Archives New Zealand (Māori: Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga) is New Zealand's national archive. As the government's recordkeeping authority, it administers the Public Records Act 2005 and promotes good information management throughout government.
History
Establishment In 1954, the First National Government's cabinet approved the establishment of a national archive and the office of a chief archivist, and the drafting of enabling legislation. The Archives Act 1957 established the National Archives within the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA). It also gave the chief archivist the power to approve the disposal of official records and to require the transfer of records to the National Archives after 25 years. The Archives Act also affirmed public access to the National Archives. While the National Archives were established in 1957, they were preceded by the Dominion Archives and the former war archives at the Hope Gibbons building in Wellington.
Expansion and legislative entrenchment In 1977, an amendment to the Local Government Act 1974 extended limited protection to local government archives. For the first twenty years, the National Archives had to contend with inadequate storage and staffing. Following Wilfred I. Smith's report, the Government took steps to address those issues, the headquarters moving into the 1966 4-storey building of the former Government Printing Office on Thorndon Quay in 1990. The National Archives' legal position was further entrenched by the passage of legislation such as the Ombudsmen Act 1975, the Official Information Act 1982, and the State Sector Act 1988.
In 2000, the National Archives was separated from the Department of Internal Affairs and renamed as Archives New Zealand.
In 2005, the Fifth Labour Government passed the Public Records Act 2005 to deal with digital archives and the creation of state-owned enterprises. The Act also greatly expanded the role of Archives New Zealand and the powers of the Chief Archivist, and established the Archives Council to advise the Minister responsible for Archives New Zealand. The organisation now has a leadership role for recordkeeping throughout central and local government.
Reintegration under Internal Affairs, 2011–present In 2011, Archives New Zealand and the National Library of New Zealand were merged back into the Department of Internal Affairs. Until February 2011 Archives New Zealand had been a separate government department.
In 2018, the Christchurch office moved to a new location in Wigram near the Air Force Museum of New Zealand.
The New Zealand Archivist Vol 3 No 1 pages 5–10 includes a comprehensive history of archives in New Zealand.
In December 2020, the DIA confirmed that Archives NZ along with the National Library and Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision would move to a proposed purpose-built business park called the Horowhenua Business Park in Levin at an unspecified future date.
In February 2022 Internal Affairs Minister Jan Tinetti, Archives NZ chief archivist Stephen Clarke and Māori iwi (tribe) Taranaki Whānui Te Āti Awa confirmed that the Government would build a new archives building on the site of the former Defence House on Wellington's Aitken Street between the present Archives NZ and National Library buildings. The new NZ$290 million building will have 19,300sqm of lettable area and is expected to open in 2026. It will host archives repository and specialist facilities for Archives NZ, the National Library and Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision.
On 9 May 2024, Archives NZ halted its digitisation programme which had commenced seven years ago, citing the programme's time-limited funding. The disestablishment of the digitisation programme is expected to cause the loss of three permanent jobs and some fixed time positions. Historian Vincent O'Malley described the termination of the digitisation programme as "a devastating blow."
Facilities The national office for Archives New Zealand is in Wellington. It also has offices in Auckland, Christchurch, and Dunedin.
Te Rua
A new $290 million national archives facility named Te Rua was completed in Wellington in July 2025. The new facility, which began construction in 2022, has a greater capacity to house the country's rapidly growing archival collections and to maintain and protect collections during incidents such as power outages and earthquakes. Its design has been created with te ao Māori worldview in mind, with design agency Tīhei and Māori sculptural artist Rangi Kipa working alongside architects Warren & Mahoney to "connect the building to the land it sits on and acknowledge the tūpuna who lived there before".
The Department of Internal Affairs worked alongside Fund Managers AMP Capital Ltd to build the new Archives facility with construction partners, LT McGuiness.
List of Chief Archivists Sources Secretary of Internal Affairs exercised Chief Archivist powers (1957–1962) Michael Standish (1962) John Pascoe (1963–1972) Judith S. Hornabrook (1972–1982) Ray F. Grover (1981–1991) Kathryn Patterson (1991–1998) Chris Hurley (Acting) (1998–2000) Lyn Provost (Acting) (2000–2001) Dianne Macaskill (2001–2009) Greg Goulding (Acting) (2009–2011) Greg Goulding (2011–2014) Marilyn Little (2014–2017) Richard Foy (Acting) (2017–2018) Richard Foy (2018–2020) Stephen Clarke (2020–2022) Anahera Morehu (Acting) (2022–2023) Anahera Morehu (2023– )
The position of Director of National Archives and Chief Archivist were held simultaneously since late 1982.
