rectifying the maps. The results of this project will be able to be seen moving into 2020–21.
The KRU: •
Provides a culturally sensitive Koorie Reference Service in collaboration with the National Archives of Australia (NAA), to provide support and advice to Aboriginal people wishing to access records relevant to their personal and community histories
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Build our Profile Mainstream media
Winners of the 2019 Victorian Community History Awards.
Grants and awards We run grants and awards programs each year to provide funding and recognition for those who preserve and share local history and heritage for all Victorians. Coinciding with History Week in October 2019, in partnership with the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, we announced the winners of the Victorian Community History Awards at a ceremony at the Arts Centre Melbourne. For the first time in the Awards’ 21-year-history, the event was proceeded by a shortlisting media announcement which generated additional excitement in the lead up to the day, and ensured that more of Victoria’s history projects were able to gain promotion and acknowledgment in their local areas with the shortlist announcement gaining 27 media mentions (separate from the final winners who were in the media 25 times after the event). The 2019 winners included Chloe Hooper for The Arsonist, Co.As.It for their Carlo Catani exhibition and Carolyn Rasmussen for The Blackburns. Phil Roberts and the Arch of Victory/Avenue of Honour Committee won the Victorian Premier’s History Award for the stunning book Avenue of Memories. See the Appendix for the full list of winners. In early 2020, judging for the new round of Local History Grants was also undertaken. Recipients will be formally announced at the beginning of the 2020–21 financial year.
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PROV’s programs and records from our collection appeared in the media approximately 245 times in 2019–20, with coverage ranging from online to radio, television and print. Highlights included: media coverage across local outlets for Victorian Community History Awards shortlisted entrants and winners and the Local History Grants; community radio interviews for Family History Month; significant promotion for our Melbourne Writers Festival Madame Brussels event across their programs and in The Age, with other PROV events and exhibitions also featured across newspapers including Docklands News and what’s on websites throughout the year; Michael Shelford drew on our prison registers and police correspondence files for his regular Herald Sun In Black and White features in 2019–20; and ABC online wrote about our Section 9 openings and included our records in stories about public transport and historic criminals. We were pleased to welcome Bert Newton to the Victorian Archives Centre to film his 2020 episode of Who Do You Think You Are? featuring his family’s connection with the Women’s Monster Petition. We also wrote about PROV’s Map Warper and various government recordkeeping projects for industry publications such as iQ Magazine. These media activities, among others, reveal aspects of our collection to new audiences encouraging Victorians to better understand their past, while promoting the value of good recordkeeping practices within the public sector. Social media In 2019–20 we continued to grow our online community, from 21,555 to 23,657 across Facebook, multiple Twitter channels, Instagram, Linked In and YouTube. Content on our main Facebook and Twitter channels, resulted in more than 134,919 engagements (comments, shares, and likes). This was up from last year’s 133,614 which shows just how important these channels are in connecting Victorians with their history, particularly in times when they are unable to engage with the archives in person.
We also continued to publish blogs showcasing items from our collection. The top three blogs written in the year 2019–20 included a blog post featuring online archival jigsaw puzzles people could do from home during coronavirus restrictions, a post about our temporary closure and our January Section 9 record opening post featuring the story of the Pyjama Girl. Events and partnerships PROVs Andrew Joyce leading the Auslan Tour of the archives for Open House 2019.
Website Last financial year we launched a new beta catalogue for our users to test over time. This year we continued to gain feedback on the beta site to be addressed when we launch the new system in the next financial year. This year we launched a set of new topic pages related to public transport in Victoria. The pages cover photographs, drawings, maps, plans, employee records, and records specific to ports, ships, airports, railways, trams, buses, roads and bridges. After extensive external consultation we also launched our online Guide to accessing Victorian Care Leaver and Adoption Records. The page was developed for individuals who experienced institutional or out-of-home ‘care’ as children from the 1930s until 1989, and Stolen Generations of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people who were separated from their family and traditional country. In addition, associated topic pages to make searching our collection easier include a Ward of the State and Care Leaver Records page, and Adoption Records page. These are important resources for Victorians to use to gain access to records about their own history. Our web traffic for the year was 914,993. The most popular pages of the site were our wills and probates page, passenger records pages and online collections.
PROV continued to build on the relationships formed over the past few years with our program of 2019–20 events, working with key festivals and organisations to broaden our audience and increase the use of our collection. In 2019 we continued our successful partnerships with Open House Melbourne and the Melbourne Writers Festival. Open House was again a success with tours fully booked, including a dedicated Auslan tour to start the day. The Writers Festival sold-out talk, Madame Brussels’ Melbourne, was held at the Victorian Archives Centre in September, to an enthusiastic crowd. Historian Barbara Minchinton and archaeologist Sarah Hayes discussed how they used PROV records to uncover new insights about Little Lon, Melbourne’s sex work precinct of the 19th century. In particular they shared how they were able to reconstruct the stories of the people living and working in the district by cross referencing archival records with the contents of the cesspits that have been unearthed during archaeological digs. For International Women’s Day in 2020 we shone a spotlight on the Women’s Mural Virtual Tour, a recent recipient of a Local History Grant. This project, which made the story of Megan Evans’ and Eve Glenn’s iconic 1986 community mural accessible to an online audience, became especially significant after the original artwork was demolished in September 2019. On 4 March 2020, PROV hosted a panel discussion with Danielle Hakim and Sally Northfield from The Women’s Mural Documentation Project, Penelope Lee from Her Place Women’s Museum, Australia and Dr Nikki Henningham from the Australian Women’s Archives Project. During the event we looked at both this specific project, as well as the wider picture of local women’s history, and discussed how museums and archives can collaborate to preserve and celebrate women’s voices.
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A new relationship was also formed in 2019 with PROV hosting a Rare Book Week event for the first time. The event entitled True Crime in the Archives was presented by PROV’s Tara Oldfield with crime writer and Melbourne Historical Crime Tours founder Michael Shelford. The booked-out event introduced a new audience to crime research with a specific focus on the infamous Squizzy Taylor. His records were also on display throughout the event which was met with great enthusiasm by the audience of true crime readers, writers and rare book fans.
