What is a Disposal?
Contents
Disposal Authority
General Disposal Authorities
Disposal Actions
Under the Public Records Act 2005, no-one may dispose of any public (i.e. central government) record without authorisation from 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 some other archiving institution.
1. Disposal Authority
A disposal authority is a formal legal permission from the Chief Archivist to dispose of public records. It shows:
- what is to be done with the record or group of records (the authorised action);
- when the action is to take place and what is the shortest amount of time you need to keep a record;
- which records are covered by the authority.
Disposal Authorities, and decisions about what to do with records, have to meet the requirements of the Public Records Act 2005
The broad criteria for determining disposal are:
- Accountability – does the record hold a government organisation accountable for its decisions and actions?
- Evidential value – does the record provide evidence of the origins, structure, functions and activities of government, and of private and public rights?
- Legal requirements – is there a legal need to keep the record for a set period or forever?
- Historical or general informational value – is the record relevant to the historical and cultural heritage of New Zealand, or New Zealanders' sense of their national identity?
- Other considerations – this may include the physical characteristics of the record including completeness, physical condition, cost of retention, scarcity, or monetary value.
If you don't know if your public office has a disposal authority for particular records, contact Archives New Zealand.
Back to top
2. General Disposal Authorities
Archives New Zealand issues General Disposal Authorities (GDAs) to help public offices decide what to do with certain records. The current GDAs cover:
- Human Resources and Personnel Records
- Financial and Accounting Records
- Housekeeping Records
- Administration and Corporate Services Records
Public offices are authorised to deal with these types of records according to the recommendations of these GDAs.
For more information, see the Guide to Implementing a Disposal Schedule.
Back to top
3. Disposal Actions
The Public Records Act 2005 says you can dispose of records by:
- transferring control of the public record to another public office;
- transferring control of the public record to the Chief Archivist;
- altering or destroying the public record;
Note: Altering a public record includes making any change, for example changing, annotating, or deleting record metadata or information on file.
- selling the public record;
Note: While selling the record is a possible disposal action, it is only likely to be permitted in exceptional circumstances.
- discharging the public record.
This means canceling the status of a public record, for example where personal records are given back to the people the record is about.
See also:
If you have any questions about disposal, please contact Archives New Zealand on (04) 499-5595 or rkadvice@archives.govt.nz
Issued March 2003/Revised June 2006
Back to top