General Disposal Authorities (GDAs) provide a continuing authority for the disposal of records which are common across public offices. They specify retention periods for series or classes of records and note those which may be destroyed and those which must be retained as public archives.
We have developed General Disposal Authorities (GDAs), and a G10: Guide to Implementing a Disposal Schedule, to manage ongoing records disposal across the New Zealand Public Sector. These Authorities cover:
Public offices may use a GDA without requiring any further authorisation from the Chief Archivist. Please note that a GDA does not cover records that relate to a public office’s primary duties and responsibilities. Before applying a GDA, public offices will need to ascertain which of their records reflecting primary duties or responsibilities fall outside its scope.
If your office already has a current and authorised disposal authority relating to the same classes of records as covered by any GDA, then you should use your existing authority rather than the record classes contained in the GDA. If your office wants to use a GDA in preference to an existing disposal authority, then advice on applying for the Chief Archivist’s approval to amend or revoke the existing authority can be requested from rkadvice@archives.govt.nz.
If your office is not covered by a current and authorised disposal authority, then the GDAs are your disposal authority for the record classes they cover.
For further information, please contact the Appraisal Section at rkadvice@archives.govt.nz.