failures of record keeping
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Failures of record keeping Victorian Ombudsman Reports
Public Record Office Victoria - Records Management Network Meeting
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Presentation by John R Taylor, Deputy Ombudsman for Victoria.
_________________________________________________________________
It is disappointing to find in a modern public service that very often
Ombudsman investigations identify significant failures in record keeping.
These failures include:
Poor record keeping Inadequate storage The destruction of records Falsification of records Lack of records in key decision making.
What are records?
Very often our investigations identify that only paper records are maintained.That is, copies and originals of correspondence to and from an agency.
However, when we delve further into an investigation we identify key decision
making is often recorded in email, faxes and notes not maintained on the
departmental file.
For example, in the Ombudsmans investigation into the probity of the Hotel
Windsor redevelopment tabled in Parliament in February 20111, we identified
that the department of Planning and Community Development together with
Heritage Victoria failed to make and keep adequate records regarding the Hotel
Windsor planning and heritage permit application. These failures were
particularly important as there had been significant media attention surrounding
the then Ministers media plan regarding the development which wasinadvertently sent to an ABC journalist in February 2010. Subsequently, the
Chairman of the Legislative Council Standing Committee on Finance and Public
Administration requested that the Ombudsman investigate the probity of the
Hotel Windsor redevelopment.
You would think that when you are looking at a multi million dollar
redevelopment that good record keeping would be an essential part of the
decision making process by any government agency. However, our
investigation found poor management practices, including the failure of officers
to file documents accurately and to folio files.
1Ombudsman Investigation into the Probity of the Hotel Windsor Redevelopment, February
2011
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You will see in our report that we identify numerous occasions where significant
meetings took place for which there was inadequate or no records made. When
it came to testing what had taken place it was very hard to establish the
sequence of events. The Ombudsman noted that he was concerned that several
witnesses also said that the failure of the department and Heritage Victoria tomaintain adequate records was not restricted to the Hotel Windsor planning
and heritage permit applications.
Emails are also a great source of information when determining what took place
in relation to decision making. Very often we find information that puts the lie to
documented decision making or provides amplification as to what took place.
Very often copies of these emails are not filed on the departmental file.
Poor record keeping
Perhaps the most significant failure which we consistently identify is poorrecord keeping. A good example, of this is the investigation into record keeping
failures by WorkSafe agents tabled in Parliament in May 2011.2That
investigation identified poor record keeping at WorkSafe agents, of which there
were six at the time. These are agents paid for a range of benefits provided to
injured workers including weekly payments, medical treatment, ambulance
transport, and personal and household help.
In 2009-10, WorkSafe paid its agents fees of over $200 million to manage over
56,000 claims by injured workers in Victoria.
The investigation identified poor record keeping at the agents, which had the
following consequences:
Manipulation of the WorkSafe incentive scheme for agents Delays in payment Poor and delayed decision making and the reduced effectiveness of the
scheme
Breaches of privacy.Poor recording keeping at the agents was as a result of inadequate file
maintenance; inadequate understanding of statutory obligations; and out dated
information technology systems.
2Investigation into Record Keeping Failures by WorkSafe agents,May 2011
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Photograph 1
Photograph 2
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Photograph 3
Photographs 1, 2 and 3 are examples of the poor file maintenance and storage
systems at a number of the WorkSafe agents. You can see that, by their very
nature, the files and their condition contributed to incorrect information being
sent to individuals, medical records being lost or misplaced, and delayed
decision making.
Contraband is often seized within prisons and detention centres. It is then theresponsibility of Victoria Police to take appropriate action.
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Photograph 4
Photograph 4 is a seizure or exhibit located during an inspection at the Juvenile
Justice Detention Centre. It contained contraband which was found on
detainees during a search. There were no names, dates or identifying details in
relation to the seizure.
Inadequate storage
Our investigation into the storage and management of ward records by the
Department of Human Services tabled in Parliament in March 2012, exemplifies
the problems that can occur when agencies fail to adequately record and store
departmental records.
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Photograph 5
Photograph 6
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Photograph 7
Photographs 5, 6 and 7 illustrate boxes of records held by the department that
are stored in approximately 80 linear kilometres of files on shelves. These
historical records relate to former wards of the State of Victoria and are stored
in boxes at numerous locations.
The department has not inspected or indexed a considerable portion of these
records. Accordingly, it cannot provide an accurate estimate of what portion ofthe total holding relates to wards of the State.
Despite having had the majority of these records in its archives for over 15 years
the department has only indexed and catalogue records relating to 26 of the
150 plus years worth of records relating to wards and institutions it holds. The
majority of these records remain in large part uninspected, unindexed and
unscanned.
The department is paying near $1 million a year to rent a facility that has been
identified as being inadequate to store records and has been subject to flooding
and rat infestation.
The departments efforts to come to grips with its vast archive of documentshave been piecemeal and ultimately unsuccessful.
Increasing numbers of former wards are seeking access to records relating to
their time spent in care as a way to not only understand their past but also to
seek and identify siblings and relatives. An internal departmental report noted
that in the three years prior to May 2011 approximately 21 per cent of all
searches for records relating to freedom of information requests for former
ward and adoption records resulted in no documents being located.
Prisoner health records
Under the Health Records Act 2001medical information must be stored
confidentially to protect the privacy of individuals.