Identify and Preserve Records of State Significance Queenscliffe Maritime Museum records transfer In early 2020, PROV oversaw a transfer of a large number of Victorian Ports Corporation’s (VPC) predecessor agency records from the Queenscliffe Maritime Museum to our North Melbourne repository at the Victorian Archives Centre. The creating agencies of the records include the Melbourne Harbor Trust Commissioners, the Port of Melbourne Authority, and the Victorian Channels Authority. The records consist primarily of thousands of maps and plans of Victoria’s ports, including hydrographic survey maps, soundings, dredging plans, and plans of port infrastructure. We are pleased to have brought this significant collection to PROV. The records have come to us as part of a joint PROV and VPC project to describe and list the records and make them available for the Victorian community. At the end of this project, researchers and agency users will be able to search for and order these records via our catalogue online, which has not been possible before.
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Strengthen our Culture and Capability Coronavirus (COVID-19) response PROV’s response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic threat was swift and effective. The Business Continuity Plan was reviewed in February 2020 and preparation for working from home began at this time. Whilst there were already a significant number of staff working flexibly, planning was required to ensure the right technology and support was in place for the entire business to work effectively from home. Staff were fantastic in their responsiveness and respect for each other during this period, actively living PROV values. The culture of mutual respect made a challenging circumstance easier, with both staff and management reliably taking the required action. PROV always considers the physical and mental safety of its staff a priority. This was particularly important given the shifting circumstances resulting from coronavirus (COVID-19) reaching Australia, and the resulting transition to all staff working remotely. Regular communication and active staff participation were key components of the staff engagement strategy. Messaging focused on strategies to support mental and physical wellbeing. In light of the new circumstances, business processes were reviewed: •
A new remote reward and recognition system was implemented. The power of positive feedback when working in isolation is widely accepted and the initiative has had an excellent uptake amongst staff.
•
The processes for performance development planning was reviewed in light of the changing circumstances and acknowledging that goals shifted as a result of the pandemic.
•
A holistic approach was taken to health, safety and wellbeing, with a regular newsletter providing valuable information on maintaining a safe working environment and promoting good mental fitness whilst working from home.
• Staff were educated on the use of new online platforms to help maintain effective communication across the business whilst working remotely. This included videoconferencing applications in addition to other tools established to ensure PROV staff could communicate and store information in the event of unreliable network access. PROV’s Chat application proved particularly successful in ensuring timely and reliable communication with vendors working on PROV’s business systems. Introducing a new competency framework We introduced a new set of competencies which were embedded into our performance management system in the 2019–20 performance cycle. These competencies represent those which are globally recognised as the ones that matter most for performance. Each month the spotlight has been shone on the competency most relevant to the challenges facing the organisation at the time. Introduction to the competencies is the first stage in implementing the Competency Framework, with the overarching Competency Framework to be implemented as stage two. This tool to facilitate capability uplift will be implemented as we embed the new systems and will help PROV staff fully realise the benefits of the new technology. Preparing for PROV’s new business systems Preparation for the training of staff in PROV’s new business systems has had to be reworked due to the pandemic related unavailability of vendors, the uncertain nature of where staff will be located and stringent measures needed to ensure the health and safety of staff during this activity. Staff’s increasing ability to adapt has ensured the pandemic has not derailed planning progress.
Staff trialled different forms of online communication (such as Zoom) before settling on Webex and PROVchat.
Talent acquisition: The Job Skills Exchange This year saw the introduction of the Job Skills Exchange. This is a Victorian Government Initiative aimed at giving Victorian Public Service (VPS) employees priority access to all job opportunities across the VPS. PROV did a comprehensive review of its recruitment processes to align with this new initiative. This included obtaining feedback from applicants on PROV’s recruitment process, the results of which have proven to be very positive. Our new processes are also helping to ensure we attract a more diverse range of clients and to rule out unconscious bias. Health, safety and wellbeing Health, Safety and Wellbeing reporting has been reviewed to capture mental injury, traumatic events, occupational violence and bullying. PROV has a particularly good track record in health, safety and wellbeing and even with the addition of these additional measures, incidents were extremely low.
Continuous improvement A review of the service delivery model in PROV’s reading room was undertaken in late 2019 and some changes to the model were implemented. This served as good preparation for the changes to the service delivery model that were required to allow the Reading Room to reopen after the coronavirus restrictions were lifted. Staff’s adaptability, flexibility, resilience and nimble learning have all been honed to the benefit of PROV clients.
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Culture PROV completes the People Matter survey biannually, a public sector employee opinion survey run by the Victorian Public Sector Commission. In 2018–19 our results demonstrated that we are a great place to work, with staff who are productive, motivated and engaged. This year, PROV did an in-house pulse check with staff, and again, the results were extremely positive. There has been a focus on PROV’s value of ‘respect’ with initiatives such as civility training, mental health training, the promotion of PROV’s Employee Assistance Program, Feel Good Friday (an initiative to promote kindness and respect in the workplace), commemoration of significant events and the promotion of PROV’s values and behaviours. Some of the events recognised this year include: International Day of Living Together in Peace, IDAHOBIT, Wear It Purple Day, Sorry Day, Reconciliation Week, Ageism Week, Mental Health Week, RU Ok Day, OHS Month and Refugee Week. A number of charities were supported by staff including: • • • • •
Rural Aid (for drought relief) Wildlife Victoria (in response to the extensive bushfire damage) Red Cross Blood Bank (regular blood drives were initiated) Foodbank (in response to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the community) and Switchboard (a peer based telephone and web counselling, information and support service for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people).
PROV’s active Engagement Committee also championed support for community initiatives with an environmental focus including: • Simply Cups Australia (which recycles coffee cups) • Envision Hands (turning bottle caps into prosthetic limbs for children in need) and • Boomerang Bags (connecting and empowering local communities to tackle plastic pollution at its source).
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PROV hosted another successful Wear It Purple Day for staff in 2019–20. Mama Alto was guest speaker and singer, speaking about how Archives relate to Wear It Purple Day, pride and visibility. This was followed by a moving performance of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Gold coins donated by staff on the day raised money for Switchboard.
Deliver, Embed and Leverage our Systems Digital Archive Program PROV has been undertaking a major program of works over the past four years to update and improve the business systems used for managing and facilitating access to the collection. This involves replacing all key systems including the Digital Archive where we store permanent digital records, the Archival Management System used for managing the collection, and the Warehouse Management System used for managing the location of our physical records. PROV has further developed its new search and browse functionality based on user feedback. New order and copying functionality is being tested, and integration work is being finalised to improve access to the collection. Integration work between the new Archival Management System and Warehouse Management System is also currently underway. Testing has been completed on the new Digital Archive, and PROV is planning to complete the migration of the permanent digital records from the current digital archive in late 2020. While the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on PROV, our vendors and our regional sites has caused delays during the final period of testing and integration, our teams have been working hard to ensure the new systems will be ready to go live in the last half of 2020. Resources and training will be available to the public following the launch, to ensure that users are able to make the most out of the new features.
