know what information it holds
know where that information is kept
know that it can rely on accessing the correct version of information.
Archived collections and services are available to council staff, elected members and the public. Records can be searched via the archives database (which contains descriptions of more than 311,000 records) and viewed by visiting repositories in south, west, north and central Auckland.
The Government Chief Archivist has published a standard for the appropriate management of public sector records and information. This covers the:
creation and maintenance of records
classification and organisation of records
assignment of metadata to records and aggregations
provision of access to records
appraisal of records and disposing of them appropriately
maintaining the integrity of records
managing records systematically.
Council does not have to keep all the information it creates or hold it indefinitely. However, the council is obliged to take a systematic approach to records management.
There are more stringent requirements for material that is defined as a protected record [2], including agendas, minute books, records of senior management meetings and other key documents. This material must be archived for posterity.
In common with other entities, the council is also required to keep records for tax and employment purposes.
More information about our Corporate Records and Archives can be found here.