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Public Records Act 2005

Recordkeeping requirements - Estray records, prescribed records, protected records, Ministers’ papers, and private records - Prescribed records

38: Prescribed records

You could also call this:

"Records the Minister says are specially important"

Illustration for Public Records Act 2005

The Minister can declare a record as a prescribed record. You need to know this is done through a notice in the Gazette. The Chief Archivist recommends this. The Minister cannot declare a record as prescribed if it is already a public record. This also applies to public archives and local authority records. These are controlled by the relevant authorities. If you have a prescribed record, you can transfer it to Archives New Zealand. You can also transfer it to an approved repository, a public office, or a local authority. The Chief Archivist will direct you where to transfer it. If you want to transfer the record to someone else, you must follow some rules. You must give the Chief Archivist the chance to buy the record first. You must also tell the other person that the record is prescribed. The Chief Archivist keeps a register of prescribed records. They must note the status of each prescribed record in this register, as stated in section 19(1)(c). If the status of a prescribed record is revoked, the Chief Archivist will notify you. They will also record the change of status in the register. This is done to keep track of the record's status.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM345762.

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Part 2Recordkeeping requirements
Estray records, prescribed records, protected records, Ministers’ papers, and private records: Prescribed records

38Prescribed records

  1. The Minister may, for the purposes of this Act, by notice in the Gazette made on the recommendation of the Chief Archivist, declare that a record is a prescribed record, or 1 or more classes of records are prescribed records.

  2. Subsection (1) does not apply if the record is—

  3. a public record under the control of the controlling public office; or
    1. a public archive under the control of the Chief Archivist; or
      1. a local authority record, or a local authority archive, under the control of the controlling local authority.

        1. A notice must describe the record or class of records to which the notice applies.

        2. A person who possesses a prescribed record—

        3. may transfer the prescribed record to the possession of Archives New Zealand, an approved repository, a public office, or a local authority as directed by the Chief Archivist:
          1. must not transfer the prescribed record to any other person unless that person—
            1. has first given the Chief Archivist the opportunity to purchase the prescribed record on behalf of the Crown; and
              1. before transferring the prescribed record to another person, has informed that other person that the record is a prescribed record.

              2. The Chief Archivist must note the status of a prescribed record in the register of prescribed records, in accordance with section 19(1)(c).

              3. The Chief Archivist must—

              4. give written notice to the holder of a prescribed record if the status of the record as a prescribed record is revoked; and
                1. record the change of status in the register of prescribed records.