A Practical Guide to Records Management and Document Classification in Atlassian Government Cloud

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For agencies, contractors, and public-sector teams using Confluence and Jira

 TL;DR

Most government teams don’t realize that the tickets, pages, and knowledge articles they create in Atlassian Government Cloud often qualify as official federal records. That means they’re subject to the Federal Records Act, NARA regulations, OMB M-23-07, FOIA, CUI handling rules, and (for contractors) FAR 4.7 retention requirements.

This guide breaks down what those rules actually require, how they apply to Confluence and Jira, and the best practices every agency or contractor should follow for classification, retention, legal holds, and defensible disposition. In short: Atlassian Government Cloud provides the secure environment—you still need a records-management strategy to stay compliant.

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Government teams are moving faster than ever, from mission operations to digital services, and Atlassian Government Cloud has unlocked a secure, FedRAMP Moderate environment where agencies and industry partners can finally collaborate at the speed of modern work. But while security determines where your content is allowed to live, compliance determines what you must do with it once it’s there.

Over the past few years helping public-sector organizations modernize content governance in Jira and Confluence, I’ve noticed a consistent pattern:

Many teams believe they understand federal records requirements until someone from legal, audit, or the records office asks a very simple question:

“How exactly are you classifying, retaining, and disposing of the content you’re creating in Atlassian?”
 

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What Counts as a “Record” in Confluence & Jira?

Myth: “Tickets and pages aren’t official records.”

 Many teams assume that only final reports, signed memos, and policy documents count as records. But, under the Federal Records Act (FRA) and NARA guidance, this is incorrect.

 If content:

 ✔ documents your agency’s decisions,

✔ supports program or operational work,

✔ explains how something was approved, built, deployed, or changed,

✔ or could reasonably be requested under FOIA, IG investigation, litigation, or audit…

 …it’s a record.

That means Jira issues, Confluence pages, JSM tickets, and attachments may all be subject to the same retention and disposition requirements as a traditional records system. In other words, Atlassian isn’t just collaboration software for government teams.

It’s part of the official record-keeping environment.

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 The Actual Policies Government Teams Must Follow

Below is a consolidated, plain-English reference of the frameworks agencies and government contractors are commonly responsible for. This is what every public-sector team should understand before moving mission-critical content into Atlassian Government Cloud.

 Federal Agencies: FRA, NARA Regulations & OMB Requirements

Federal Records Act (44 U.S.C. Chapters 21, 29, 31, and 33)	Requires agencies to create, classify, retain, and properly dispose of records documenting their work, including digital formats.
36 CFR Chapter XII Subchapter B (NARA’s Records Management Regulations)	This is your blueprint for electronic record keeping. Key obligations: 1236 – Electronic records management requirements Retention & disposition must follow NARA-approved schedules Systems must support retrieval, audit, and FOIA searches Agencies must prevent premature deletion
NARA Universal Electronic Records Management (ERM) Requirements	Agencies should use these when evaluating or configuring IT systems (yes, including Atlassian).  Key functional expectations: Capture & classify records Apply retention schedules Audit trails for policy changes Legal holds Transfer packages (for permanent records)
OMB/NARA Memo M-23-07 (Modernizing the Federal Records Program)	Requires agencies to manage permanent and temporary records electronically, not on paper. This memo is why Confluence pages, Jira workflows, and JSM artifacts increasingly fall under official schedules.

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Government Contractors: FAR Requirements

FAR Subpart 4.7 - Contractor Records Retention

Government contractors must: Keep contract-related records (including digital) for 3+ years after final payment Retain longer for financial, cost, administrative, or audit-related materials Maintain records in ways that support agency inspection, IG review, litigation, and disputes

Often overlooked:

If a contractor uses Jira/Confluence to manage a government contract, that content may be considered federal records.

