Digital continuity overview for agency heads

Ensuring that your business information remains accessible and usable for as long as it is needed

Information is a key asset for the government, agency business and the community, yet information today is more vulnerable than it ever has been. The volume of information, the proliferation of formats and continual advances in technology make it increasingly difficult to ensure that information remains available and reliable.

Information management is fundamental to agency governance. It needs to be integrated with ICT governance, security and risk management, business continuity, accountability and compliance. Lost, unreliable or poorly managed information can have a significant impact on citizens' rights and entitlements, accountability, efficiency, effectiveness and exposure to risk.

Agency heads have a critical leadership role in driving the cultural change needed for effective digital information management and realising the efficiencies and other benefits that this can provide.

A senior officer should oversee your agency's implementation of the government Digital Transition Policy and ensure that your agency information remains accessible and usable. Senior executives, information management specialists, business line managers, ICT specialists and other staff should understand their information management responsibilities and have the capabilities they need to meet their responsibilities.

Investment in information management should be shaped by business needs and risks and informed by your agency's Check-up 2.0 self-assessment. Improvement plans should be staged and take account of the value and cost of information created, captured or used; risks to the information; and opportunities for better strategic or operational outcomes.

Business systems require specific functionality to effectively manage information for as long as it is needed. The international standard ISO 16175 provides internationally agreed principles and functional requirements for systems used to create digital information. It has been endorsed by the National Archives for use across the Commonwealth and it is recommended that the requirements of the standard are incorporated into all new or upgraded business information systems.

The National Archives has developed a Digital Continuity Plan and other advice and guidance to help your agency to ensure that your business information remains accessible and usable for as long as it is needed.