Melbourne based application service provider, Synetek Systems, has announced today that the recent release of a new White Paper on Electronic Data Retention by Middletons lawyers clearly highlights the need for Australian companies to take email preservation seriously.

“Legislation such as the Electronic Transactions Act and the Corporations Act make specific requirements for companies in the preservation and validity of all electronic documents, including email,” said Synetek Co-founder Jason Polites.

“When formulating a Data Retention Policy to meet the requirements of these and other acts companies must consider email specifically, given the breadth of its day-to-day use in business and the dynamics under which it is used to create permanent corporate records,” Polites said.

Author of the White Paper and Middletons’ Partner Cameron Abbott said, “Automatic email archiving products like MailRevive make the task of meeting legislative and regulatory requirements for companies far easier. Email is often the least protected of company records but is where many companies have come unstuck in the legal discovery process.”

Mr Polites said finally, “Only recently the Federal Court announced that within weeks it would produce new eDiscovery rules for all Australian companies that would effectively bring Australia into line with the US Civil Rules of Procedure introduced in 2006.”

“In essence this change will mean that it will no longer be sufficient for one party to say ‘they didn’t have the record’, and given the US experience could see tens of millions of dollars in fines laid to companies of any size,” said Polites.

MailRevive™ is a managed application service that operates in conjunction with a business’s IT network to ensure the protection, preservation and continuous operation and availability of email communications. www.mailrevive.com