Email created or received in the course of business are public records.

Email relating to business activities can be legal documents, and as such need to be managed accordingly.

• Sending or receiving a business-related email message is a business transaction. Therefore, the resulting evidence of this activity and conduct of affairs is a public record subject to legislation and to legal processes.

• Email messages are to be treated as 'documents' as defined in s.7 (1) of the Freedom of Information Act 1992 and may be subject to applications under the same Act.

• Email messages created or received while carrying out the University's business remain the property of the University regardless of custody or location. This also applies to messages held in temporary custody by contractors and other third parties, including non-public sector or Commonwealth Government agencies.

• Email messages are potential evidence in civil and criminal cases and may be required to be presented in a court of law.

It is important to be able to identify public records that need to be captured before progressing with the rest of the module. The following message classification activity will assist you in clarifying your knowledge in relation to this concept.

	It justifies the need to have a records unit
	So recordkeeping management systems are used
	They are a potential source of legal evidence and can be presented in court
	There needs to be something to put in the archives

Griffith University Records Management Policy

Email messages must be readily accessible in a useable and meaningful form, irrespective of the origin, location or format of the records, to meet business and accountability requirements for as long as they have value. Email messages must be stored, preserved and actively managed to ensure these records remain accessible, useable, reliable and authentic. . At Griffith, electronic records requiring ongoing retention are captured by Corporate Archives and Records Management Services (CARMS) via recopy@griffith.edu.au. They are also stored and managed by CARMS in accordance with good recordkeeping practices.

Please note that electronic records are subject to Freedom of Information applications. Therefore, you should consider the following implications.

• Only include information in an email which you would be happy for a third party to see; and
• The purpose of a record is to provide coherence, and emails may be part of this story. For example, the decision to purchase an item of equipment after weeks of deliberation may be contained in an email and this should be kept as an important part of the history of the acquisition.