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Information Retention and Disposal Policy

MP 0144/20 - Information Retention and Disposal Policy (pdf 164KB)

Applicable to: This Policy is applicable to the WA health system, as defined in the Policy.

Description: The Information Retention and Disposal Policy mandates retention and disposal requirements for information held within the WA health system.

This Policy provides direction for WA health system entities in the management of the:

retention and disposal of records to ensure compliance with the relevant requirements of the State Records Act 2000
prevention of premature destruction of records that need to be retained for a specific period to satisfy legal, financial and other requirements
authorisation of the destruction of records not required for permanent retention
identification of records to be preserved permanently as State archives, and to be transferred to the State Records Office of Western Australia for permanent storage.

This Policy is a mandatory requirement for Health Service Providers under the Information Management Policy Framework pursuant to section 26(2)(k) of the Health Services Act 2016.

This Policy is a mandatory requirement for the Department of Health pursuant to section 29 of the Public Sector Management Act 1994.

This Policy supersedes MP 0002/16 Patient Information Retention and Disposal Schedule Policy and OD 0583/15 Digitisation and Disposal of Patient Records Policy.

Date of effect: 24 June 2022