Many agencies now insert NARA/FRA clauses into contracts requiring:

• Proper classification

• Retention

• Secure storage

• Destruction or transfer at contract end

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 CUI, FOIA, and Privacy Layer on Additional Requirements

 Other considerations when considering how you handle content as a government agency or contractor. 

Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)	Anything labeled CUI must reside in a FedRAMP Moderate environment (such as Atlassian Government Cloud) and be governed according to NIST 800-171.
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)	Teams must be able to: Locate responsive records Search content reliably Prevent deletion during a FOIA review
Privacy Act / PII Requirements	Personal-data-containing records must be properly secured, logged, and retained.

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 How These Policies Apply Inside Atlassian Government Cloud

 Atlassian Government Cloud solves the security side (FedRAMP Moderate, CUI-ready).

 But for records management, teams must still address:

• What’s a record vs a non-record?

• How long must we keep each type of content?

• What happens when retention expires?

• How do we prevent accidental deletion?

• How do we ensure FOIA and legal holds are respected?

• How do we export or archive content in a compliant format?

 Confluence and Jira don’t natively provide full lifecycle controls for these requirements.

 Which brings us to the operational best practices.

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Best Practices for Records Management in Confluence & Jira

1. Start with a classification schema

At minimum, teams should label content as:

• Record

• Non-record

• Transitory

• Sensitive / CUI

• Series / schedule category (mapped to NARA GRS or agency schedules)

2. Tie every classification to a retention schedule

Examples: 

• 7 years after ticket closure

• 3 years after contract closeout (FAR 4.7)

• Until superseded (policies, SOPs)

• Permanent (historical documentation)

3. Avoid “keep everything forever”

This is one of the biggest compliance misconceptions, especially in digital collaboration spaces.

 Over-retention creates:

• FOIA exposure

• eDiscovery cost

• Audit risk

• CUI sprawl

• Security vulnerabilities

• Policy violations (yes, over-retention is a violation)

4. Implement defensible deletion

Deletion should match your schedules:

• Log the action

• Capture who approved it

• Record the disposition date

• Ensure content is unrecoverable after purge

5. Support legal holds and FOIA freezes

When someone in legal or compliance says “place this on hold,” you need:

• No auto-deletion

• No accidental removal

• Clear audit trails showing preservation

6. Don’t rely on user-driven cleanup

Knowledge workers rarely know retention rules. Your environment needs system-enforced policy, not manual judgment. 

7. Build a “single pane of glass” for policy oversight 

Records officers need:

• A view of all content

• What classifications exist

• What’s expiring

• What’s on hold

• What requires archival vs deletion
   

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 Now for some Myth-busting(and the Truth)

Myth 1: “If it’s in Jira or Confluence, it’s not an official record.”	Truth: If it documents work, decisions, or operations, it’s a federal record.
Myth 2: “FedRAMP Moderate handles compliance for us.”	Truth: FedRAMP covers security, not retention and disposition.
Myth 3: “We can keep content forever, it’s safer.”	Truth: Over-retention violates NARA rules and increases legal risk.
Myth 4: “Our teams will delete what they don’t need.”	Truth: Users avoid deleting anything for fear of being wrong.
Myth 5: “A backup is the same as a records archive.”	Truth: Backups are operational; archives are part of the legal lifecycle.

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Final Thoughts: Atlassian Government Cloud Opens the Door, Governance Keeps It Compliant 

Atlassian Government Cloud gives government teams a secure, CUI-ready environment where collaboration can finally match mission speed. But when Confluence and Jira become part of your operational core, they also become part of your records program.

 The agencies and contractors who thrive in this shift are the ones who:

• Start with classification

• Align to NARA or FAR schedules

• Enforce retention automatically

• Build defensible disposition workflows

• Maintain auditability

• Support legal holds and FOIA

• Treat Atlassian as a true system of record, not just a workspace

If anyone has questions about mapping these requirements to their actual Atlassian workflows, I’m always happy to help compare notes.

Government record compliance doesn’t have to slow teams down, you just need smart, automated governance built into the tools you already rely on.