Cabinet Manual

General

8.100 Ministers may deposit their ministerial records with Archives New Zealand or other approved repositories under the Public Records Act 2005 while they are in office or when they leave office. Depositing records in this way:

  1. ensures secure storage;
  2. ensures agreed access arrangements are monitored;
  3. allows for the records to be made available for research (on conditions agreed with the Minister);
  4. allows the Minister ongoing access to the records.

8.101 If a Minister dies without having made arrangements for the disposition of his or her official papers, Archives New Zealand will discuss with the Minister's family the lodging of, and access to, the papers.

8.102 Generally speaking, public archives of 25 years and over are open to public access. Cabinet records are presently deposited with Archives New Zealand under special arrangements defined in an exchange of letters between the Chief Archivist and the Secretary of the Cabinet.

Setting conditions for public access to ministerial records

8.103 When depositing ministerial records, the Minister and the Chief Archivist agree on the conditions of access to those records.

8.104 The Minister may wish to allow public access to the ministerial records deposited, and is able to place conditions on that access. When setting conditions of access to ministerial records deposited with Archives New Zealand, Ministers should ensure that the conditions of access reflect the sensitivity of the information and are no less robust than those conditions that would otherwise govern access to that documentation if it were held by another entity that is subject to the Official Information Act 1982. The Chief Archivist is subject to the Ombudsmen Act 1975 and is therefore obliged to ensure that the conditions of access to official documentation are reasonable.

8.105 Ministers who have agreed to allow public access to the ministerial records in accordance with paragraph 8.104 will also be involved in assessing any requests for access to those records. Further details on the procedure to be followed are set out in paragraph 8.110.

8.106 If Ministers choose to deposit ministerial records with an institution other than Archives New Zealand, they are requested to ensure that the access conditions concerning their papers are similar to those set out in paragraph 8.104.

8.107 Ministers may wish to deposit non-ministerial records with Archives New Zealand. There are no special factors that Ministers need to take into account when agreeing conditions of access to such records with the Chief Archivist.

Assessing requests for public access to ministerial records

Records deposited by current Ministers

8.108 The most appropriate route for the public to seek access to official information is to make a request under the Official Information Act 1982 to the relevant Minister or department. For that reason, where a request is received for access to ministerial records deposited at Archives New Zealand by a current Minister, the request will be transferred to the relevant Minister for a decision, on the basis that the information is more closely connected to that Minister. (See section 14(b)(ii) of the Official Information Act 1982.)

Records deposited by former Ministers

8.109 The most appropriate route for the public to seek access to ministerial records associated with a former administration is to make a request under the Official Information Act 1982 to the relevant current Minister or department.

8.110 Where Archives New Zealand receives a request for access to a former Minister's ministerial records deposited at Archives New Zealand, the Chief Archivist will allow access only in accordance with the access conditions agreed with the Minister. If the Minister has set access conditions that mirror the process set out in the Official Information Act 1982 (see paragraph 8.104), the following process will apply:

  1. Archives New Zealand will liaise with the former Minister (if required by the former Minister's access conditions), so that the relevant papers can be identified;
  2. with the former Minister's consent, Archives New Zealand will liaise with the relevant department about granting access to ministerial records. The relevant department will assess the documents, applying the principles set out in the Official Information Act 1982;
  3. the Chief Archivist will liaise with the Secretary of the Cabinet about the outcome of the assessment of the documents;
  4. the Cabinet Office will advise the Prime Minister of the request and, where access is sought to documents of a previous administration not currently in government, the Leader of the Opposition;
  5. the Chief Archivist will advise the former Minister as to whether or not there appears to be good reason for withholding access to any of the documents;
  6. the final decision as to whether or not access will be granted to the ministerial records will rest with the former Minister concerned.

8.111 With the agreement of the former Minister, special arrangements may be entered into from time to time to provide bona fide researchers with access to ministerial records deposited with Archives New Zealand in a timely manner. The Chief Archivist will liaise with the Secretary of the Cabinet, the relevant department(s), the Prime Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition (if required) about appropriate access arrangements for bona fide researchers.