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| Approving Authority: |
Executive Director of Administration |
| Establishment Date: |
17 January 2005 |
| Date Last Amendment: |
9 March 2005 |
| Nature of Amendment: |
Additional clauses at 4.1(ix) and 4.5 |
| Date Last Reviewed: |
9 March 2005 |
| Publication Reference: |
N/A |
| Contact Officer: |
Executive Director of Administration |
1. Introduction
The University acknowledges that, in the past, the management of personal and work related material for deceased students and staff and those on sudden and extended absences have been dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Although in most cases these difficult issues have been handled with care and compassion, the University believes that there are benefits to be gained from implementing more formal procedures.
Rather than being overly prescriptive, these procedures aim to provide a basic framework within which these matters can be sympathetically handled. In order to maintain flexibility in dealing with these matters, the Executive Director of Administration (EDA) and the relevant Cost Centre Head may, on a case by case basis, agree to manage particular situations in alternative ways should the need arise.
The following procedures for managing the personal and work-related material of deceased staff or students and staff on sudden and extended absences recognises that:
Personal and confidential material — typically, email, electronic and paper documents– will likely reside in a deceased person’s desk, office and workstation.
Work-related information, perhaps critical to ongoing University business, will co-reside with personal material and may include material kept in a deceased staff member’s home office and computer.
In the case of employees who are also enrolled students of the University, work-related material pertaining to their employment at the University may co-reside with personal material, including intellectual property in material related to their studies.
The University is required to access work-related information and implicit in this access is a classification of material between personal and work-related.
The University must ensure that it deals appropriately with requests from a member of the public about a deceased person.
For the purpose of these procedures, Cost Centre Head refers, in situations relating to Faculty staff or students, to the relevant Executive Dean, or in situations relating to staff of Central Administration or the Library, to the relevant Divisional Head or University Librarian.
A Cost Centre Head may delegate the roles and responsibilities outlined in these procedures to another member of staff where appropriate.
2. Notification procedure for a deceased staff member or student
Where an officer of the University receives advice that a staff member or student has died, she/he should notify the EDA, who will in turn inform the relevant administrative divisions, Faculty and University Librarian.
3. Requests from a member of the public in relation to a deceased person
1. All requests from a member of the public in relation to a deceased staff member or student of the University, including from next of kin, will be referred to the EDA in the first instance.
2. The EDA will establish the person’s bona fides as an authorised person with whom the University may deal and to whom material and/or information concerning the deceased may be released, having regard to the nature of the request, existing University policies or conventions and any relevant legislation.
4. Procedure for deceased staff member
4.1 Role of Supervisor
i. Advise Information Services Division that the email holder is deceased. Email to flindirect@flinders.edu.au
ii. Liaise with Information Service Division regarding other changes which may need to be made to the University’s web pages. In the event that changes are required to web pages which the Information Service Division are not responsible for updating, the supervisor will advise the appropriate person to make the necessary changes.
iii. Advise local computer support officer to reset the email password for the deceased person.
iv. Review and respond to emails, and other work-related electronic and paper-based files of the deceased staff member. Ensure the work-related material is forwarded onto an appropriate officer of the University.
v. Liaise with the Cost Centre Head in relation to arrangements with the deceased person’s next of kin for recovery of any work-related material from the deceased person’s home office and computer. In making these arrangements the University will take into account the sensitivities of the next of kin
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vi. In the case of any material/intellectual property created by the deceased that may be capable of commercial exploitation, or is otherwise confidential or sensitive in nature, the relevant Cost Centre Head and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) shoud be informed of its existence and the material should be secured and kept confidential, pending advice as to how the material is to be handled.
vii. Advise the Cost Centre Head about the existence and nature of any personal effects of the deceased and take steps to secure same until advised by the Cost Centre Head as to how the material is to be handled.
viii. When appropriate, arrange with local computer support staff to clear the hard disk and reinstall the operating system. The workstation will not be released for other purposes until this has been performed.ix. Advise Human Resources of the name of the deceased staff member and the date from which their pay should cease. Email to: bppay@flinders.edu.au
4.2 Role of Cost Centre Head
(i) Subject to 4.1 (v) and 4.1 (vii), consult with the EDA/Human Resources Division to make any necessary arrangements with the next of kin; and
(ii) Subject to 4.1 (vi), consult with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) to make any necessary arrangements for handling intellectual property/material created by the deceased.
4.3 Role of Computer Support staff
i. Reset password for relevant username of the deceased staff member, on request from supervisor.
ii. On direction of supervisor, clear the hard disk and reinstall the operating system.
4.4 Role of Information Services Division (ISD)
i. Redirect the deceased staff members emails to their supervisor (upon direction from the supervisor).
ii. Close down the email account after 14 days.
4.5 Role of Human Resources Division
i. Stop the deceased staff members pay at the advised date.
ii. Await instructions from the deceased staff members estate regarding their outstanding entitlements.5. Procedure for deceased students
5.1 Role of the Executive Dean
Upon being notified of the death of a student, the Executive Dean will make contact with the EDA to discuss outstanding administrative or other matters which may require attention. These matters may include:
i. review electronic and paper-based files at the deceased student’s workstation, if applicable, to sort any work-related material, if applicable, from personal and study-related material.
(ii) review of the personal effects of the deceased student. In the case of study-related material/intellectual property created by the deceased which is confidential or sensitive in nature, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) should also be informed of its existence and the material should be secured and kept confidential, pending advice as to how the material is to be handled.
(iii) liaise with Enrolment Services and ISD to ensure that all necesssary administrative matters pertaining to the deceased student are resolved.
5.2 Role of Enrolment Services
i. Make the relevant change in the student system– automatic processing passes this information into the relevant application.
5.3 Role of Information Services Division (ISD)
(iii) Close down the student’s email account immediately .
6 Sudden and extended absences - staff
6.1 In the event that a staff member is unexpectedly absent for a significant period, e.g through accident or illness, the staff member’s Supervisor will:
(i) inform Human Resources Division;
(ii) gain access to desktop email from the local computer support officer and post an absence message; and
(iii) to the extent that it is relevant, manage the work-related and personal material of the staff member in accordance with point 4.1 above.
6.2 The workstation will not be released for other purposes until the staff member confirms whether or not she/he will be returning to work.
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