Legacy platforms in particular have shown substantial improvements in stability and responsiveness, with the removal of a large number of scheduled outages as well as measurable performance improvements and remediation of long-standing causes of customer dissatisfaction. A large-scale in-housing of infrastructure management has been completed, reducing reliance on external vendors and allowing PROV to deliver responsive, agile solutions to business needs. This ability to deliver in a nimble and customer-focused manner has paid substantial dividends during the altered work conditions imposed by coronavirus (COVID-19). While the change to a work-from-home model as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19) has presented new challenges in terms of collaboration and communication platforms, it has also provided an opportunity to implement critical network maintenance and upgrades without impacting our staff and users. A renewed work ethic of cooperation supported by systems and tools to facilitate multiple teams, vendors and staff all working together to deliver our new systems leaves PROV optimistic about deploying an excellent experience for the public, Victorian Government and our own teams in the year ahead.
Technical Services The 2019–20 period has ushered in a whole new Technology Services team for PROV and with that change a substantial program of works to uplift and improve IT services across the board for both internal and external clients. The key focus for the year has been improvement of core infrastructure to support the ongoing programs of work to renew our Digital Archive, Warehouse Management and Archive Management Systems while delivering availability improvements to our legacy platforms in the interim.
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Output Measures 2019–20 PROV 2019–20 BP3 Measures Performance measure
Quantity, Quality, Timeliness
Unit of measure
2019–20 Full Year Target
2019–20 Full Year Actual
Variance (%)
Collection usage: utilisation of physical and digital records held by Public Record Office Victoria
Quantity
number
4,800,000
5,443,112
13%1
Satisfaction with services Quality provided by Public Record Office Victoria to government agencies and to the public
per cent
90
92
2%
Provision of services within published timeframes
per cent
95
91
4%
Timeliness
PROV 2019–20 Annual Report Measures OUTPUT
Unit of measure
2019–20 2019–20 Full Year Target Full Year Actual
Government Services Public Record Office Victoria records transferred
shelf metres
50
02
Digital records preserved
number of VEOs
22
03
Retention and Disposal Authorities issued
number
6
54
Number of participants undertaking records management training
number
750
10565
Transfer projects completed
number
3
06
150
07
Access Services Records deaccessioned from the PROV collection
shelf metres
Total visitors/users
number
80,000
65,3508
Online visitors to website
number
930,000
914,993
Volunteer hours
number
17,000
10,8599
Collection storage meeting industry standard
percent
95
96
1250
163510
Corporate Services Staff hours spent on L&D activities 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
32
hours
The increase is driven by access to records through third-party genealogical websites dependent on promotion and outreach by the third party partners; the release of divorce records in February 2020; and increase in online activity in the last quarter due to COVID-19 lockdown measures. Transfers could not be undertaken due to retirement of the old system. We await implementation of the new archives management system to resume transfers. Awaiting implementation of new archives management system. COVID-19 disruption slowed progress at agencies. The records management training module was redeveloped and heavily promoted, leading to high take up by agencies. Transfers could not be undertaken due to retirement of the old system. We await implementation of the new archives management system to resume transfers. The number of linear metres which has been moved off the shelves this cycle is zero; however, during 2019–10 1,473 linear metres of records have been appraised as temporary, pending sign off by the agencies. COVID-19 closures affected attendance. Volunteer program closed from mid March 2020 due to COVID-19 lockdown. PROV staff took up an unexpected opportunity to complete additional Mental Health Training during COVID-19 lockdown which saw in increase in L&D hours.
Reading Room and Record Retrievals Public Record Office Victoria operates two public reading rooms; one at the Victorian Archives Centre in North Melbourne and the other at the Ballarat Archives Centre at the Eureka Centre in Ballarat. Records can also be accessed at the Bendigo Regional Archives Centre within Bendigo Library, the Geelong Library Heritage Centre and (by appointment only) at the Burke Museum in Beechworth. During 2019–20, 7803 visitors utilised the reading rooms to view public records. 35287 records were issued to visitors and an additional 5348 were issued to Government Agencies and for internal PROV use. Visitor numbers and record orders were impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) closure between March and June 2020. In 2019–20 reference queries were managed through our online enquiry system which received an average 545 queries per month; providing a consistent and seamless approach to customer service.
Number of records
Records Issued
Public users
Government users
70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 Year
2013–14
2014–15
Visitors to Reading Rooms
2015–16
2016–17
2017–18
2018–19
2019–20
Victorian Archives Centre
Bendigo Regional Archives Centre
Ballarat Archives Centre
Geelong Heritage Centre
55,000
Number of visitors
50,000 45,000 40,000 35,000 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 Year
2013–14
2014–15
2015–16
2016–17
2017–18
2018-19
2019–20
As the visitors to Geelong Library & Heritage Centre jumped significantly in 2015–16 due to the attraction of the new building facilities, for 2016–17 onwards we have only counted those who visited the reading room specifically to research public records.
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Appendices Appendix 1: Assets Our assets include both community and operating assets in the following four categories: Community assets These assets are the State’s archival collection. The physical collection was valued at $299.9m. The digital collection is valued at $16.7m. Building assets Records repositories for storage of the State Archives and the State Government’s non-current records are located at North Melbourne and Ballarat. The Victorian Archives Centre in North Melbourne, including land, is valued at $88.3m. Motor vehicles PROV operates one vehicle: a station wagon. Plant and operating equipment Operating assets are used for the upkeep of the physical and digital repositories so that public records can be stored safely and made available for public inspection.
Appendix 2: Financial Statement 2016–17
2017–18
2018–19
2019–20
Operating
4,100,642
4,529,782
5,271,015
4,009,7151
Salary and on-costs
5,707,427
5,955,220
6,729,267
6,911,696
Sub-total
9,808,069
10,485,002
12,000,282
10,921,411
Capital
1,141,842
2,533,419
1,493,664
1,100,872
Depreciation
3,060,845
2,031,131
2,044,246
1,957,937
Capital Assets Charge
4,925,000
4,904,067
4,873,097
4,746,080
18,935,756
19,953,619
20,411,289
18,726,300
Total Expenditure Trust Fund DTF - Community Support Fund (Victorian Community History Awards and Local History Grants Program) Other Trust Funds 1
Opening Balance
Revenue FY 2019-20
Expenditure FY 2019-20
Closing Balance
-
73,000
73,000
-
111,068
85,000
79,451
116,617
This does not include Local History Grants that will be paid in FY 2020–21 from Trust funding (DTF - Community Support Fund). The funding was part of PROV’s appropriated budget in FY 2018–19.
