Te tauākī porowhiu

Disposal statement

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This Statement outlines a set of guiding principles your public sector organisation can use to appropriately manage disposal of information and records.

What disposal is

Systematically managing information and records through lawful disposal is an important part of effective information and records management. In the context of information and records, disposal means a range of processes or actions associated with implementing appraisal decisions. These decisions are documented in disposal authorities or other instruments. They include:

• retention of information and records

• transfer of information and records

• destruction of information and records.

Transfer may also include the transfer of ownership or the transfer of custody of information and records.

This Statement is written for 3 key groups:

• public sector organisations —  to meet statutory obligations and support business needs.

• external stakeholders — who want to know more about the disposal of information and records.

• Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga Archives New Zealand staff — tasked with ensuring that disposal is managed appropriately.

Under the Public Records Act 2005 (the Act), the Chief Archivist has a legislative responsibility to the government and citizens of New Zealand to provide an integrated framework for the systematic:

• creation

• management

• disposal, and

• preservation

of public sector information and records (including data). The Act provides regulatory tools to assist and support your public sector organisation to achieve voluntary, full and sustained compliance. Through our use of these tools — and our regulatory activities — we:

• enable government to be held accountable

• enhance public trust in the integrity and reliability of central and local government information.

Good information management practices are key to building this accountability and trust.

Our mandate under the Act

The purposes of the Act in section 3 include enabling the New Zealand Government to be held accountable by:

• ensuring that full and accurate information and records of the affairs of central and local government are created and maintained, and

• providing for the preservation of, and public access to, records of long-term value.

Also, under section 11(1) of the Act, the functions of the Chief Archivist, in achieving these purposes are:

(a) to exercise a leadership role in recordkeeping in public offices and in the management of public archives in New Zealand; and

(b) in relation to public records, -

(i) to authorise the disposal of public records.

Under section 18 of the Act:

(1) No person may dispose of, or authorise the disposal of, public records or protected records except with the authority of the Chief Archivist, given in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the disposal of a public record or a protected record is required by or under another Act.

To ensure your organisation disposes of information and records in a managed and appropriate way, it’s important to establish some guiding rules or principles.

Authorised

Disposal of all public and protected information and records must be authorised by the Chief Archivist. The chief executive or equivalent of your organisation is responsible for ensuring that any disposal implementation is conducted:

• in a lawful manner, and

• in accordance with business and legal requirements.

Documenting when and why any disposal has occurred also demonstrates your organisation’s transparency and compliance with statutory obligations.

Coverage

All information and records to be disposed must be covered by a current and authorised disposal authority — regardless of the format or systems in which they are maintained. This includes information and records relating to:

• current functions undertaken by your organisation — including those of any predecessors

• functions and activities previously undertaken by your organisation or its predecessors where such information and records still exist, and

• outsourced functions and activities.

It’s important that any relevant disposal authorities are reviewed whenever legislative or government policy change may affect the regulatory environment, and where there are changes of structure or function.

Planned

Disposal of information and records must be:

• planned

• regular, and

• integrated into your organisation’s business processes and programs.

This not only enables your organisation to meet its statutory obligations. It also supports the effective and efficient use of resources such as storage capacities, equipment and staff.

You should formally document how and when you’ll dispose of information and records. At a minimum, this plan should cover:

• endorsement of the disposal implementation including internal endorsement

• disposal methods for physical and digital information and records, and

• disposal frequency.

Timeliness

Information and records must be disposed of in a timely manner. While information and records should not be destroyed while there’s still a need for them, it’s also important not to keep them longer than necessary.

Keeping information and records for longer than required exposes your organisation to risks of cost, efficiency, and reputation.

• The costs of maintaining, accessing and preserving information and records are significant.

• Systems that manage information and records work less efficiently if they contain too much information and records. This makes it harder and more time-consuming to find those needed to carry out business functions and to enable accountability.

• Not disposing of information and records responsibly and on time puts your organisation at risk of non-compliance and increases the risk of inappropriate access or release.

Secure

You must implement any disposal of information and records using secure methods. This is to protect the content, ensuring it’s not inadvertently released or lost. The authorised destruction of information and records — including all copies and versions — must be irreversible and complete.

You must also ensure that the authorised transfer of information and records to us, an approved repository or another organisation is undertaken using secure methods. This is to ensure the information and records are not:

• damaged

• lost

• stolen, or

• accessed unlawfully.