1. Identify the Public Office(s)

Gather information on the history, functions, recordkeeping policies and procedures of the public office(s) responsible for creating and/or controlling the records that are being appraised.

Refer to section 6.1.2 of the Appraisal Standard and section 3 of the Guide to Preparing an Appraisal Report for a Continuing Disposal Schedule for guidance.

Search Archives New Zealand's online finding aid, Archway for information on the public office.

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2. Identify the Records

Create a list of the records being appraised and gather information on their creation and function. This may involve viewing a selection of files, or talking with the business units responsible for creating or managing the records.

Group together those records of a similar type or those that document the same function or activity of the public office. This ensures the disposal criteria is consistently applied to the same types of records covered by the appraisal.

• Refer to section 6.1.3 of the Appraisal Standard and section 3 of the Guide to Preparing an Appraisal Report for a Continuing Disposal Schedule for guidance.
• For a one-off appraisal, also refer to the Appraisal List Template and the Appraisal List Explanation for guidance.
• For a disposal schedule, also refer to Archives New Zealand's Disposal Schedule Template and Explanatory Notes for guidance.

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3. Check for Disposal Coverage or Precedents

Check whether there are any existing and relevant disposal authorities for the public office, and whether the scope of these identifies the records being appraised. If a current disposal authority does exist, it is possible that only an implementation project is required.

• Use the existing Archives New Zealand General Disposal Authorities to check if any of the records being appraised are already covered.
• Also check Archway for existing disposal authorities for the records being appraised, or a recent precedent (i.e. within the last 10 years), which may help guide your current project.
• Refer to section 7.7 of the Appraisal Standard and section 7 of the Guide to Preparing an Appraisal Report for a Continuing Disposal Schedule for guidance.
• For any questions concerning existing disposal authorities, or the relevance of any precedents, please contact Archives New Zealand’s Appraisal Section at:

Email: appraisal@archives.govt.nz
Fax: 04 4956210
Phone: 04 4995595
Post: Manager, Appraisal
Archives New Zealand
PO Box 12 050
Wellington, 6144

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4. Determine Appropriate Disposal Criteria

Establish a set of criteria which outline the value of the records being appraised and underpin the disposal decision. This framework is critical for providing justification and assurance to the Chief Archivist on the quality of the retention and destruction recommendations.

Records that have value beyond the period of their usefulness to the public office and should be retained as public archives can be grouped into 2 categories:

1. Evidential.
2. Informational.

Records that have short-term value to a public office and can be destroyed when no longer needed by the public office can often be grouped into 3 overlapping categories:

1. Administrative.
2. Fiscal.
3. Legal.

It should be noted that the Public Records Act 2005 does not override other legislative requirements or legal obligations to retain records.

Some records of administrative, fiscal and legal value may also be of evidential and/or informational value, and warrant permanent retention as archives.

• Refer to section 8 of the Appraisal Standard and section 7 Guide to Preparing an Appraisal Report for a Continuing Disposal Schedule for guidance and examples.

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5. Evaluate the Records Against Disposal Criteria

Records fall into 3 categories – those easy to appraise because they have obvious permanent value; those easy to appraise because they have obvious short-term value; and those in-between that are difficult to appraise.

• At this stage of an appraisal process, it can be useful to identify and utilise any in-house experts. Using the existing resources and expertise within the public office could significantly assist in determining the appropriate value of the records, especially in relation to current and future use.

To assist in determining whether records are of permanent value as archives, consider:

• How significant is the source and context of the records?
  • Are the records vital to the function(s) of the public office?
  • If the records were lost, could the information be recovered from other sources?
  • Do the records document the development of policy, procedure or precedents?
  • Do the records show important aspects of the public office, for example, origin, organisation, and/or organisational change?
  • How often are the records used?
• How significant are the records for documenting accountability?
  • Could the records be used as evidence of legal rights or obligation on the part of the public office or a person?
• How significant are the records for research?
  • Are the records a source of information for current or anticipated research into historical, technological, sociological, or genealogical issues?
• Is the information unique?
  • Are the records the only or the most complete source?
  • Permanent retention of duplicate information can be avoided by comparing similar records created at different organisational levels.
• Do these records serve as a finding aid or are they related to other permanent records?
  • Within reason, records that significantly contribute to the meaning or value of other records identified as being of permanent value are more likely to also warrant retention.
• How usable are the records?
  • How does the way the records were gathered, organised, presented, or used in the course of business affect their usability?
  • Do technical considerations or the physical condition of the records affect their usability?
• What are the cost considerations for long-term maintenance of the records?
  • This should only be considered in marginal cases where the anticipated research potential of the records should be balanced with the resource implications of retaining them permanently.
• Do the records have intrinsic value in beauty, rarity or general interest?
  • Do the records have special aesthetic or artistic qualities?
  • Do the records have unique, curious or historical features or formats?
  • Do the records have value for public relations, exhibition or display purposes?

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6. Determine Specific Retention Periods and Trigger Points

After the records have been evaluated, the public office needs to decide how long it will continue to manage the records before they are transferred to Archives New Zealand or destroyed. This is called the retention period.

When determining the retention period, consider:

• What is the business use for keeping the records for a longer, rather than shorter period of time?
• What are the legislative requirements for retaining the records?
• What are the organisational audit requirements for retaining the records?
• What is the organisational risk of no longer having access to the informational content of the records?

Any conflicting requirements for retention can be resolved by choosing the longest retention requirement.

The retention period needs to be combined with a trigger point. This is the point from which the disposal action is taken.

This may be expressed in 2 ways:

1. A cut-off period after records are created and/or closed, for example, "Transfer to Archives 10 years after last date on file".
2. A fixed period after a predictable event, for example, "Destroy 6 years after end of financial year".

For a one-off appraisal, it is possible that the records have already been retained beyond any business or legal requirement. In such cases, inclusion of a retention period and trigger point is not necessary.

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7. Consider Other Stakeholders

Archives New Zealand advocates that the rights and interests of all stakeholders should be considered as part of the appraisal process. Stakeholders include the management and business units of the public office, its clients, other public offices, internal advisory groups, and community stakeholders. Community stakeholders include advocacy or interest groups, or experts who have a particular interest in the public office's records.

Experts within the public office, especially those who are involved with the creation and use of the records, may be of assistance in making or reviewing recommendations regarding potential long term value to the community.

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8. Draft an Appraisal Report

A report containing the information discovered in steps 1-3 and documenting the recommendations in steps 4-7, should be prepared.

• Refer to Archives New Zealand's Appraisal Standard and Guide to Preparing an Appraisal Report for a Continuing Disposal Schedule for assistance.

A disposal list or disposal schedule should also be prepared to accompany the report.

• Refer to Archives New Zealand's Appraisal List Template and Disposal Schedule Template and Explanatory Notes for assistance.

Electronic and hard copies of the appraisal report and disposal list or disposal schedule should be sent to the Appraisal Section for review against the Appraisal Standard prior to it being submitted to the Chief Archivist for consideration.

Contact details:
Manager, Appraisal
Archives New Zealand
PO Box 12 050
Wellington, 6144
Email: appraisal@archives.govt.nz