Agreement records
What is an agreement?
An agreement is an understanding or arrangement reached between two or more parties.
Agreements are important records that support business and provide evidence of the University’s dealings and legal obligations.
At the University, agreement records take different forms, and include the following:
- Contracts – agreements which create legally enforceable obligations between parties. Generally, contracts involve an exchange of value, such as goods or services.
- Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) – agreements between parties that define working relationships, expectations and responsibilities.
- Deeds – agreements which contain a promise on part of one party to do something. Deeds can be used for multiple scenarios, including to assign intellectual property, transfer property, or ensure non-disclosure of confidential information.
Nominated Safe Custody Documents
Nominated safe custody documents are records which are retained safely in the enterprise recordkeeping system, Content Manager until the provider requests their return or deletion. They are presently registered in Content Manager enterprise recordkeeping system by the Records & Information team as a 'Legal Agreement' record type.
These include, but are not limited to: Bank guarantees, Deeds of Letters Patent, Certificates of Patent, Sanctions, Trademark Registration Certificates, Share Certificates, Valuation Reports, Wills and Testaments.
How to manage agreement records?
Agreements should be managed in accordance with the University’s Contracts Policy (MPF1247) and supporting advice provided by Legal Services and the Research, Innovation & Commercialisation (RIC) Contracts team.
See the Legal Services knowledge base in Staff Hub, and the Research Gateway for further guidance.
Digital and hardcopy agreements
At the University, most agreement records are presently managed in digital formats because:
- Electronic execution and use of electronic signatures are generally accepted in accordance with State, Territory and Commonwealth legislation in Australia
- Agreements that are signed using a wet signature can be scanned and retained in digital formats within University systems.
However, the following types of agreements are currently retained in hardcopy format at the University by the Records & Information team:
- Agreement with an overseas counterparty signed in wet ink
- Deed signed in wet ink
- Safe Custody document
- Document flagged to be retained in its original hardcopy form by a University of Melbourne lawyer for any reason.
Note: It is best practice to send all original wet signature agreements to Records & Information to ensure digitisation requirements, including quality assurance are met.
Which systems are used to manage and execute agreements?
The University does not currently have an enterprise contract management system. Therefore, agreements are presently managed and executed in multiple systems at the University.
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Content Manager is the University’s enterprise recordkeeping system. It captures metadata about executed agreements in both hardcopy and electronic formats.
Content Manager is presently used as the official ‘Contracts Register’ and repository for most agreement records.
This system is managed by the Records & Information team.
Many standard agreements, such as student placement agreements, come to Content Manager via integrations with other systems, such as OneSpan Sign (OSS) and Neota Logic.
Non-template agreements usually come to Content Manager via Legal Services.
Refer to Contracts Register and Content Manager for further information.
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Neota Logic is an automation platform tool. It is used to create and execute standard research agreements, including:
- Material Transfer Agreements
- Confidentiality Agreements
- Standard Research Project Agreements.
Neota Logic is also used for standard student placement agreements (part of Working Integrated Learning).
Only certain agreements from Neota are integrated with Content Manager, for example, prospective student IP deeds and student placement agreements.
Refer to Staff Hub for a range of support articles about Neota Logic.
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OSS is the University’s approved electronic signature software. This application is used to digitally execute contracts at the University.
This system is integrated with Content Manager, so once an agreement is executed, provided that the Legal Agreement metadata form is completed, it is sent to Content Manager.
Refer to Staff Hub for a range of support articles about OSS.
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WSS is used to manage goods and services at the University. It is a source-to-contract platform that runs tenders, sourcing activities, negotiates and executes supply contracts, as well as manages supplier performance.
Searches for recent/current supply contracts should be conducted in this system before Content Manager.
Submitting agreements to Content Manager
Refer to Contracts Register for guidance.
Where are agreements kept and how to access them?
Agreements are kept in multiple locations at the University, as outlined in the table below.
| System/Location | Managed by | Used for | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Content Manager | Records & Information | Standard research agreements (not exhaustive) Non-template agreements reviewed by Legal Services Third party research agreements | Content Manager users can search for the agreements and view them in the system. Non-users can contact us via email: records-info@unimelb.edu.au, and we will send you the agreement. |
| Cayuse (previously Themis Research) | Research, Innovation & Commercialisation (RIC) | Standard research contracts Third party research agreements | Cayuse and the predecessor system, Themis, are considered the source of truth for research activities, including research agreements. Searches should be conducted in these systems before Content Manager. |
| Workday | Various | Standard agreements (eg supplier contracts) | With the implementation of Workday, current supplier contracts are managed in Workday Strategic Sourcing (WSS). Searches for recent/current supply contracts should be conducted in this system before Content Manager. |
How long are agreements kept for?
Records retention requirements are outlined in the University Records Retention and Disposal Authority (RDA). There are multiple classes in the RDA related to agreements, depending on the functions the agreements relate to.
Records & Information will apply appropriate RDA classes to agreements registered into Content Manager. Most standard agreements will have short-term value, and will be retained for a minimum of 7 years.
Further information
If you require further information or advice on managing agreement records, please submit a ServiceNow request.