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Public Records Act 2005

Recordkeeping requirements - Standards, inspection, reporting, and audit

35A: Action plans

You could also call this:

"Improving Record Keeping: Making Action Plans"

Illustration for Public Records Act 2005

The Chief Archivist can ask a public office to make an action plan to improve its recordkeeping. You will know what to do because the Chief Archivist will send a written notice to the public office. The notice will say what the action plan must achieve and when it must be done. The public office must make a draft action plan and send it to the Chief Archivist for approval. When the plan is approved, the public office must follow it and make it available on their website. The Chief Archivist can change the plan if needed. If you want to know more about the law that allows the Chief Archivist to ask for an action plan, you can look at section 174 of another law. The Chief Archivist gets this power from the Responding to Abuse in Care Legislation Amendment Act 2025. This law was changed on 25 October 2025.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1539330.

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35: Audit reports, or

"Reports on how well audits were done"

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35B: Performance notice, or

"The Chief Archivist sends a notice to fix recordkeeping problems and report back."

Part 2Recordkeeping requirements
Standards, inspection, reporting, and audit

35AAction plans

  1. The Chief Archivist may, by written notice to a public office, require the public office to prepare and carry out an action plan relating to any of its recordkeeping practices.

  2. A notice given under subsection (1) must specify—

  3. the recordkeeping practice (or practices) that the action plan must address; and
    1. the outcomes sought; and
      1. the time within which a draft action plan must be prepared.

        1. A public office that receives a notice under subsection (1) must comply with it by preparing a draft action plan within the time specified in the notice and submitting it to the Chief Archivist for approval.

        2. When the Chief Archivist has approved an action plan, the public office must—

        3. implement it in accordance with its terms, unless or until the Chief Archivist directs otherwise; and
          1. make the plan available on an internet site maintained by or on behalf of the public office.

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            Notes
            • Section 35A: inserted, on , by section 36 of the Responding to Abuse in Care Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 57).