Hon Brooke van Velden
Minister of Internal Affairs

Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government is making changes to the Public Records Act, to improve the record-keeping practices of government agencies.

“These changes will allow the Chief Archivist to audit an agency more frequently where required and will also allow the Chief Archivist to work with agencies to put in place action plans and to issue performance notices to improve practice. This is especially important where an agency is identified as having low information management maturity”, says Ms van Velden.

The changes will also allow the Chief Archivist to review the processes for where records are created and where they are held, as well as allowing Archives NZ to conduct its own independent audits rather than using external auditors.

“Survivors frequently spoke of the importance of having access to their personal records during the Royal Commission of Inquiry. I know many survivors have faced challenges to accessing their records and many records of care that were kept were inadequate or inaccurate.

“These changes to the Public Records Act respond directly to the recommendations 81-83 of Whanaketia, the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, to have better documentation of individuals’ experience in care and retention of records.

The amendments are part of the Responding to Abuse in Care Legislation Amendment Bill which passed its first reading yesterday. The Bill includes a range of measures to address the recommendations of the Royal Commission.

“I am pleased to be making these changes to help improve record-keeping practices within government. It means that any issues with recordkeeping will be more quickly identified and support can be provided by Archives New Zealand to help address them.

“This will make a difference for survivors of abuse in care who want to access their records, as well as New Zealanders and their families who are in care or who may enter the care system in the future.”

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