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Appendix 3: Workforce Data Ongoing Employees
Fixed-term & Casual
Number (Headcount)
Full-time (Headcount)
Part-time (Headcount)
FTE
FTE
June 2019
58
37
21
51.4
10.8
June 2020
53
33
20
47
14
June 2019
June 2020
Ongoing
Fixed-term & Casual
Ongoing
Fixed-term & Casual
Number (Headcount)
FTE
FTE
Number (Headcount)
FTE
FTE
Female
38
32.3
6.8
36
30.8
7
Male
20
19.1
4
17
16.2
7
0
0
1
0
0
1
25-34
14
13
0.8
10
9.6
2.2
35-44
15
12.2
4.4
13
10.4
5.6
45-54
13
12.2
3.0
13
12.1
4.4
55-64
12
10.8
1.6
13
11.7
0
4
3.2
0
4
3.2
0.8
Executive
1
1
0
1
1
0
STS
1
0.7
0
1
0.7
0
Grade 6
7
6.6
1
7
6.6
2
Grade 5
6
5.9
2
6
5.9
2
Grade 4
13
10.2
0.6
14
11.1
0.4
Grade 3
16
15.1
1.4
12
11.6
4
Grade 2
14
11.9
5.8
12
10.1
5.6
Gender
Age Under 25
Over 65 Classification
35
Appendix 4: Standards and Advice Section 12 of the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic) requires the Keeper of Public Records to establish standards for the efficient management of public records and assist public offices in the application of those standards to records under their control. The Act requires public offices to implement records management programs in accordance with the standards established by the Keeper. All standards are available on the PROV website: www.prov.vic.gov.au/recordkeeping-government/standards-policiesrdas.
Appendix 5: Recordkeeping Standards Framework Documents Issued 2019–20 Standards and specifications issued Number
Name
Issued
PROS 19/03
Strategic Management Standard
01/08/2019
PROS 19/04
Operational Management Standard
01/08/2019
PROS 19/05
Create, Capture and Control Standard
01/08/2019
PROS 19/05 S1
Digitisation Specification
01/08/2019
PROS 19/05 S2
Minimum Metadata Requirements Specification
16/08/2019
PROS 19/05 S3
Long Term Sustainable Formats Specification
15/04/2020
PROS 19/05 S4
Constructing VEOs Specification
15/04/2020
PROS 19/05 S5
Adding Metadata Packages to VEOs Specification
15/04/2020
PROS 19/06
Access Standard
01/08/2019
Standard Number
Name
Issued Date
PROS 19/07
Retention and Disposal Authority for Converted or Digitised Records 01/08/2019
PROS 19/08
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Organisational Response to Child Sexual Abuse Incidents and Allegations
10/07/2019
PROS 19/09
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Major Infrastructure and Development Projects
27/11/2019
PROS 19/10
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Environment Protection Functions
28/11/2019
PROS 20/01
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Building and Plumbing Regulation Functions
12/02/2020
Appendix 6: Retention and Disposal Authority (RDA) Documents Issued or Varied 2019–20 New RDAs
36
RDAs varied
Standard Number
Name
Issued Date
Expiry Date
PROS 99/05
Retention and Disposal Authority for State Coroner’s Office Coronial Investigations Variation 5
06/12/2019
31/12/2022
PROS 99/06
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Gas Safety Functions Variation 5
06/12/2019
31/12/2022
PROS 96/10
Retention and Disposal Authority for Prison Records Variation 9
20/11/2019
30/06/2021
PROS 00/02
Retention and Disposal Authority for Department of Infrastructure Variation 7
06/12/2019
31/12/2022
PROS 01/01
Retention and Disposal Authority for School Records Variation 9
02/09/2019
31/12/2020
PROS 01/03
Retention and Disposal Authority for Victorian Auditor-General’s Office Variation 6
06/12/2019
30/06/2020
PROS 03/01
Retention and Disposal Authority for the Legal Aid Function Variation 4
06/12/2019
31/12/2022
PROS 03/02
Retention and Disposal Authority for Office of the Public Advocate Variation 3
13/06/2018
No date
PROS 03/03
Retention and Disposal Authority for the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority Variation 3
02/09/2019
31/12/2020
PROS 04/01
Retention and Disposal Authority for Department of Primary Industries Variation 3
06/12/2019
31/12/2022
PROS 04/03
Retention and Disposal Authority for the Office of Public Prosecutions Variation 5
06/12/2019
30/06/2023
PROS 04/06
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Nurses Board of Victoria Variation 2
02/09/2019
No date
PROS 04/07
Retention and Disposal Authority for the Office of Gaming and Racing Variation 4
06/12/2019
30/06/2023
PROS 04/08
Retention and Disposal Authority for Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal Variation 4
02/09/2019
31/12/2021
PROS 05/01
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Ombudsman Victoria Variation 4
06/12/2019
31/12/2022
37
PROS 05/07
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Equal Opportunity Commission Victoria Variation 3
06/12/2019
31/12/2022
PROS 05/08
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games Variation 2
02/09/2019
No date
PROS 05/09
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Department of Sustainability & Environment Variation 3
06/12/2019
31/12/2022
PROS 07/01
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Common Administrative Functions Variation 5
02/09/2019
No date
PROS 07/05
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of State Trustees Limited Variation 3
06/12/2019
20/08/2023
PROS 07/06
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Office of the Health Complaints Commissioner Variation 3
02/09/2019
31/12/2021
PROS 07/07
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Electrical Safety Function Variation 2
06/12/2019
31/10/2022
PROS 07/10
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Land Registry Variation 2
06/12/2019
No date
PROS 08/03
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the County Court Variation 3
06/12/2019
30/06/2023
PROS 08/04
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Employment, Investment & Industry Functions Variation 2
02/09/2019
12/03/2021
PROS 08/07
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Working with Children Check Function Variation 2
02/09/2019
No date
PROS 08/12
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Child Protection and Family Services Functions Variation 5
08/01/2020
No date
PROS 08/13
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Disability Services Function Variation 2
25/09/2019
No date
PROS 08/16
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Youth Justice and Youth Services Functions Variation 1
12/06/2020
No date
PROS 09/05
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Local Government Functions Variation 2
22/11/2019
No date
PROS 09/06
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of WorkSafe Victoria Variation 3
02/09/2019
No date
38
PROS 09/07
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages Variation 1
06/12/2019
No date
PROS 09/08
