Decision Context Loss

Short Explanation

Decision Context Loss occurs when a decision is recorded as a result without the rationale needed to reconstruct it later. The reference requires that the basis for each conclusion is stated, not assumed, and points to specific cases: accommodation records must document the interactive process steps and a stated determination rationale; investigation conclusions must identify source materials and stay within what the evidence shows. When that context is absent, the file shows that a decision was made but not why it was reasonable. Because records are challenged long after the people and the context have moved on, a decision that survives only as an outcome cannot be defended. The remedy is to capture, at the point of decision, the rationale, the basis, and enough context that a cold reviewer can reconstruct how the decision was reached.

Why It Matters

Decisions are reviewed when the drafter and the context are gone. A record that preserves the outcome but loses the rationale leaves the organization unable to demonstrate the decision was sound.

Reviewer Questions

• Is the basis for the decision stated in the record, not assumed?
• For accommodation records, are the interactive process steps and the determination rationale documented?
• Can the rationale be reconstructed from the file without the drafter?
• Do investigation conclusions stay within what the identified source materials show?

Common Failure Pattern

Related JRS Sections