ACCESS STANDARD

1. > INTRODUCTION

This Standard sets out principles and requirements for provision of access to public archives – that is, public records under the control of the Chief Archivist – and to local authority archives. It is a recommended code of best practice developed by Archives New Zealand to ensure consistently high standards for provision of access, and to support the protection of records through control of access. The Standard aims to guide interpretation of regulatory requirements, and to promote professional best practice.

In provision of access to records, it is necessary to balance the interests of users in access to information with the need to protect records to ensure their ongoing preservation. Access providers must also uphold legal and other requirements by withholding access to certain records. Decisions on access should be a result of balancing these interests.

Advice on implementation of this Standard is available from Archives New Zealand.

1.1. > PURPOSE

Access to government archives aims to support:

Accountable decision-making;
Effective public participation in government;
Collective memory; and
People's freedom to 'seek, receive and impart information'.

The principle that government information should be made available unless there is good reason to withhold it is stated in the Official Information Act 1982, the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987, and in the Public Records Act 2005.

The Access Standard is the Chief Archivist's guidance as to how provisions in the Public Records Act relating to access should be supported in practice. It furthers Archives New Zealand's strategic goals of improving access to the record of government, and of setting and maintaining high quality standards.

1.2. > SCOPE

The Standard applies to 'archival access', that is access to public archives and local authority archives. Public archives are public records which are no longer held by a public office, and have been transferred to the control of the Chief Archivist. Local authority archives are local authority records which have been in existence for 25 years, or are no longer in current use by the local authority.

The Public Records Act provides for these archives to be made available to the public, unless they are classified as 'restricted access' records.

The Standard is intended to apply to records in all media without exception. It encompasses various means of accessing records, whether on-site or online.

The Standard applies to:

Public archives held by Archives New Zealand;
Public archives held by approved repositories; and
Local authority archives.

The Standard does not apply to:

Other records held by Archives New Zealand such as parliamentary records, Ministers' papers, or private records;
Public records still held by public offices (access subject to the Official Information Act 1982, the Privacy Act 1993 or other relevant legislation); or
Local authority records that have not yet become local authority archives (access subject to Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 and Privacy Act 1993).

1.3. > ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS HELD UNDER DEFERRED TRANSFER AGREEMENTS

Public records which are more than 25 years old will normally be held by Archives New Zealand. However, public offices may hold public records which are more than 25 years old under an agreement to defer transfer. These records must be classified as 'open access' or 'restricted access'. If classified as open access records, these records must be available for inspection free of charge. If these records are restricted, access conditions or restrictions must be specified and entered in Archives New Zealand's public access register.

1.4. > AUDIENCE

The Access Standard is aimed at those responsible for providing access to public archives and local authority archives. Management and access service staff in the organisations covered in the above scope will be responsible for upholding particular requirements of the Standard.

The Standard outlines the rights, responsibilities and needs of all groups regarding access. In particular it aims to provide for Māori interests and cultural practice, given the Public Records Act's support for the spirit of partnership and goodwill envisaged by the Treaty of Waitangi. It should be of assistance to users of records who want to understand the underlying principles and requirements governing archival access.

1.5. > Structure

The Standard is structured around principles that should be taken into account for the provision of archival access to records. Each principle comprises:

a statement of its objective;
an explanation of why it is necessary and how it could be implemented; and
a set of minimum requirements.

A summary of the principles is given in section three.

The minimum requirements for each principle are brought together as a checklist in section five, to provide a simple mechanism for measuring compliance with the minimal provisions of the Standard.

In most instances, the principles in this Standard are at a high level of generality, in order to allow flexibility for implementation in different situations. Additional guidance is provided through recommendations for further reading in section seven. It is expected that the Standard will be supported with more detailed guidance on key issues through supplementary tools.