He aha ā mātau mahi hei urupare ki te Kōmihana Roera
What we’re doing in response to the Royal Commission
We take our role as keeper of the public record seriously, and we’re committed to doing what we can do to respond to the interim findings of the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry. Find out more about this work, including the temporary care records protection instruction and why we created a care records definition.
Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry
The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry was set up in 2018. Its purpose is to look into what happened to tamariki (children), rangatahi (youth) and adults in State and faith-based care in Aotearoa New Zealand between 1950 and 1999.
Since its inception, the Royal Commission has:
listened to survivors
held public hearings
received written statements
engaged with communities
conducted research and inquiries into different themes and care settings (the different types of places State and non-State care is provided).
Recommendations from the Royal Commission’s interim report
In its interim report, the Royal Commission recommended the Crown urgently:
look at the rules around keeping care records
think about stopping disposal of them until finishing its other work about care records.
Read the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry interim report ‘Redress to Puretumu Torowhānui’
The disposal moratorium on records relevant to the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry
Here at Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwantanga Archives New Zealand, our role is to make sure government records are created and managed well. The Public Records Act 2005 (the Act) provides an overall framework for how government records should be created and managed. Under section 20 of the Act, the Poumanaaki Chief Archivist can revoke the authority to dispose of records held by public offices (the agencies and instruments of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of central government).
In March 2019, the Chief Archivist put in place a moratorium on the disposal (the decision-making process for retaining, transferring or destroying information and records) of public records that may be of interest to the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry. The disposal moratorium was in place until 11 April 2024 when it was replaced by the temporary care records protection instruction.
Disposal does not always mean destroying records
It’s important to note that ‘disposing’ does not mean the records will necessarily be destroyed. It can also mean moving them to:
Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga Archives New Zealand (Te Rua Mahara)
another organisation, or
to the person they are about.
Protecting care records with a temporary care records protection instruction
While the wider work about care records is being carried out the records need to be protected. To do this, the Chief Archivist has replaced the disposal moratorium with the temporary care records protection instruction.
The temporary care records protection instruction protects government care records from alteration, destruction sale and discharge. It covers all agencies that:
create
receive, or
hold
care records.
This includes agencies that respond to reports of neglect and abuse in care.
Read more about the temporary care records protection instruction
Defining what care records are
To be effective and efficient, the temporary care records protection instruction needs a clear definition of what a care record is. This definition is also needed to support looking at the rules around keeping care records.
As part of this work, we’ve collaborated with the Crown Response Unit to develop this scope and definition of care records using insights from the work of the Royal Commission. This includes:
the Royal Commission’s Terms of Reference
survivor and advocate voices from the hearings and written evidence provided
outcomes of engagements with care advocates, agencies and survivors
secondary sources such as national care standards and international best practice guidelines
public consultation on a draft scope and definition of care records.
Read the detailed care records definition
Find out how we came up with the care records definition
We’ll also use the definition to identify the specific groups of records each agency is responsible for, that need to be included in the retention and disposal of records work.
Records of non-State care settings
The definition will also act as advice to those providing care outside the State-care system on which records to retain.
Under the Act, the Chief Archivist exercises a leadership role in facilitating and coordinating archival activities in Aotearoa.
To support this function, the care records definition also includes records of care settings where care services are provided independently of the State, and not under contract to the State. This includes some faith-based services. For these records — which are not public records — this temporary care records protection instruction should be read as advisory.
The Royal Commission’s final report
The Royal Commission of Inquiry’s final report into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions 'Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light' was published on 24 July 2024.