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Vehicle Registration and Driver Licensing Variation 1
06/12/2019
No date
PROS 09/09
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Mental 10/10/2019 Health, Alcohol and Drugs Service Functions Variation 3
30/06/2023
PROS 09/10
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Aged Care Function Variation 2
06/12/2019
No date
PROS 10/03
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office Variation 1
06/12/2019
No date
PROS 10/04
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Royal Botanic Gardens Board Variation 1
06/12/2019
No date
PROS 10/05
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the VicRoads Road Management Functions Variation 1
05/05/2020
No date
PROS 10/06
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Taxi, Hire Car and Driving Instructor Regulation Functions Variation 1
02/09/2019
30/06/2023
PROS 10/07
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Victorian Institute of Teaching Variation 1
02/09/2019
30/06/2023
PROS 10/08
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Ambulance Services Functions Variation 1
02/09/2019
26/05/2020
PROS 10/09
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Education and Early Childhood Functions Variation 1
02/09/2019
30/06/2023
PROS 10/11
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Country Fire Authority Records of the Public Record Office Victoria Variation 1
02/09/2019
29/07/2020
PROS 10/12
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Information Regulation Function Variation 2
02/09/2019
No date
PROS 10/15
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Office of Police Integrity Variation 3
02/09/2019
No date
PROS 10/16
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Victims Support Services Function Variation 1
03/09/2019
31/12/2022
39
PROS 11/03
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Victims Support Services Function Variation 1
02/09/20194
08/03/2021
PROS 11/04
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Consumer Affairs Functions Variation 1
06/12/2019
No date
PROS 11/06
Retention and Disposal Authority for Patient Information Records Variation 1
14/11/2019
No date
PROS 12/02
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Corrections Victoria Variation 1
20/11/2019
27/02/2022
PROS 12/05
Retention and Disposal Authority for Statewide Health Services Variation 1
02/09/2019
29/06/2022
PROS 13/02
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority Variation 1
02/09/2019
04/06/2023
PROS 13/03
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Adult Multicultural Education Services Variation 1
02/09/2019
12/06/2023
PROS 13/07
Retention and Disposal Authority for Administrative Records of National Bodies Variation 2
02/09/2019
No date
PROS 15/05
Retention and Disposal Authority for Post Compulsory Education and Skills Training Services Governance Function Variation 1
02/09/2019
06/08/2025
PROS 16/01
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Accredited Training Function Variation 1
02/09/2019
No date
PROS 16/02
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Non-Accredited Training Function Variation 1
18/09/2019
No date
PROS 16/07
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of the Higher and Further Education Functions Variation 1
02/09/2019
No date
PROS 17/02
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Emergency Services Function Variation 1
02/09/2019
No date
PROS 17/04
Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Hospital Administrative Functions Variation 1
14/11/2019
No date
40
Appendix 7: Approved Public Record Office Victoria Storage Suppliers (APROSS) APROSS sites are commercial facilities that have been inspected by PROV and approved for the storage of temporary and un-sentenced public records. For a complete list of APROSS sites see our website: www.prov.vic.gov.au/recordkeeping-government/certified-suppliers-vendors/apross-for-agencies APROSS Facilities approved in 2019–20
0
Reappointments
0
Number of current approved APROSS facilities
33
Appendix 8: Staff Achievements Awards
Provenance: Provenance journal Issue 16, 2018 received a Mander Jones Award (category 8) from the Australian Society of Archivists for the best publication to engage and communicate with clients or potential clients of an Australian archive or archival collection about Australia. Professional committees Tsari Anderson: editor, Provenance journal; member, Professional Historians Association. Grace Baliviera: member, CAARA Out of Home Care Working Group. David Brown: member, Information Management Group; member, Australasian Digital Recordkeeping Initiative; member, Australian Society of Archivists. Charlie Farrugia: member, Victorian Association of Family History Organisations Committee; member, Geelong Heritage Centre Collection Advisory Committee. Kate Follington: member, Australian Galleries and Museums Australia Victoria Branch. Peter Francis: member, Australasian Digital Recordkeeping Initiative; member, Association of Computing Machinery. Dr Sebastian Gurciullo: editorial board member, Archives and Manuscripts; editorial board member and assistant editor, Provenance journal; webmaster and steering committee member on Literary and Artistic Archives of the International Council on Archives; board member, Course Advisory Board, Bachelor of Arts, La Trobe University.
Justine Heazlewood: chair, Australasian Digital Recordkeeping Initiative; board member, Emerald Tourist Railway Board; member, Council of Australasian Archives and Records Authorities; member, Standards Australia, Records and Document Management Systems Committee (IT-21). Al Hunter: professional member (ARIM), Records and Information Management Professionals Australasia (RIMPA or RIM Professionals Australasia); communication portfolio lead and Vice Chair, Victorian Public Sector Pride Network; member, VPS Pride Council, VPS Pride Executive Committee and Trans & Gender Diverse Group; member, Australian Anthropological Society. Julie McCormack: member, Australasian Digital Recordkeeping Initiative; member, WoVG Information Management Group; member, Department of Health and Human Services Records Management Steering Committee; PROV delegate, Australian Society of Archivists; committee member, Government Archivists Special Interest Group, Australian Society of Archivists. Alison McNulty: member, Australasian Digital Recordkeeping Initiative; member, CAARA Royal Commission into Institutional Response to Child Sexual Abuse Working Group; member, Department of Education and Training Schools Working Group; member, Standards Australia, Recordkeeping Compliance Review Committee (IT-021-17).
