Ngā whakaritenga mauhanga matua o Te Ture Mauhanga Tūmatanui 2005

Key recordkeeping requirements of the Public Records Act 2005

Purposes of the Public Records Act

Section 3 sets out the purposes of the Act. The key purposes are as follows:

• Provide for the role of the Chief Archivist in developing and supporting government recordkeeping. This includes making independent decisions about the disposal of:

  • public information and records, and

  • certain local authority archives.

• Enable the Government to be held accountable by ensuring that:

  • central and local government organisations create and maintain full and accurate records of their activities

  • information and records of long-term value are preserved and accessible to the public.

• Enhance public trust in the integrity of public and local authority information and records.

• Provide an appropriate framework for public offices and local authorities to create and maintain information and records.

Who the Act covers

The Act covers public offices and local authorities (public sector organisations) as defined in section 4 of the Act.

Public offices

A public office is an organisation that performs the functions of central government. It includes:

• government departments

• Crown entities and research institutions

• state enterprises

• tertiary institutions

• state and integrated schools.

The definition of a public office is broad. Check with us if you're unsure whether your organisation is covered.

Local authorities

Local authorities include:

• all regional councils and territorial authorities

• council-controlled organisations

• local government organisations

• council-controlled trading organisations.

Your responsibilities under the Act

Public sector organisations have key recordkeeping responsibilities when managing their information and records. These govern how you:

• create

• maintain

• provide access to, and

• dispose of them.

Creating and maintaining information and records

Section 17 of the Act sets out your key duties when creating and maintaining information and records.

• You must create and maintain full and accurate information and records of your normal business activities. This includes information and records of any business outsourced to an independent contractor.

• You must maintain all information and records in an accessible and usable form. This must be done until the Chief Archivist authorises their disposal.

Disposing of public and protected information and records

Section 18 of the Act sets out the permissions you need to dispose of public and protected information and records.

If you want to dispose of public or protected information and records, you must be authorised to do this by the Chief Archivist. The exception is where disposal is required by or under another Act.

Read more: Disposal.

Transferring public information and records

Section 21 of the Act sets out when public offices must transfer information and records from their possession and control.

You must transfer public information and records that are 25 years old, unless:

• they are authorised to be destroyed

• they are authorised to be transferred before the expiry of 25 years, or

• their transfer has been deferred.

Read more: Transfer.

Transferring during administrative change

Section 23 of the Act sets out what you must do if you transfer information and records to another public sector organisation.

During administrative change, organisations often take over responsibility for functions from another organisation. You must notify the Chief Archivist that you've transferred any associated information and records within 3 months of their transfer.

Protecting information and records of local authorities

If your organisation is a local authority, section 40 of the Act sets out your responsibilities for protected information and records.

Protected information and records are those that the Chief Archivist has determined are ‘worthy of protection’.

• You must protect and preserve this information and records.

• You must not dispose of them unless you have notified the Chief Archivist that you intend to do this.

List of protected records for local authorities

Classifying access status

Sections 43, 44, 45 and 46 of the Act set out requirements for classifying or determining the access status of information and records of public sector organisations.

• The access status of public information and records must be classified as either ‘open’ or ‘restricted’ when they are:

  • 25 years old, or

  • about to be transferred to the control of the Chief Archivist.

• When local authority information and records become local authority archives, their access status must be classified as either ‘open’ or ‘restricted’.

• The administrative head of the controlling public office or local authority must consider whether:

  • there are good reasons to restrict public access, or

  • there is another statutory reason for public information and records or local authority archives to be withheld from public access.

Read more: Access decisions.

Providing public access to information and records

Section 47 of the Act sets out requirements for making information and records available to the public.

‘Open’ access information and records must be made available to members of the public. Exceptions are set out in sections 43 to 46 of the Act.

Public access to ‘open’ information and records must be free of charge. It should also happen as soon as practicable after a request is received.

This applies to requests made to:

• public offices, including Archives New Zealand

• local authorities, and

• approved repositories .

Read more: Public access to information and records.

Information and Records Management Standard

Under section 27 of the Act, the Chief Archivist has issued the Information and Records Management Standard. The Standard sets out how you must manage information and records. It sets the minimum requirements that you must meet. Complying with the Standard is compulsory for public sector organisations.

Read more: Information and Records Management Standard.

Our responsibilities under the Act

Good information and records management is key to building public trust in the integrity and reliability of government. We use the regulatory tools and powers provided by the Act to enable government to be held accountable.

Managing information and records

We are responsible for helping public sector organisations manage their information and records.

This includes:

• authorising the disposal of information and records, such as transferring them to us or an approved repository, or destroying them

• issuing mandatory or discretionary standards and instructions

• providing advice and issuing guidance on how to manage information and records

• monitoring and reporting on compliance

• providing protocols and processes for deferring the transfer of information and records

• issuing criteria for independent audits of the recordkeeping practices of public offices

• inspecting the information, records and recordkeeping practices of all public sector organisations

• controlling and administering public archives

• preserving public archives and making them publicly accessible.

Our regulatory tools

We use a number of tools to work with public sector organisations to help them comply with the Act.

Read more: Our regulatory tools.

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