• Should staples and paper clips be removed from paper before it is presented for shredding?
• How long should I keep my documents before I destroy them?
• What materials cannot be shredded?
• Can the shredding of your items be viewed?
• What Documents Need Safe Destruction?
• Do we do small jobs for private residences?
• Is a certificate of destruction issued?
• What materials can be shredded?
• Can plastic items be shredded?

Should staples and paper clips be removed from paper before it is presented for shredding?

No. There is no need to remove any staple or metal clips before shredding.

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How long should I keep my documents before I destroy them?

This is a question that we are often asked. The general advice from the Australian Taxation Office & other relevant industry body’s is;

• Financial & accounting records – seven years is the minimum period
• Taxation records – five years is the minimum (but the Taxation Commissioner may extend this period of time if records are in dispute)
• Minutes of meetings, lists of members & other corporate records - five years is the minimum
• Assets which are subject to Capital gains tax should be kept for five years following the disposal of the asset.
• Documents relating to Payroll Tax should be kept for five years
• Fringe benefits tax records should be retained for seven years
• Records relating to workers compensation should be kept indefinitely as an employee can make a claim on a former employer up until the employee’s death

If you are uncertain or require clarification about how long you should keep any records you should check with your accountant or the relevant industry body that oversees the particular document in question.

If you destroy documents before the end of the retention period & are then required to produce them, you are in fact liable & may be committing a criminal offence.

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What materials cannot be shredded?

• ALL plastics including plastic sleeves, plastic binders, plastic covers
• Garbage
• Food / lolly wrappers - plastics of any kind
• Food waste, tissues, hand towels
• Foil or foil-coated paper
• Wax coated paper
• Paper bags or drink cartons
• Polystyrene
• Non paper fiber waste
• Carbon paper

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Can the shredding of your items be viewed?

Yes, We welcome clients to view the shredding process. Contact the office to make an appointment. To ensure total satisfaction, we allow clients to view the destruction of their records (by arrangement).

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What Documents Need Safe Destruction?

Every company holds documents that contain sensitive or personal information relating to the company, staff or customers. When considering the destruction of these documents it is important to ensure that confidential information remains just that! Confidential.

It is, however, easy to overlook documents that you may not normally consider to be of a confidential or personal nature. We have compiled a list of some of the documents that may contain sensitive information and that should be destroyed in a reliable manner.

Records that require safe destruction are;

• Accounting Records
• All Outdated Business Records
• Bank Statements
• Bids and Quotations
• Blueprints
• Budget Data
• Business Plans
• Cancelled or Blank Cheques
• Classified Documents
• Computer Print Outs
• Confidential Letters/Memos
• Contracts
• Copy Machine Rejects/Excess
• Customer Lists
• Customer Mailing Lists
• Engineering Drawings
• Estimates
• Expense Reports
• Financial Records
• Inventory Lists
• Invoices
• Labour Estimates
• Legal Documents
• Legal Signatures
• Lottery tickets
• Maps and Blueprints
• Medical Information
• Meeting Minutes
• Negotiable Documents
• New Product Proposals
• Patent Application Material
• Payroll Records
• Personnel Records
• Price Lists
• Product Proposals
• Production Reports
• Prospect Lists
• Research and Development Data
• Sales Forecasts
• Security Holding Statements
• Seismic Data and Maps
• Tax Records

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Do we do small jobs for private residences?

Yes we do. There is a minimum charge of $55.00 including GST

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What materials can be shredded?

• Office Paper
• X-rays
• Computer Disks
• Cartridges
• Video Tapes
• Microfiche
• CDs
• DVDs

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Is a certificate of destruction issued?

A certificate of Destruction is always issued on completion of the job.

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Can plastic items be shredded?

Plastic items can be shredded, but should be kept separate from paper items where possible.