41
Tara Oldfield: board member, History Council of Victoria; member, North Melbourne Agency Collective. Evanthia Samaras: co-editor, Archivoz magazine. David Taylor: member, Steering Committee International Council on Archives Section for Local, Municipal and Territorial Archives. Nicole Tighe: member, Australian Human Resources Institute; member, Department of Premier and Cabinet Human Resources Working Group; member, GLAM Human Resources Working Group; member, VPS Human Resources Working Group. Conference and seminar presentations True Crime in the Archives Rare Book Week Victorian Archives Centre, July 2019 Tara Oldfield Departmental Cabinet Records: Annual Transfers to PROV Cabinet Records Working Group Seminar Melbourne, August 2019 Elise Bradshaw On the waterfront Presentation to Docklands History Group Library at the Dock, Docklands, 13 August 2019 Dr Sebastian Gurciullo Managing photographic collections at PROV Presentation to Holmesglen Institute Photography Students Public Record Office Victoria, North Melbourne, 3 September 2019 Dr Sebastian Gurciullo PROV Map Warper GTAV Annual Conference Melbourne Exhibition Centre, September 2019 Asa Letourneau Curating Email at Public Record Office Victoria ISYS1168 – Digital Curation, RMIT University Melbourne, September 2019 Evanthia Samaras Working together: people, partnerships, practice Australian Museums and Galleries Association (Victoria) Collections Day Royal Historical Society of Victoria, September 2019 David Taylor
42
Q & A Panel Session re Family History Sources 2019 Senior’s Week Seminar Immigration Museum, October 2019 Charlie Farrugia POST (modern) design: an integrated web platform for our records and researchers ICA/ASA Designing the Archive Conference 2019 Adelaide, October 2019 Julie McCormack, Owen O’Neill and Kate Follington PROV Update ICA/ASA Designing the Archive Conference 2019 Government Special Interest Group Meeting Adelaide, October 2019 Julie McCormack Koorie Services at the Victorian Archives Centre Accessibility by Design workshop ICA/ASA Designing the Archive Conference 2019 Adelaide, October 2019 Tsari Anderson and David Taylor Trust and accountability: The nexus between recordkeeping failure and corruption 7th Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference (APSACC) Melbourne, October 2019 Alison McNulty and Peter Francis Managing public records today Objective Customer Conference Melbourne, October 2019 Peter Francis Where are we heading as an industry? RIMPA Live 2019 Melbourne, October 2019 Justine Heazlewood Managing electronic records under the Public Records Act 1973 Microsoft Victorian Government Records & Compliance Management Briefing Melbourne, November 2019 Peter Francis Machine Assisted Email Project Australasian Digital Recordkeeping Initiative Seminar Melbourne, November 2019 Julie McCormack and Andrew Waugh
Working together: people, partnerships, practice Places of Deposit Collections Day Eureka Centre, Ballarat, November 2019 David Taylor PROV Map Warper Victoria Spatial Showcase State Library of Victoria, December 2019 Asa Letourneau Developing a practical end-to-end solution for managing email in Victorian Government Archiving Email Symposium Wellington, January 2020 Evanthia Samaras Submitting articles to Provenance journal A presentation as part of the Genealogical Society of Victoria Writers’ Program Genealogical Society of Victoria, Melbourne, 5 February 2020 Dr Sebastian Gurciullo Archiving the City Presentation to University of Melbourne course, City Visions University of Melbourne Melbourne, February 2020 Kate Follington
Introduction to records about Aboriginal people in the Public Record Office Victoria collection Melbourne University, Indigenous studies Melbourne (online), April 2020 Tsari Anderson Researching heritage and archaeological spaces Presentation to University of Melbourne course, Principles of Heritage and Conservation Online interactive presentation, Melbourne, 21 April 2020 Dr Sebastian Gurciullo and Jack Martin Papers Putting Standards in Perspective iQ The RIMPA Quarterly Feb 2020 Vol 36 Issue 1 David Brown, Alison McNulty and Peter Francis PROV Map Warper iQ The RIMPA Quarterly Nov 2019 Vol 36 Issue 4 Natasha Cantwell An Archive in the Making The Vine (The quarterly journal for the Australian table grape and dried fruits industries) July - September 2019 Vol 15 Issue 3 Natasha Cantwell
Look history in the eye Presentation to Deakin University Heritage Students Public Record Office Victoria, North Melbourne, 6 March 2020 Dr Sebastian Gurciullo and Natasha Cantwell PROV Map Warper ACAHUCH After-Life 2020 Symposium Melbourne University, March 2020 Asa Letourneau Introduction to records about Aboriginal people in the Public Record Office Victoria collection Monash University, ATS3280-The Ethnographic endeavour: capturing the Indigenous past to understand the Indigenous present Melbourne (online), March 2020 Tsari Anderson Introduction to records about Aboriginal people in the Public Record Office Victoria collection La Trobe University, HIS3AAH-Australian Aboriginal History Melbourne (online), April 2020 Tsari Anderson
43
Appendix 9: Volunteers Leayne Alden Penny Anggo Michael Anson Mark Armstrong-Roper David Asquith Garry Ball Pamela Baum Fay Beslee Marian Bierenbroodspot Elizabeth Buckle Ian Burandt Graeme Cardillo Wendy Carver Celestine Chisholm Neil Chisholm Keng Chong Kaye Clancy Sandra Clapp Beth Codling Tim Coffey Cheryl Cox Calvin Crisp Graeme Dawson Sue Dawson Brian Dixon Lorraine Doig Alison Dredge Claire Dunlop Matthew Forster Leanne Goss Claudia Guli Kerry Gutowski Clive Haddock Carol Hagan Kerry Hammond Therese Hammond Sara Hardy
44
Elizabeth Harry Joanne Hawkesworth Ian Hazewinkel Walter Heale Joy Herman Joy Hirst Kim House Lewis House Ruwani Jayawardane Lesley Jeffrey Judy Johnston Anne Jones Lou Kearney Irene Kearsey Marilyn Kenny Andrew Knopfelmacher Philip Lally Gordon Lee Desmond Logan John MacKinnon Sue Maclellan Louise Macnamara Anna Maree Malmgren Tim Marriott Millie Marsh Maureen McGinnes Fiona McKinley Kathy McNamara Robyn McPherson Bernard Metcalfe Barbara Minchinton David Morris Neil Morris Alastair Munro Pauline Murphy Colin Noble Christopher North-Coombes
Ross Oberin Fiona O’Donnell Neil Paddle Geoffrey Paterson Lyn Pecchiar Margaret Pope Pat Porigneaux David Power Janet Purkis David Rankine Sue Rickard Dawn Riddel Marie Rogers Warwick Rose Colin Ruehland Jennifer Sach Rick Sidgwick Dorothy Skewes Jan Skidmore Allan Smith Matt Smith Chris Statham Alan Stevens Bianca Stolar Ruth Sturgeon Lindsay Thomas Robert Thomas Gail Thornthwaite Kathy Trajkovska Maureen Treacy Tom Tyrrell Judith Vardy Rosemary Waghorne Anna Wells Ian Willmott Suzanne Woolley
Appendix 10: Victorian Community History Award winners The Victorian Community History Awards are held annually in partnership with the Royal Historical Society of Victoria. Winners announced at the October 2019 Awards were:
Recipient
Project
Awarded
Phil Roberts and the Arch of Victory/Avenue of Honour
Avenue of Memories
Victorian Premier’s History Award $5000
Chloe Hooper
The Arsonist: A Mind on Fire
Judges’ Special Prize $500
David Sornig
Blue Lake: Finding Dudley Flats and the West Melbourne Swamp
Judges’ Special Prize $500
Springthorpe Heritage Group
Mont Park to Springthorpe Heritage Project
Collaborative Community History Project Award $2000
Jill A’Vard and Armin Richter
When Roads Were Tracks
Local History Project $2000
Carolyn Rasmussen
The Blackburns: Private Lives, Public Ambition
History Publication Award $2000
Beris Campbell, Janet Goodwin, Heather McKee and Helen Penrose
More Than Just Housing: The South Port Community Housing Group Story 1983–2018
Local History – Small Publication Award $1500
Jan McGuinness
La Nostra Storia: The Story of Italians in Ballarat
Cultural Diversity Award $1500
City of Ballarat, Way Back When, Russell Goldsmith and Dimity Mapstone
If These Walls Could Talk Ballarat Town Hall Audio Tour
Multimedia Award $1500
CO. AS. IT Italian Historical Society
Carlo Catani: Visionary, Creator, Genius
Historical Interpretation Award $1500
Peg Fraser
Black Saturday: Not the End of the Story
Oral History Award $1500
45
Appendix 11: Local History Grant recipients The Local History Grants program provides small grants to community organisations to support projects that preserve, record or publish Victorian local history. Recipients for the 2019–20 round: Recipient
Project
Granted (inc GST)
Alphington Bowls Club
Alphington Bowls Club – The first hundred years
$7,700.00
Beechworth Cemetery Trust
Beechworth Public Cemetery website and branding project
$9,005.00
Bellarine Historical Society Inc.