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All prisoner medical records at the Melbourne Assessment Prison are held on
site. Although these records are monitored by medical staff, one of their
physical locations is in a thoroughfare and is accessible to all staff.
Photograph 8
Photograph 8 shows medical records stored on open shelves at the Melbourne
Assessment Prison. This situation was identified in our investigation intoprisoner access to health care in a report tabled in parliament in August 2011.
As a result of bringing this issue to the attention of Justice Health the then
Director advised that Justice Health was in the process of designing the
refurbishment of office space and storage and that lockable cupboards were
now in place for the storage of medical records in the centre.
Destruction of records
It is not uncommon to find departmental records missing during an
investigation. This is particularly the case where misconduct is involved as was
identified in our investigation into procurement3, where in a number of
instances officers obtained a benefit from a supplier of toner cartridges and the
invoices had been destroyed.
In one case involving a project officer from Arts Victoria the invoices which
listed gifts that the officer had received were missing. When questioned about
this, the project officer said I generally did not keep copies of the invoices. In
this particular case we were able to establish from invoices obtained from the
company that in 2009-10, the project officer received $8,300 in Coles-Myer
vouchers and prepaid visa cards from the company.
3Corrupt Conduct by Pubic Officers in Procurement,June 2011
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In another case in 2009 involving a building inspector at a council, the councils
hard copy building file for a property involved in an unorthodox transaction,
could not be located. When questioned the building inspector acknowledged
that a hard copy file for the 2008 building inspections had existed but denied
destroying it, despite having told his manager that he had done so.4
Falsification of records
Departmental records, by their very nature, are required to represent the history
of a case, transaction or business event. However, at times we have identified
instances where records have been falsified to cover up improper conduct.
In an investigation involving the allegation of mistreatment of a male resident of
a supported residential service managed by the Department of Human
Services5, we identified that two documents allegedly created in response to
the incident were fabricated by a senior staff member to give the false
impression that the department had investigated the matter. This of course
amounts to serious misconduct and as a result discipline action was takenagainst the officer.
Improper use of records
There are times when departmental offices will improperly use information for
their own purposes. In one case, an employee of the Victorian Institute of
Forensic Medicine6took home autopsy information concerning deceased
persons for their own prurient interest. When we obtained access to his
computer and records at his home we located 49 hard copy autopsy reports
and over 1,200 work related photographs on a CD and hard drive of his
computer.
In addition we identified that this person had been circulating photographs of
inquest material to friends for their enjoyment. The officer resigned during the
investigation.
4Whistleblowers Protection Act 2001, Conflict of Interest and Abuse of Power by the
building inspector of the Brimbank City Council, June 20095Ombudsman Investigation, Assault of a Disability Service Client by Department of Human
Services Staff, March 20116Investigation into the Improper Release of Autopsy Information by a Victorian Institute of
Forensic Medicine employee, May 2011
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Lack of records in key decision making
Good public administration requires that key decision making be adequately
documented. This is particularly important where significant government
expenditure is involved.
It is concerning when our enquiries identify that decision making in relation tomajor public expenditure is either not documented or poorly documented.
Photograph 9
One example as illustrated in photograph 9 was that the only document located
which established the expenditure of over $27 million in relation to funding for a
major IT project within Victoria Police, was a one page document with hand
written annotations.
This document was illustrative of a poorly run area within a major organisation
where numerous documents were located in unregistered and informal files.
Interviewees also said that files they knew had been raised could not be
located. Further enquiries identified that a number of decisions taken at a
committee level were not documented in signed records.7
More recently in our investigation into the Food Bowl Modernisation Project the
investigation identified that the decision to commit significant funding in
relation to the Food Bowl Modernisation Project was based on oral discussions
and earlier projects with virtually no documentation to support the decision
making. The background report which had been commissioned by a private
organisation and provided to the then Treasurer could not be located.
7Own Motion Investigation into the Tendering and Contracting of Information Technology
Services within Victoria Police, November 2009
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Subsequently the government committed to $600 million without adequate
planning or documentation.8
Conclusion
The Ombudsmans statutory function is to investigation complaints aboutadministrative actions. Inevitably our stories are about wrong doing, errors and
mistakes. However the case studies are illustrative of where things go wrong
and how such problems could be avoided by careful planning and
management.
Even the wrong doing identified for example in the toner affair could have been
prevented by appropriate supervision and management of expenditure and
records.
We frequently ask the question Who is responsible?. It is easy to blame the
individual who failed to keep the record or destroyed a document. However
there is also a responsibility in terms of leadership within an organisation.The challenge for the public sector is to ensure that not only do managers lead
by example but also to encourage staff to act appropriately in all
circumstances.
The Ombudsman has regularly reported on his concerns about the failure of
leadership in the public sector. Many of the problems identified in our
investigations are because of a lack of leadership and management.
Good leadership in the public sector is important because it:
Assists in developing a culture where administrative excellence andethical conduct is encouraged
Protects against improper conduct and can assist in its early detection Ensures adequate scrutiny is applied to areas such as expenditure of
public funds
Sets and achieves realistic and beneficial goals Establishes an operating norm of efficiency and diligence.
Despite progress made by some agencies, we continue to identify agencies that
fail to learn from their mistakes and fail to fully implement revised policies and
procedures that our enquiries and investigations have identified.
8Investigation into the Food Bowl Modernisation Project and Related Matters, November
2011