The Public Records Act 2005 (PRA) establishes disposal and access requirements for records that are 25 years or older.  The Archives New Zealand Legacy Programme supports public offices to put in place robust processes to dispose of low-value records over 25 years old, and to identify records of on-going value.  Managing legacy records promotes good recordkeeping, good risk management and ultimately ensures good archives are retained for future generations.
 

What are Legacy Records?
Legacy records are those records over 25 years old that are covered under sections 21 and 43 of the PRA.  A large number of public offices, including regional offices and schools, hold legacy records.  Some hold records dating from the 19th century; others are on the cusp of becoming 25 years old.

Benefits of Managing Legacy Records

Managing legacy records helps mitigate business risks that increase the longer that records are kept.  The benefits of identifying, and appropriately controlling, storing and disposing of legacy records include:

• storage cost savings
• ability to demonstrate compliance with sections 21 and 43 of the Public Records Act
• business critical information is accessible for the conduct of business, dispute resolution, legal challenge or evidential purposes
• corporate memory becomes more comprehensive and reliable
• records are disposed of lawfully
• increased public confidence in the integrity of your organisation’s activities
• increased depth of the memory of government, and ultimately, the broader collective memory of New Zealand.

Legacy Programme

The Legacy Programme is customer focussed, and is designed to assist public offices to manage their legacy records.  It recognises the need for a planned, strategic approach to the management of legacy records.  Running over five years from July 2008 to 2013, the programme includes:

• support and guidance from Archives New Zealand,  to help public offices achieve efficient legacy records disposal and information management 
• a set of tools and processes, new guides and a project plan template.  This includes a road map, described below
• use of Deferral of Transfer agreements where required, providing public offices time to locate and identify legacy records and organise their disposal.

Road map

Archives New Zealand has developed a ‘road map’ to support public offices to achieve these aims.

Each Road Map will be tailored to suit each public office’s unique circumstances, under the broad goal of achieving full disposal coverage.  Road maps consist of:

• legal instruments for the deferral of transfer (under s22 of the PRA) and declaration of access (under s43 of the PRA). These are agreed to by each public office and Archives New Zealand, to ensure compliance with the PRA while the road map is worked through
• an agreement between the public office and Archives New Zealand establishing timelines
• a project plan for each public office, which supports the agreement.  The project plan outlines in detail what is required at each step along the road map and it references the various tools available through Continuum.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this mean for my organisation?
The programme is designed to assist public offices to manage their legacy records, and the risks associated them.  Archives New Zealand will contact all public offices to talk further about the legacy programme, and to partner with public offices as they embark on their specific projects over the next five years.

Does my organisation have to complete our legacy programme road map within 5 years?
No.  The five year period is an internal goal for Archives New Zealand to aim for, during which time it is planned to have all public offices progressing along their individual road maps.  Some may be well advanced, others just beginning. In instances where a public office has large and complex legacy holdings, their project is likely to take a number of years.

Section 21 of the Public Records Act says that 25 year old records must be transferred to Archives New Zealand. Can’t I just transfer them all?
No. Sections 18 and 20 of the PRA set out the mechanisms under which records can be disposed, and no records may be disposed without the Chief Archivist’s approval.  A Disposal Authority, following an appraisal of a public office’s legacy records, must be obtained prior to either transfer or destruction.

Will there be any cost to my public office?
There may be costs associated with establishing a legacy project, depending on its size, scope and internal resourcing. In some cases, the work may be integrated easily into business as usual.  Some public offices may be sufficiently progressed down their road map that only a little further work is required.  In many instances there will be cost savings as a result of the legacy programme, as storage and access requirements will be eliminated or reduced.

Who do I contact to talk more about the Legacy Programme?
The programme is coordinated by Archives New Zealand’s Appraisal Team.  To find out more, contact:

Appraisal Manager
Archives New Zealand
PO Box 12-050
Wellington
+64 4 499 5595
appraisal@archives.govt.nz