End of Financial Year Document Overload: Clear the Backlog Without the Risk

The Problem: EOFY Creates Document Chaos

Every June, Australian businesses face the same challenge. The end of financial year brings:

• Seven-year-old records now eligible for destruction
• Boxes of receipts from the current year to organise
• Archive rooms bursting at the seams
• Staff too busy with EOFY close to deal with documents
• Pressure to clear space before new financial year

The temptation? Throw it all in a skip bin and deal with the problem quickly.

Why Quick Fixes Create Big Problems

The Skip Bin Mistake:

One Perth accounting firm hired a skip bin for their "EOFY cleanout." A client's tax records, thrown in by a hurried staff member, ended up photographed by a competitor who happened to drive past the overflowing skip.

The Recycling Disaster:

A medical practice used their regular recycling service for old patient files. Those files were found scattered across a sorting facility, readable and containing Medicare numbers, addresses, and medical histories.

The Storage Facility Abandonment:

A construction company stopped paying for their document storage unit. The facility auctioned the contents. The buyer found project files containing employee details, client information, and confidential tender documents.

The Solution: Structured EOFY Document Destruction

The 90-Day EOFY Plan

April: Preparation

• Review retention schedules
• Identify records reaching destruction eligibility on 30 June
• Book destruction services in advance (we get busy in June!)

May: Pre-Destruction Audit

• Pull records for destruction
• Verify retention periods have been met
• Obtain necessary approvals for destruction

June: Staged Destruction

• Destroy oldest records first
• Schedule onsite shredding for sensitive materials
• Maintain detailed destruction logs

July: New Year Clean Slate

• Archive current year records properly
• Set calendar reminders for next EOFY
• Review and update retention schedules

What Can Be Destroyed After 30 June?

Typically Eligible (after 7 years):

• Bank statements and financial records from 2017-18
• Employee payroll records (7 years after employment)
• Tax documentation from 2017-18 FY
• Supplier invoices and purchase orders

Check Before Destroying:

• Records subject to audit or legal hold
• Documents with ongoing relevance
• Records with industry-specific retention rules

WEST SHRED EOFY Service

We offer special EOFY packages:

• Priority booking for June destruction
• Bulk pricing for annual cleanouts
• Flexible scheduling including weekends
• Detailed certificates listing destruction dates

Book early—our June calendar fills fast!