3.0 > DISPOSAL OF ALL RECORDS MUST BE AUTHORISED AND DOCUMENTED

3.1 > DISPOSAL OF SOURCE RECORDS MUST BE AUTHORISED IN ACCORDANCE WITH RELEVANT LEGISLATION AND DOCUMENTED

Original source records cannot be disposed of without first meeting the requirements of any relevant statutes. This Standard sets out mandatory requirements that will satisfy the Chief Archivist that the requirements of the Public Records Act 2005 and Electronic Transactions Act 2002 have been met.

The full list of mandatory requirements that will ensure that a digitised record provides a reliable means of assuring the maintenance of the integrity of the source record are set out in Appendix 1.

Once the mandatory requirements are met and compliance has been signed-off by the Chief Executive using the certification form in Appendix 2, then public offices can implement disposal actions under the General Disposal Authority: Digitised Original Source Records. By meeting the mandatory requirements established in this standard, a local authority organisation can be confident that it meets the requirements of s 25(1) of the Electronic Transactions Act 2002, and may then legally dispose of the non-digital form of the protected record and retain the record in electronic form only.

All decisions to dispose of source records and disposal actions MUST be documented and this information MUST be accessible and be produced on request. Authorisation for destruction and the instance of destruction of the original source record SHOULD be documented in the metadata associated with the digitised record. Disposal actions SHOULD be documented and authorised by the relevant authority in an organisation.

Digitised records MUST be (re)producible in their original format on request. Any person who requests information from an organisation is not obliged to accept it in electronic form without their consent, in accordance with section 16 of the Electronic Transactions Act 2002.

General Disposal Authority: Digitised Original Source Records

Public offices should note that the General Disposal Authority: Digitised Original Source Records includes exclusions and appraisal considerations before records can be routinely destroyed. (See the accompanying General Disposal Authority: Digitised Original Source Records document for full details of relevant records classes).

Summary of Exclusions

After being digitised, the following categories of records will NOT be authorised for disposal under the General Disposal Authority: Digitised Original Source Records (see accompanying document for full details):

• Records predating 1946;
• Source records digitised prior to the adoption of the Digitisation Standard, which do not comply with its requirements;
• Source records digitised in specific digitisation projects, where the source records are maintained in existing paper systems;
  or
• Items with significant intrinsic or cultural value, including items of high value to Māori. This category only applies where value is significant enough to warrant the extra expenditure of resources. It includes items with value due to their rarity, uniqueness or scarcity, artistic or aesthetic qualities, or items where notions of national or cultural identity require the original object as the true and correct representation.

Statement of criteria for disposing of digitised original source records

The accompanying General Disposal Authority: Digitised Original Source Records outlines the following criteria that public offices MUST consider when disposing of any digitised original source records:

• That the digitised record is an accurate and complete rendition of the original it replaces (including colour reproduction, where applicable);
• That appropriate quality assurance procedures and certifications for the digitising processes are defined, implemented and monitored routinely;
• That the digitised record is individually identified and linked to the context of its creation and use;
• That an appropriate management system is in place to ensure the ongoing business use of the digitised record;
• That the digitised record is relied upon in the normal conduct of business;
• That the necessary metadata about the digitised record is created and maintained;
• That the disposal program in place within the public office encompasses the business system(s) incorporating digitised records;
• That a migration and/or preservation strategy is defined, documented and implemented for electronic records, including digitised records;
• That legislative or regulatory requirements to maintain the records in a specific form are not breached;
• That no known or anticipated legal action will be imperilled by the destruction of the original; and
• That the risk of challenge to the authenticity and integrity of the digitised record has been assessed and considered and is acceptable to the organisation.

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3.2 > DISPOSAL OF THE DIGITISED RECORDS INCORPORATED INTO BUSINESS SYSTEMS MUST BE AUTHORISED AND DOCUMENTED

Where digitised records are incorporated into business systems as the official business record, they are regarded as the authentic 'official record' for evidential purposes. Digitised business records are subject to normal processes for disposal authorisations, established by the Chief Archivist under the Public Records Act 2005, in the same way as the original source records. A digitised record acting in place of an original source record MUST be retained for the authorised minimum period as established in the relevant disposal authority for the non-digital original source record. Once disposal is authorised, all extant copies of the digitised record SHOULD be destroyed (e.g. back-up copies). Authorisation of disposal of the digitised copy MUST be documented.

Disposal actions MUST be documented in the metadata associated with the record.