Berejiklian later admitted the program was administered to âcurry favourâ but defended herself, stating âitâs not an illegal practiceâ.
The working advice notes, which Berejiklianâs staff argued didnât fall under record-keeping requirements, functioned as pseudo briefing notes and were therefore required to be kept, SARAâs investigation found.
âThese working advice notes should not have been destroyed and they should have been retained as state archives,â the report released on Friday says.
It notes an email recording the final outcome of the premierâs review of the notes was sent but ruled that it was not sufficient as the final version of the record.
An NSW watchdog has found Gladys Berejiklian s office breached the State Records act when it shredded policy documents relating to a controversial grants program. The NSW State Archives and Records Authority (SARA) wrote in a report released Friday that the decision to shred and delete so-called working advice notes relating to the Stronger Communities Fund was in breach of the State Records act. The authority finds that the Office of the Premier breached section 21(1) of the State Records Act with the unauthorised disposal of the working advice notes, the SARA wrote. That section of the act prohibits the disposal of a state record unless approved by the SARA.