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 A GUIDE TO DEVELOPING RECORDKEEPING STRATEGIES FOR WEBSITES

3. > REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT

In relation to their websites, public offices and local authorities should take into account relevant public sector legislation, policies and guidelines. Of particular relevance are the Public Records Act 2005, the National Library of New Zealand Act 2003, and the New Zealand Government Web Guidelines.2

Web records are records in terms of the Public Records Act. Public offices and local authorities are required to create and maintain full and accurate records of their activities, including the information and activities transacted through their websites. These records must be maintained in accessible form until they are no longer required. For public offices, these records can not be disposed of without the authority of the Chief Archivist. For local authorities, where the website includes protected records these may not be disposed of without the authority of the Chief Archivist.3 The Chief Archivist is also empowered to provide advice and issue guidelines on best practice management of public records and local authority records, including web records.

The National Library of New Zealand also fulfils a statutory role with regard to public sector and local government websites.4 By harvesting government websites it collects and preserves New Zealand's documentary heritage, thus complementing Archives New Zealand's role.

The advice in this guide extends the discussion on archiving websites in the New Zealand Government Web Guidelines.5


2. State Services Commission. 2004. New Zealand Government Web Guidelines: Guidelines for the management and design of New Zealand public sector websites. Version 2.1.
3. "Protected records" are defined in the Local Government Protected Records Schedule issued by the Chief Archivist under the Public Records Act, available at: http://continuum.archives.govt.nz/files/file/disposal/LocalGovtSchedule.pdf
4. National Library of New Zealand Act 2003. s31(3) empowers the National Library to make copies of documents that are made publicly available on the Internet.
5. New Zealand Government Web Guidelines, s3.4.7.