VPRS 10982 General Correspondence Files, Annual Single Number System

Full description

This series contains the general correspondence files created successively by the Ministry of Employment and Training (VA 704) and the Department of Employment and Industrial Affairs, subsequently known as the Department of Labour (VA 2777) until 1992. After 1992 the series was created by the Industry Services division of the Department of Business and Employment (VA 3096).

Between 1982 and 1996 these agencies were responsible for administering various core labour functions including:

- employment and training
- industry regulation
- occupational health and safety and
- industrial relations.

These agencies were thus responsible for the administration of specific functions such as:

- factory registration,
- control of hazardous materials, dangerous goods and chemical and plant safety
- regulating the use of lifts and cranes, scaffolding and industrial machinery
- retail trading hours
- provision of administrative support to conciliation and arbitration boards
- representing the Government in industrial tribunals,
- industrial compliance including award services
- industrial and apprenticeship training.

The contents of files in this series pertain to the administration of the above functions and to the general administration of the agencies. Contents of individual files vary but will typically include: correspondence received by the department, copies of correspondence sent by the department, lists of statistics, reports and memoranda.

Transfer of functions and files to other departments

Files pertaining to some of the Departments functions were removed from this series when the functions they were documenting were transferred to other agencies:

These included:

* retail trading hours, which went to the Department of Industry, Technology and Resources (VA 2661) in 1985,

* occupational health and safety, which went to the Occupational Health and Safety Commission (VA 1647) in 1986 (see VPRS 10984 General Correspondence Files). Many of the files of the Commission were subsequently top numbered into this series in 1993 after the abolition of the Commission and the transfer of the function to the Industry Services Division of the Department of Business and Employment in 1992,

* industry training and coordination of apprenticeship training, which went to the Ministry of Education (VA 1112) in 1987, see VPRS 11383

* youth affairs which went to the Department of Human Services (VA 3970) in 1996

* industrial relations (public sector) which went to the Department of Treasury and Finance (VA 3745) in 1996.

Authorised Destruction of Files

Some of the files in this series have been destroyed in accordance with the provisions of the General Disposal Schedule for Common Administrative Records (PROS 84/37) and Records Disposal Schedule for Employment, Industrial Relations, Complaints and other records (PROS 91/6).

As of September 1996 other files from this series remain in secondary storage in the custody of the Department of State Development (VA 3973).