Organisation Archives New Zealand has four units:
Regional & Access Services; Archives Management; Government Recordkeeping; and Māori & Community Archives.
Functions Archives New Zealand:
manages the Public Records Act 2005 and works with government agencies to administer the Act; makes sure records of government decision making are created and those of long-term value, including digital, are transferred into its care; provides recordkeeping advice and information to government agencies; makes public archives accessible to government departments, other organisations and the public; manages the public archives in a protected and secure environment; and provides leadership and support for archival activities across New Zealand. Material was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Information and Records Management Standard
Archive information and records management standards are of the utmost importance as it ensures consistency of delivery for organisations utilising Archive NZ's services. For Archives New Zealand, they act as underpinning principles for their purpose of collecting, preserving, and providing access to records which hold historical, legal and cultural significance. Under section 27 of the Public Records Act 2005, the Chief Archivist of Archives New Zealand holds this responsibility and has issued such standards. To issue a standard, the Chief Archivist must make a copy of the draft available and have a process in place to communicate with every public office, approved repository, local authority and any other person considered to be impacted by or interested in the proposed standard.
These standards support and establish how Archive NZ can manage their information and records systematically and efficiently. It outlines the obligations of Archives NZ and other regulated organisations under the Public Records Act and sets out the minimum level of compliance that these organisations must meet. ‘Records are considered to be any information, regardless of form and format, from documents through to data’. Alongside this, they are also used as evidence of business activity and information assets. They also include metadata which is managed as a record.
The standard also supports the rights of Māori, under the Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti o Waitangi to access, use and reuse any information and records that are taonga.
Information and records are key strategic assets for the public sector. Therefore, managing information and records appropriately is important in various different ways for Archives NZ including enabling the public to hold the government accountable; helps any organisations plan for and achieve their objectives; gives information to support informed decision making; outlines individual responsibilities; documents individuals and different groups entitlements; encourages collaboration and communication; facilities groups to be creative and also ensures that important public knowledge is available for research, discovery and reuse.
With these important factors to consider, all information and records should be:
trustworthy and managed accountably readily accessible, understandable and usable valued as critical to business operations part of an organisation's approach to risk management maintained to meet business, government and community purposes
Regulatory role and powers Archives New Zealand are the regulators of all information created by the public sector in New Zealand. Their regulatory role is to ensure information is created and managed to a high standard, to ensure transparency and accountability and support the rights and entitlements of New Zealand citizens.
In order to execute this role, Archives New Zealand are granted several directive powers. Their regulatory tools include:
Direction to report: A report back order issued by the Chief Archivist to organisations with record keeping practices that arise concern. Inspection: The inspection of public records, local authority records and local authority archives by the Chief Archivist if information management issues have arisen within public offices or local authorities. Audit: Audits are regularly carried out by independent auditors in order to determine the health of information management in the public sector. Issuing of penalties: It is an offence under the Public Records Act to willfully or negligently damage, dispose of, or destroy any public record, unless it is authorised under by the Chief Archivist. Archives New Zealand can impose penalties on individuals or organisations that do not comply with the PRA. Persons convicted of an offence may also be trespassed from Archives offices and services.
Archives Council Te Rua Wānanga The Archives Council Te Rua Wānanga is an unincorporated body established under the Public Records Act 2005. It provides independent advice to the Minister responsible for Archives New Zealand on recordkeeping and archives matters, including those for which tikanga Māori is relevant.
The Archives Council meets four times a year to discuss archival and record keeping matters. The Council reports directly to the Minister on its functions during the preceding year. The Minister, as soon as practicable, presents the report to the House of Representatives. Material was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The Archives Council's reports to the Minister are available on Archives New Zealand's website.
Holdings
Archives New Zealand holds more than 7 million New Zealand government records dating from the early 19th to the early 21st century. Records held include the originals of the Treaty of Waitangi, government documents, maps, paintings, photographs and film.
Significant holdings include:
the archives of the New Zealand Company; the New Zealand Parliament's archives; commissions of inquiry documents; most higher court records; archives of government agencies; New Zealand Defence Force archives. the National Film Unit Weekly Review and Pictorial Parade archives; audiovisual weekly news bulletin archives dating between 1941 and 1971, which were included as an entry on the UNESCO Memory of the World Aotearoa New Zealand Ngā Mahara o te Ao register in 2011.