This standard is issued under s27 of the Public Records Act 2005. The standard is
mandatory for all public offices and for all local authorities, with the exception of state and integrated schools.

Organisations are now expected to be working towards compliance with this standard. Full compliance with all requirements in the standard will be expected from 1 July 2010.

2.1 Application

The standard is mandatory for:

• public service and non-public service departments
• offices of parliament
• crown entities, including district health boards and tertiary education institutions
• crown entity companies, including crown research institutes
• state enterprises
• regional councils
• territorial authorities
• council-controlled organisations
• council-controlled trading organisations
• local government organisations
• any other public office or local authority as defined in s4 of the Public Records Act 2005.

The standard is discretionary for:

• state and integrated schools.

2.2 Responsibilities

2.2.1 Administrative Head/Chief Executive Responsibilities

Ultimately the organisational administrative head, usually the chief executive, has the responsibility to ensure organisational compliance with the recordkeeping requirements of the Public Records Act 2005, including the requirements of this standard.

The Public Records Act 2005 defines an administrative head within a public office as:

• the person responsible for the performance of that office, for example, a chief executive within the meaning of s2(1) of the Public Finance Act 1989
• the holder of an office that involves carrying out a statutory function, for example, the Registrar-General of Land.

The Public Records Act 2005 defines an administrative head within a local authority as:

• the person responsible for the performance of the local authority, for example, the chief executive appointed under s42 of the Local Government Act 2002  or the chief executive of an organisation referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition of the term local authority in s4.

Where any doubt exists as to who is the administrative head of an organisation,
please contact Archives New Zealand or seek legal advice to clarify the organisational responsibility.

2.2.2 Responsibilities for Records of Functions Carried out under Contract

The Public Records Act 2005 requires public offices and local authorities to create
and maintain full and accurate records of their affairs, including records of matters
contracted out to independent contractors. The legal obligation to ensure that records of government functions are created and maintained therefore rests always with the government entity, not the independent contractor. Depending on the nature of the work being contracted out, this will require either:

• the contractor creating and temporarily maintaining the records regarding the function on behalf of the public office or local authority, or
• the contractor regularly providing the public office or local authority with sufficient information about the function to enable the creation and maintenance of full and accurate records, or
• a combination of the two.

Such records must be created and maintained according to the requirements of this
standard. Contracts or agreements with contractors should contain provisions to
ensure this can happen.

2.2.3 Compliance Framework

Under the Public Records Act 2005, there are a number of mechanisms to encourage compliance with these responsibilities:

• s29, the Chief Archivist has the power to inspect public records or local authority records
• s31, the Chief Archivist may direct a public office to report on any aspect of itsrecordkeeping practice
• s33 – s35, the Chief Archivist must commission independent recordkeeping audits of every public office, and reports on these audits will be presented to Parliament. These audits will start in 2010, and will measure compliance with requirements in this standard
• s61, wilful or negligent damage to public records is an offence.

2.3 Exemptions

The Chief Archivist may grant exemptions from compliance with the standard, under certain terms and conditions. Appeals against these decisions may be made to the Minister responsible for Archives New Zealand, who may allow or disallow the appeal after consultation with the appropriate minister and the Archives Council.

Organisations who wish to seek an exemption should follow the process outlined on
the Archives New Zealand Continuum website.

2.4 Legislative Basis

The Public Records Act 2005 imposes the following responsibilities to ensure that public offices and local authorities document their business activities adequately and manage those records for as long as is necessary. (The full text of the Public Records Act 2005 and other New Zealand legislation are available online at: www.legislation.govt.nz/ ).

s17, which requires public offices and local authorities to create and maintain records, states:

(1) Every public office and local authority must create and maintain full and
accurate records of its affairs, in accordance with normal, prudent business
practice, including the records of any matter that is contracted out to an
independent contractor.
(2) Every public office must maintain in an accessible form, so as to be able to be used for subsequent reference, all public records that are in its control, until their disposal is authorised by or under this Act or required by or under another Act.
(3) Every local authority must maintain in an accessible form, so as to be able to be used for subsequent reference, all protected records that are in its control, until their disposal is authorised by or under this Act.

s18 states that no person may dispose of public records or local authority protected
records without authority from the Chief Archivist, unless disposal is required by or
under another act.

s27 allows for the Chief Archivist to issue standards in relation to public records and local authority records.

s28 allows for the Chief Archivist to stipulate the application and content of any
recordkeeping standards.

s30 outlines the process for gaining exemptions from compliance with standards.

s40 outlines requirements for protected records of local authorities.

Various other acts also support the need for a good standard of recordkeeping
by public offices and local authorities in New Zealand. These include the following
legislation:

• Official Information Act 1982
• Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987
• Public Finance Act 1989
• Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992
• Financial Reporting Act 1993
• Privacy Act 1993
• Copyright Act 1994
• Tax Administration Act 1994
• Electronic Transactions Act 2002
• Evidence Act 2006.