A quiet revolution
A quiet revolution
Jan 01, 05: From typewriters and triplicate to the electronic era, Hazel Dobbie, of Archives NZ, takes us through the biggest change to records management legislation across the Tasman in almost half a century.
Improving the standard of government recordkeeping-that's the aim of New Zealand's Public Records Bill. The proposed Bill will replace the 47 year-old Archives Act and bring the legislation into the electronic age.
Parliament's Government Administration Select Committee is scheduled to hear oral submissions and consider over 40 written submissions from the public consultation process when it meets in February. The Bill, incorporating any changes made, will then be debated in Parliament and it's anticipated that it will be passed later this year.
"Good recordkeeping is the focus of the Bill," says Dianne Macaskill, Archives New Zealand's Chief Executive and Chief Archivist. "It's important because it improves management and democratic accountability, contributes to our national identity and enhances public confidence in the integrity of public records."
Over the past 50 years there have been significant administrative, legal and technological changes which have eroded the current Act. The Bill provides for new forms of government agencies and new technologies, and clarifies the interface with official information and privacy legislation.
Change of focus
But the bill isn't just a 'catch-up' stresses Greg Goulding, Acting Group Manager of Government Recordkeeping.
"It reflects a blue-sky approach and the outcome is a new focus and a new framework."
"The old Archives Act focused on the custody of records of long-term value; but the Public Records Bill shifts the focus to the effective management of all public records."
The cornerstones of this new recordkeeping framework are:
• Records will be created and maintained in an accessible manner;
• Disposal (ie the transfer, sale, alteration, destruction
or discharge) can only occur with the authority of the Chief Archivist;
• The Chief Archivist controls and ensures preservation of records of long-term significant value;
• The recordkeeping framework is transparent to both government and society.Core provisions
Essentially the Bill introduces three new requirements, clarifies who and what is covered under the scope of the Bill, and tightens disposal provisions.
Standards are introduced-both mandatory and voluntaryas well as guidelines, to put benchmarks in place to ensure that recordkeeping outcomes are met. Draft standards will undergo robust consultation with all stakeholders before they are finalised and rolled out."Continuum, Archives' recordkeeping programme and website, will deliver the tools to enable agencies to achieve and maintain a high standard of recordkeeping," says Greg Goulding.
A further core and new requirement is for public agencies to create and maintain records which are available and accessible over time, reflecting the emphasis on good recordkeeping.
To ensure compliance, the Bill introduces independent audits of each government agency every 5 to 10 years. The Chief Archivist will also report to Parliament each year on the outcomes of the audits and the overall state of recordkeeping. Archives New Zealand is planning a survey this year to establish a benchmark. The auditing provision will be rolled out five years after the legislation is enacted to give agencies the opportunity to reach standards.
"These provisions have been welcomed by the recordkeeping community who say it will support and strengthen their role," adds Goulding.
Who & what's covered?
Most of the submissions on the bill have focused on which public offices will be covered. The Bill clarifies the scope as all activities in which the Crown has an interest. It's proposed to include: the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government; agencies and their branches; departments; all crown entities which includes tertiary institutes and universities, boards of trustees of state schools, and district health boards.
Local government records are included but the Bill proposes a less prescriptive framework whereby local authorities retain control of and provide access to their records and need to meet the standards for government recordkeeping.
Archives New Zealand's Chief Executive Dianne Macaskill says, "Local authorities won't be audited but could be inspected by the Chief Archivist to ensure compliance with standards. Local government will be able to dispose of records without the authorisation of the Chief Archivist unless they are specifically protected."
The Bill also clarifies what information is covered. Records are defined as any information that is compiled, recorded or stored in any format. Public records are defined as "records that are created or received by a public office in the conduct of its affairs".
Public comment on disposals
The Bill continues the current disposal regime, where disposals can only occur with the authority of the Chief Archivist. It also provides for the mandatory transfer to Archives New Zealand at 25 years unless otherwise agreed to defer transfer or destroy records.
It introduces public input on disposal recommendations, i.e. for the destruction or long-term preservation of specific public records. The public will be able to inspect and comment on authorisations before they're actioned by the Chief Archivist.
New access regime
All records of 25 years or older will be classified as either open or closed (i.e. restricted) access, regardless of where the records are held. This will occur earlier if the records are held by Archives New Zealand.
Dianne Macaskill says the Bill guarantees the public's right to free inspections of open access records. Access to restricted records will be determined by the Official Information Act or other relevant legislation.
New Archives Council
A new body, the Archives Council, is proposed under the Bill. The seven members will be required to have special knowledge and qualifications and two must also have knowledge of tikanga Maori. A similar body was set up under the recent amendment to the National Library Act.
The role of the Archives Council will be to:
• Provide advice to the Minister on archives and recordkeeping matters;
• Make recommendations on appeals by public office against the decisions of the Chief Archivist about standards, transfers, deferrals etc;
• Advise the Minister on disposal recommendations for Archives New Zealand's own records, to ensure that no Chief Executive is able to make decisions about the disposal of their own business records.
• Archives New Zealand has been preparing for the enactment of the Bill and is working to ensure that it can successfully implement the new provisions and demonstrate best practice. A comprehensive training plan is also being developed to provide leadership on the Bill and to offer training options for those responsible for, and working with, archives and records.
Macaskill adds: "We're committed to ensuring we take the archives and recordkeeping sector with us. We want to ensure that they feel informed and able to contribute to and participate in the process. We want them to be able to make a smooth and successful transition to the new legislation and achieve its goal-good recordkeeping."
Further information
The text of the Bill is available at http://www.knowledgebasket.co.nz/gpprint/docs/bills/20041891.txt.
To monitor the status of the Bill, checkout Archives New Zealand's website at http://www.archives.govt.nz/about/legislation.html
Or contact policy@archives.govt.nz policy@archives.govt.nzRelated Article: