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Under the Public Records Act, all public offices – including schools – must have approval of the Chief Archivist before disposing of records. The approval is called a disposal authority.
This lists types of information produced by the public office, rules about how long the information must be kept, and what then happens to it.
School records covered by the retention and disposal schedule under the Act are:
- student records
- governance
- personnel
- finance
- property
- administration
- school history.
Public Records Act 2005 – New Zealand Legislation
Record management information for schools
The school records retention and disposal schedule information pack below outlines:
- how to create records
- what records must be kept, including online records like emails or social media, and text messages
- how to properly store records, including digitally
- how long your school must keep records for
- how to properly dispose of records.
School records – retention and disposal scheduleWhat records cannot be disposed of
Your school's register of admission, progress and withdrawal must be kept permanently.
Other school records must eventually be sent to Archives New Zealand. Your school can contact them for guidance on this.
If your school closes or merges with another school
If your school is closing, your records must be properly managed. Your change manager will be given a copy of the disposal and retention schedule. They are responsible for making sure your school records are sent to your regional office.
If your school is merging with another school, you must contact your regional office for guidance on how to manage school records.
Record-keeping changes
If there are changes to the school record-keeping and disposal process, we will let you know via the Bulletin.
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