National Archives Director-General Highlights Information Management as an Executive Priority

Froude described information management as an executive responsibility and strategic control, linking effective IM with organisational resilience, responsible AI use, accountability and trusted government. He also highlighted results from the 2025 Check-up survey, completed by 175 agencies, which showed that while overall information management maturity has improved, appraisal and disposal remain areas requiring attention.

According to the survey, only 41% of agencies reported that they usually or always know how long their existing information must be kept and what should ultimately happen to it. Around one-third reported usually or always promptly destroying temporary information once it was no longer needed and had reached its authorised retention period.

The speech also addressed the growing impact of AI on information management. In the 2025 survey, 87% of agencies reported business use of AI, while only 15% reported using AI for information management activities. Froude said information management professionals should be involved early in decisions about AI and highlighted the need for agencies to distinguish between records that provide evidence of decisions and accountability and short-lived information generated through AI-assisted work.

Froude called for agencies to make information risk more visible within existing governance, cyber resilience, risk and investment arrangements, with clearer understanding of what information is held, why it is retained, how long it is required and what lawful disposal action applies.

Source: Simon Froude, Director-General, National Archives of Australia, Trusted information, resilient agencies: turning whole-of-government insights into executive action, 14 September 2026.