Can AI turn your records-handling policy into practical checks for a NSW strata team?
The Question After an owners corporation communication or committee meeting, you need to follow the records policy. Can AI turn that policy into practical checks while keeping the record categories and exceptions clear?
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
The problem
“Keep the records” does not tell you which instruction applies to correspondence, notices or minutes.
A checklist should show each action and where it came from. You want conditions visible too, so a particular instruction does not quietly become a rule for every record.
The Real facts behind this
NSW Government guidance identifies owners corporation and strata committee communications, meeting notices and minutes among strata records, with distinct requirements and exceptions [1]. Vendor guides describe working with uploaded text [2–4]; Microsoft distinguishes that from licensed work-data access [5]. AI can miss a condition or invent a requirement, so compare its output with the policy. OAIC recommends testing and human oversight [6].
Practical use
Pick your text. Use the NSW Government's record keeping requirements [1], from “Communication records” to the end of “How to provide records to others”, or your own records policy in an approved tool.
Keep the original beside you. You'll check every row against it.
Ask for actions, not a summary. Use columns for action, policy section, who does it, by when, conditions or exceptions, and anything unclear. Keep correspondence, meeting records and secret ballots in separate rows.
Keep conditions attached. On the NSW page, secret ballot results are kept for 13 months, without voters' names, and are not given to others unless the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal or a court orders it.
That condition belongs to the secret ballot row only. Check it hasn't spread to other records, and that the seven-year period for other communications stays separate.Check both ways. Match every row to its section, then read each section against the table to find actions the AI missed.
Before anyone uses it: if it's your own policy, the policy owner resolves unclear wording and approves the checks, and legal questions go to a qualified reviewer. If it's the NSW page, treat the table as practice; the page is general guidance, not legal advice.
Test it and report back
Try it this week. Did it work? If not, why do you think? If it did, what did it solve? Tell us how it went on our LinkedIn post https://lnkd.in/p/gHQCc4de : did the record categories, conditions and missing details stay visible? Prefer to keep it private? Send us a note via email: hello@25hours.ai.
Calls to action
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Exercise block
Use an AI tool your organisation has approved, such as Microsoft 365 Copilot, ChatGPT or Claude.
No policy handy? Use our public example: the NSW Government's record keeping requirements for strata. It's public, so you can paste it into any tool, including free ones. Copy from “Communication records” to the end of “How to provide records to others” (about 700 words).
Using your own organisation's policy? Only use a tool your organisation has approved for internal documents (usually a licensed workplace tool, not a free personal account), and follow your organisation's AI, privacy and information security policies. If you're not sure, check with your IT or privacy team first, or use the public example.
Whatever you use, check the output against the original before you rely on it. This exercise is for practice, not legal or compliance advice.
Free ChatGPT / Microsoft Copilot / Claude:
“Turn the policy text below into a checklist table with these columns: action, policy section, who does it, by when, conditions or exceptions, anything unclear. Use only the text below. If the text doesn't say who or when, write ‘not stated’. Keep each type of record in its own rows, and keep each condition with the record it applies to. Quote any timing words exactly; don't turn them into dates.” [paste the text]
Microsoft 365 Copilot (licensed):
Same prompt as above. To use your own policy, type / and select the file from SharePoint or OneDrive instead of pasting.
ChatGPT / Claude paid plans:
Same prompt as above. If your organisation allows it, you can upload your policy file instead of pasting.
Agent tools:
An agent could prepare a source-linked table from an approved records policy and send it to the records owner for review, without touching original records. If you'd like to see this set up for your team, book a catch-up.
What a good table shows (NSW example)
Communications sent and received by the strata committee: kept for seven years, electronically for records created from 11 June 2024.
Secret ballot results: kept for 13 months, without voters' names, and not given to others unless the Tribunal or a court orders it.
Owners ask to inspect records through the secretary or strata manager; a fee applies.
If a time and place can't be agreed within three days, the owners corporation can set them by written notice. Inspectors can copy records but not take originals without permission.
Why it works
Separate rows show which instruction belongs to which record.
A conditions column keeps exceptions, such as the secret ballot rule, attached to the right record.
Two-way checking catches omissions as well as invented rows.
If it doesn't work (Troubleshooting)
If the tool tries to open the link, or says it can't, paste the text instead.
If it cuts off or drops details, paste a smaller section.
If it adds a role, deadline or action, ask it to quote the source sentence for that row. If it can't, delete the row.
Keep real owner details, addresses, disputes and correspondence out of free tools. The NSW page is general guidance; take legal questions to a qualified reviewer.
Data-handling note
Before you try this: free and personal AI tools may use what you paste to improve their models, depending on your settings. Don't paste personal, health, student, resident or client information. Use a de-identified sample, or your organisation's licensed tool if it has one.
Sources
NSW Government — Record keeping requirements; updated 22/06/2026. nsw.gov.au
OpenAI — Uploading files and audio to ChatGPT; undated. help.openai.com
Microsoft — File upload in Microsoft Copilot; undated. support.microsoft.com
Anthropic — Upload files to Claude; 23/07/2026. support.claude.com
Microsoft — How Copilot Chat works with and without a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence; undated. support.microsoft.com
OAIC — Guidance on privacy and the use of commercially available AI products; updated 17/01/2025. oaic.gov.au
Disclosure: This blog was conceptualised and planned by the 25 hours AI team and then researched and drafted with AI assistance. Once the structure, content, and resources were reviewed, verified and tested, the team finalised and publishes the content. Images that were generated with AI were conceptualised and sketched by the team prior to AI generation.