Located in Western Australia, the Catholic Archdiocese of Perth is a nearly 200-year-old religious organization with strong roots in the community. It consists of 110 parishes, 26 agencies and organizations, and about 70 schools. The Archdiocese is based in Perth, the capital city of the State of Western Australia.  

As a large and historic religious community, the Archdiocese manages a vast flow of information across its many services. To improve its processes, proactively safeguard its community by following Royal Commission recommendations, and streamline operations, the Archdiocese partnered with Laserfiche to implement a secure and robust records management system.

O’Brien and his team set to work right away finding the technology that could safely handle and store the information they planned to include within a records management system, some from nearly two centuries ago. Having worked with workplace technology provider Ricoh Australia for over a decade, the Archdiocese team partnered with the organization to find and implement the perfect solution. Laserfiche’s capabilities made it the obvious choice. “We’ve got records dating back to the 1840s. We’ve got sacramental information (information about people getting baptized and various sacraments within the church), but also all the business records of the organization, again, going back to the 1840s,” O’Brien shared.

The Archdiocese was able to easily and quickly use Laserfiche’s technology to digitize the abundant mix of historical documents and archive them within Laserfiche’s records management system. Additionally, they implemented a way for contemporary records to feed into the same system, enabling all documents to be organized and stored together in one, secure location.

Since turning to Laserfiche, the Archdiocese has experienced numerous benefits, especially when it comes to having one designated home for all information across the organization. “The primary benefit has been the fact that we now have a single source of truth for our 200 employees in our major administration center,” said O’Brien. “We’re also using automation throughout our 110 parishes. So, all the inquiries they receive for religious services, education and charitable requests are automated, allowing them to serve the community much more efficiently than they ever have in the past.”

O’Brien highlighted the significant benefits Laserfiche has brought to the Archdiocese and the community it serves: “Digitizing our information has not only enhanced our administrative creativity but also greatly increased our efficiency. What used to take weeks to find can now be accessed in real time.

“For example, by using Laserfiche, our Safeguarding Office has noticed that their small team of four people, serving tens of thousands in our community, can streamline workflows and improve accessibility to information. This efficiency not only allows the team to provide accurate, up-to-date information to stakeholders, clients, and the community but also frees up hundreds of hours per year for important safeguarding support with the Perth Church community.”

Laserfiche has also streamlined how the Archdiocese handles a wide range of inquiries, from religious sacraments to school enrollments and charitable support. O’Brien noted, “Laserfiche enables us to quickly and accurately direct individuals to the services they need, whether it’s for homelessness support or financial relief.”

Laserfiche provides nationwide accessibility, enabling historians, scholars and family members across Australia to easily request and access ancestral heritage and stories. This improved access accelerates research, supports publications, and enriches family trees. O’Brien added that since implementing Laserfiche’s search functionality, his office and small team have successfully fulfilled hundreds of requests each year.

The Archdiocese also has plans of broadening Laserfiche’s reach in general and to include mobile options, such as an app, within the next two years. O’Brien shared, “We certainly hope we’ll move to a cloud-based solution so it can be implemented more widely. Currently, Laserfiche is implemented across both the Archdiocese of Perth and one of our neighboring archdioceses. So, that’s roughly an area the size of Spain or France. We’re hoping that we’ll continue to be able to expand that out further.

”The Archdiocese is committed to staying at the forefront of technology, with Laserfiche integral to its future plans. “What excites me most about our ongoing Laserfiche project is its potential for the future,” O’Brien said. “Embracing AI ethically and further automation in an easy UI and UX for staff, volunteers and stakeholders will enable us to enhance our services and more effectively support the community we are dedicated to serving.”