A damning new report has highlighted widespread failures in Australian government record-keeping, with missing meeting minutes, lost procurement documents, and collapsed IT systems undermining public accountability across federal agencies.

The Australian National Audit Office's latest report found that more than 90% of government performance audits conducted over the past five years identified serious deficiencies in records management, with all 45 audits conducted in 2023-24 flagging problems.

The scale of the crisis has prompted warnings that poor record-keeping is not just an administrative failing but a fundamental threat to democratic accountability and public trust.

Among the most serious cases uncovered was the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, where 31% of weekly senior executive meeting records disappeared following IT system changes. The department, formed in 2022 to lead the government's climate commitments, lost critical documentation of decisions and action items during a crucial period.

Tourism Australia was found storing key procurement records in individual email accounts, with documentation for one major contract becoming irretrievable when the responsible employee left the organisation.

The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership was criticised for using basic network drives that failed to meet National Archives standards, leading to inconsistent documentation of stakeholder communications and project changes.

Procurement activities emerged as a particular area of concern, with 88% of procurement audits in 2023-24 identifying records management problems. The findings raise serious questions about transparency in government spending and contract management.

The Bureau of Meteorology was flagged for records management deficiencies that contributed to errors in measuring revenue, leases, and property valuations in its financial statements, though the agency has since implemented improvements.

Systemic technology failures

The audit revealed that many agencies are still relying on inadequate systems, with some using basic network drives that cannot meet legal requirements under the Archives Act 1983. The shift to digital communications has created new compliance blind spots, with official business conducted through informal platforms often going unrecorded.

Email records containing critical business information are frequently stored outside official systems, creating risks when staff leave or systems change. The report notes that all digital information created since January 2016 must be managed digitally, but many agencies are failing to meet this basic requirement.

The audit identified machinery of government changes - when departments are restructured or merged - as particularly high-risk periods for records management. Poor planning during these transitions has led to incompatible systems, lost documents, and breaks in institutional knowledge.

The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water case study highlighted how inadequate preparation can result in records being scattered across multiple systems without proper governance, severely impacting business continuity.

Culture and leadership failures

Beyond technical problems, the audit found fundamental cultural issues, with records management not valued as a strategic priority. Many agencies lack chief information governance officers, fail to include record-keeping in staff performance agreements, and provide inadequate training on compliance requirements.

The report noted that Treasury stood out as a positive example, receiving an "advanced" maturity rating for its comprehensive approach to performance reporting and records management, including strong oversight and documented methodologies.

Records management is required under multiple pieces of legislation, including the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and the Archives Act 1983. The failures identified could potentially breach legal obligations and undermine parliamentary oversight.

The audit office noted that when records are incomplete or inaccessible, governments lose the ability to provide evidence for decisions, maintain business continuity during crises, and demonstrate accountability to Parliament and the public.

The report documented 41 specific recommendations related to records management made across recent audits, with the majority focusing on basic governance issues and the creation of necessary documentation. The persistence of similar problems across multiple audits suggests many agencies are failing to implement recommended improvements.

The audit office has called for urgent action to establish proper information governance frameworks, invest in compliant systems, and embed records management into business processes. Without significant reform, the report warns, public sector efficiency and democratic accountability will continue to deteriorate.

The full ANAO "Records Management: Audit Lessons" report is available at https://www.anao.gov.au/work/insights/records-management