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Direction to Report to the Chief Archivist – MBIE

A report into our findings and recommendations from a Direction to report to the Chief Archivist is now available.

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15 February 2023

We issued the Direction to report to Hīkina Whakatutuki Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) on 15 December 2021 under section 31 of the Public Records Act 2005.

The Direction to report sought details about information management at Immigration New Zealand. We took this compliance action following a complaint about recordkeeping practices there.

The complaint raised concerns about:

  • Legacy issues previously reported to Te Rua Mahara Archives New Zealand.

  • The recordkeeping practice of Immigration New Zealand surrounding a visa application.

  • The recordkeeping practice at Immigration New Zealand for managing digital recordings of interviews.

  • Data entry in the application management system at Immigration New Zealand.

MBIE supplied a full and detailed response on 18 February 2022. We assessed the response against the issues raised and the Ministry’s obligations under the Public Records Act and the Information and records management standard.

We finalised our report in December 2022. It makes 9 recommendations for Immigration New Zealand to uplift its compliance with the Public Records Act and the Information and records management standard.

MBIE has accepted the recommendations. We have planned 2 6-monthly check-ins to see how they are progressing.

Read the full report