Displays of agricultural industries and rural life
$4,233.35
Bendigo Youth Choir Inc.
Sing, dream, belong. A History of the Bendigo Youth Choir
$15,000.00
Buninyong and District Historical Society
Digital preservation of oral and video histories
Business & Tourism Creswick Inc.
A Goldmine of History - a pictorial history of the Australasian No 2 mine
$10,329.00
Care Leavers Australasia Network Inc.
Geelong Care Leavers talk back to historical records of the Children’s Welfare Department
$15,180.00
Charles Sturt University
Mayday Hills and Beechworth Cemetery virtual tour
$6,673.70
Chiltern Court House Committee of Management
Chiltern Courthouse History panels project: presenting stories of the courthouse
$7,700.00
Chinese Australian Family Historians Making Chinese-Australian travel records of Victoria Inc. publicly available: an online database
$1,299.00
$11,000.00
Cottage by the Sea
Cottage by the Sea archive management system and storage equipment
$966.90
Dandenong Ranges Historical Council Inc.
Digitise Ferntree Gully News 1940–1947
$4,915.68
Darebin Libraries
Darebin heritage assessment study
$5,500.00
Deaf Children Australia
Cataloguing Deaf Children Australia History Collection - 1862 – present day
$16,373.50
East Gippsland Family History Group Preserving East Gippsland Inc. (EGFHG)
$3,500.00
Eureka Australia Descendants and Supporters
Eureka in Melbourne walking app
$4,378.00
Friends of St. Brigid’s Association
Preserving the history of St Brigid’s Crossley. Stage 1.
$1,500.00
Geelong Regional Library Corporation
Significance assessment report and perspectives plan for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander materials in the Geelong Heritage Centre Archive
$9,500.00
History Monash Inc.
History Monash Inc: new archival storage shelves and archival preservation materials
$3,870.00
46
Kooloonong Natya Landcare Group
Kooloonong-Natya-Boundary Bend centenary of soldier settlement 1920–2020
$13,722.50
Korong Historical Society
E-publication with text and over 800 photographs of significant heritage sites
$3,280.00
Krowathunkooloong Keeping Place within GEGAC Gippsland and East Gippsland Aboriginal Co-Operative Ltd.
Krowathunkooloong Keeping Place: lockable display cabinets and archive quality prints
$4,484.60
Landcare Victoria Inc.
Landcare Voices - an oral history phase II
$7,755.00
Leongatha & District Historical Society Inc.
Equipment project
$1,000.00
Merino Progress Association Inc.
Merino township historic signage
$8,728.80
Mildura Rural City Council
100 years of soldier settlement
Morwell Cricket Club Inc
Morwell Cricket Club public display records
Musculoskeletal Australia
Digitisation and cataloguing of MSK’s photographic collection
National Trust of Australia (Victoria)
Our Land, Your Law: case studies of Aboriginal incarceration at Old Melbourne Gaol
$16,500.00
North Cyprus Community of Victoria
Muslims of Victoria: our stories of belonging, community and homemaking
$11,948.20
Nullawil Historical Society Inc.
Auchmore museum collection archiving
$5,539.00
Numurkah & District Historical Society Inc.
Display of, and signage for, tools and farming items currently in storage
$7,600.00
Pammessinian Brotherhood Papaflessas Ltd
Messinia To Victoria oral history
$2,200.00
Phillip Island Historical Society
Oral histories of Phillip Island
$7,000.00
Scout Heritage Victoria
Conservation and storage of textile event pennants
$3,217.50
St Arnaud & District Historical Society Inc.
St Arnaud mining history discovery trail
$9,280.00
Stawell Historical Society Incorporated
Implementation of a digitising project for cataloguing records of museum objects
$2,000.00
Strathbogie Tableland History Group
Strathbogie heritage trail
$6,190.00
Tetoora Road Community Centre Committee of Management
Oral history of Tetoora Road area
$5,192.00
The Albanian Australian Islamic Society
Melbourne's first Mosque - Albanian Mosque celebrating 50 years
$6,582.90
The Cancer Council Victoria
Eighty years of the Victorian Cancer Registry, 1940–2020
$8,529.95
The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria Ltd (RASV)
Celebrating Victoria's rural heritage - The Frank Johnson photography collection
$6,655.00
The Sovereign Hill Museums Association
Pioneer women of Ballarat project
Torquay Museum Without Walls Inc.
Digitising Torquay's civic history
$14,994.00 $915.00 $7,920.00
$16,418.60 $2,185.70
47
Victorian National Parks Association Inc.
Park Watch: 70 years of protecting Victoria’s national parks and reserves, 1952–2022
$16,500.00
Werribee River Association Inc.
WRA's 40 years of waterway protection
$6,050.00
Westgate Concert Band
Westgate Concert Band digital archive
$1,050.00
Whitehorse Historical Society Inc.
