4 > DISPOSAL OF RECORDS

The second key requirement of the Public Records Act is that records cannot be disposed of without the authority of the Chief Archivist. Dispose means "decide what to do with" – for example a record could be destroyed or it could be transferred to Archives New Zealand or to another institution.

Disposal Authorities

Disposal is managed through the use of disposal authorities. A disposal authority is a formal legal permission from the Chief Archivist to dispose of records.

It shows:

1. What is to be done with the record or group of records;
2. When the disposal action is to take place and what is the shortest amount of time you need to keep a record;
3. Which records are covered by the authority.

There are two types of authority:

• Organisation-specific disposal authorities; and
• General disposal authorities.

General Disposal Authorities

Archives New Zealand issues General Disposal Authorities (GDAs) to help public offices decide what to do with certain common types of records. The current GDAs cover:

• Human Resources and Personnel Records;
• Financial and Accounting Records;
• Housekeeping Records; and
• Administration and Corporate Services Records.

Public offices are authorised to deal with these types of records according to the recommendations of these GDAs.

Issued October 2003/Revised June 2006