RTA records are required to support the Authority's business decisions and comply with legal obligations and community expectations. Under certain acts, the RTA may issue certificates certifying details of records at specified times. These certificates are acceptable for court use, without the need to produce the original documents.
Certificates issued cover:
- Sections 16 and 43 of the Recreation Vehicles Act 1983, identifying the owners of such vehicles on a given date.
- Section 36 of the Motor Vehicle (Third Party Insurance) Act, identifying the third party insurers of vehicles on dates before 1 July 1987.
Paper records
The RTA has an Information and Records Management Section which is responsible for record keeping across the whole Authority.
The RTA record keeping policy (Corporate Policy Statement No 16, issued on 16 February 1996) makes all staff accountable:
- for the decisions they make;
- for the records of those decisions; and
- for the records of the basis on which those decisions were made.
The RTA defines records as:
"Records are recorded information in any form, including data in computer systems, created or received and maintained by an organisation or person in the transaction of business or the conduct of affairs and kept as evidence of such activity."
The RTA's Information & Records Management Section is responsible for record keeping policy, procedures and guidelines across the Authority to comply with the State Records Act 1998 and the standards issued by the State Records Authority.
The Authority's records reflect the organisation's structure. Corporate directorates set policies, standards and plans for operations and the regions are responsible for service delivery. Therefore, the corporate records are concerned with policies, procedures and planning whilst regional records document the RTA's operations.
RTA records are retained for various periods depending on the business needs, accountability requirements and community expectations. Access to RTA records is governed by the State Records Act 1998 and the FOI and Privacy legislation. Requests for access to RTA records in general will be granted where there is no conflict with privacy or confidentiality requirements. They may be inspected at the RTA's repository at Auburn, where it is necessary to notify the request in advance, and in the searchrooms of the State Records Authority at The Rocks or at Kingswood.
Email
You can seek access to RTA information and records by email. Emails should have "Access to RTA records" in the subject line and be sent to rta@rta.nsw.gov.au
Computer records
Computerised systems which generate information include:
- the Corporate records management system, which manages both paper and electronic (correspondence) records as the Authority moves to an electronic operating environment;
- road databases which include road location data, road inventory and condition, and statistics about road network use;
- the Office Management System (OMS), part of the principal accounting system of the Authority (FIREWORKS);
- the Property Information and Management System which is a text and graphical system managing information about RTA-owned and RTA-affected properties;
- the Vehicle Registration and Driver Licensing System (DRIVES) which processes and records vehicle registrations and driving licences. Because this system records individuals' personal information, access is restricted.
Library
The RTA library is located at:
RTA Library
Level 3,
27 Argyle Street,
Parramatta NSW 2150
Mail: PO Box 973, (DX 28555),
Parramatta NSW 2124
Tel: (02) 8849 2913
Fax: (02) 8849 2488
and is open to the public (by appointment) and carries a range of books, journals and CD-ROMS. The library also sells Austroads and many RTA publications. A list of the titles is available from the library.
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