Purchase and installation of display units for the Whitehorse Historical Society
$3,902.80
Willaura Modern Inc.
Precious objects: shared memories of our collective past
$2,900.00
Wimmera Mallee Pioneer Museum
Wimmera Mallee Pioneer Museum significance assessment
$7,500.00
Winchelsea and District Historical Society
Becoming digital
$3,246.00
Woods' Farming & Heritage Museum Ball gown preservation
$5,280.00
Yarra Ranges Regional Museum
$4,587.00
Culture chats - gathering stories Total:
48
$369,478.68 (inc GST)
Glossary
accession
A group of records from the same transferring agency taken into PROV custody at the same time. The records may be formally arranged and described into records series and consignments or they may be unarranged and undescribed. Accessioning refers to the process of formally accepting and recording the receipt of records into custody (Keeping Archives1).
advice
A document issued by PROV providing advice to Victorian agencies on a recordkeeping issue. (Includes formal advice about standards as well as forms and other tools to help Victorian Government agencies manage and use public records).
APROSS
Approved Public Record Office Storage Supplier – the PROV program for the storage of records which the Keeper of Public Records has approved for eventual destruction or which are awaiting a decision as to their archival value.
archive
The whole body of records of continuing value to an organisation or individual. Sometimes called ‘corporate memory’ (AS 4390.1 -1996).
archives
Records considered to have continuing or permanent value that have been, or will be, transferred to the custody of an archival organisation; also used to refer to the buildings in which archival records are stored and to organisations that have responsibility for archival records (Private lives, public records2).
consignment
A consignment comprises record items belonging to a single record series that has been transferred to the custody of PROV as part of the one accession. A consignment may comprise the whole or part of a series. Each consignment is identified by a code (e.g. VPRS 1234/P1).
digital / electronic record
A record produced, housed or transmitted by electronic means rather than physical means. A record expressed in an electronic digital format. A record stored in a form that only a computer can process.
digitised record / digital image
An electronic reproduction of a picture, photograph or physical item (e.g. letter or document) that can be stored on computer or disk, and can be viewed, transmitted, manipulated and/or printed via computer. A subset of digital records (Private lives, public records).
disposal
A range of processes associated with implementing appraisal decisions. These include the retention, deletion or destruction of records in or from recordkeeping systems. They may also include the migration or transmission of records between recordkeeping systems, and the transfer of custody or ownership of records. Within the Victorian Public Sector, records are appraised to determine their significance (business, legal or historical) and then judged to be either of temporary or permanent value to the state. Government bodies are guided by standards or schedules issued by PROV to regulate the disposal of records.
disposal authority
A legal document that defines the retention periods and consequent disposal actions authorised for specific classes of records (AS 4390.1 -1996).
permanent records
Records which have been appraised as being of permanent value to the State of Victoria and which must be kept forever.
place of deposit (POD)
A location approved by the Victorian Government Minister responsible for PROV for the storage by community groups of temporary records of local value.
provenance
A principle that involves establishing the administrative context in which records were created and used. The provenance of records includes their original creators and users, and the subsequent administrators who were responsible for the recordkeeping system in which the records were kept (Private lives, public records). Note: the word Provenance is also used in this document to refer to the title of our annual online journal.
49
public record
A record made or received by any person employed in a public office while carrying out his or her public duties (Public Records Act 1973).
public records
Information or documents created as part of the activities of state government departments, agencies and local government (Private lives, public records).
reading room
Area set aside at PROV centres for public access to records (Private lives, public records).
record
Something that documents a particular event or decision, or a document and its contents that have some evidentiary value. A record can take many forms: • • • •
A document in writing A book, map, plan, graph or drawing A photograph A label marking or other writing which identifies or describes anything of which it forms part, or to which it is attached by any means whatsoever • A disc, tape, soundtrack or other device in which sounds or other data (not being visual images) are embodied so as to be capable (with or without the aid of some other equipment) of being reproduced therefrom • A film, negative, tape or other device in which one or more visual images is embodied so as to be capable (as aforesaid) of being reproduced therefrom • Anything whatsoever on which is marked any words, figures, letters or symbols which are capable of carrying a definite meaning to persons conversant with them (AS ISO 15489.1). recordkeeping
Making and maintaining complete, accurate and reliable evidence of business transactions in the form of recorded information.
records management
Field of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposal of records, including processes for capturing and maintaining evidence of and information about business activities and transactions in the form of records (AS ISO 15489.1).
repository
The building (or part of the building) in which the collection/holdings are housed.
series
A group of records which are recorded or maintained by the same agency or agencies and which: • Are in the same numerical, alphabetical, chronological or other identifiable sequence; or • Result from the same accumulation or filing process, perform the same function or may be of similar physical shape or information content.
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standard
A set of criteria that states a level of legal requirement for Victorian agencies. Standards are established by the Keeper of Public Records under the Public Records Act 1973.
temporary records
Records which are appraised as being of value for a bounded time span and which may be legally destroyed once they are older than that time span.
transfer
The removal of public records from the offices which have created or inherited them. The custody, ownership and/or responsibility for the records is migrated to the recipient (e.g. from the office to PROV) (see AS ISO 15489.1).
unsentenced records
Records which have not yet been appraised and whose status is therefore not yet determined (Public Records Act 1973).
VPRS
An abbreviation for Victorian Public Record Series. A VPRS number is allocated to each record series when it is transferred to PROV.
J. Ellis (ed.), Keeping Archives, 1993, The Australian Society of Archivists Inc., Australia. B. Fensham et al., Private lives, public records, 2004, Public Record Office Victoria, Australia.
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Sheep & Wool Quality at Better Farming Train circa 1920s/1930s. Victorian Railways. Photographic Collection (c.1883–c.1983). Public Record Office Victoria, VPRS 12903/P1, Item 258/09
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Victorian Archives Centre 99 Shiel Street North Melbourne 10am–4.30pm Monday to Friday (and the 2nd and last Saturday of the month) prov.vic.gov.au enquiries@prov.vic.gov.au 03 9348 5600 Ballarat Archives Centre Eureka Centre 102 Stawell Street South Ballarat Central 10am–4.30pm Monday to Thursday Bendigo Regional Archives Centre 1st Floor Bendigo Library 251-259 Hargreaves Street Bendigo 10am–4.30pm Wednesday and Thursday Geelong Heritage Centre Geelong Library and Heritage Centre 51 Little Malop Street Geelong Check website for hours Days and hours may vary depending on coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions. Please check our website for the most accurate information.
