Tçnâ koe Andrew,

 

Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request
OIA2526-0225, received 24 August 2025.

 

You have requested:

 

“What guidelines has Archives New Zealand issued over the keeping of
public records when social media is used?

 

In the last 5 years, how many Ministers or government departments and
agencies been audited with respect to the keeping of public records of
social media postings?”

 

Te Rua Mahara o te Kâwanatanga Archives New Zealand will provide its
response to your request as soon as practicable and within twenty working
days. The 20th working day is 19 September 2025.

 

Please note that in cases where our response provides information that is
identified to be of general public interest, the response may also be
published on the Department of Internal Affairs website. If we publish the
response to your OIA request, all personal information, including your
name and contact details, will be removed.

 

Nâku noa, nâ
Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kâwanatanga |
[1]https://www.archives.govt.nz
National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mâtauranga o Aotearoa
| [2]https://natlib.govt.nz/

 

 

 

Archives New Zealand and National Library are a part of the Department of
Internal Affairs

 

 

References

Visible links
1. https://www.archives.govt.nz/
2. https://natlib.govt.nz/

Tçnâ koe Andrew,

 

I am writing to you regarding your email, received 24 August 2025,
requesting information under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).

 

You have requested:

“What guidelines has Archives New Zealand issued over the keeping of
public records when social media is used?

 

In the last 5 years, how many Ministers or government departments and
agencies been audited with respect to the keeping of public records of
social media postings?”

 

The information you have requested is publicly available, so your request
is refused under section 18(d) of the Act. We are providing links to the
publicly available information below.

 

Our guidance mentions social media in four places we’ve identified. The
guidance refers to records at a general level, since a record is defined
by the content relating to the activities of the organisation creating it
rather than the format. The guidance that mentions social media is
available to read on our website via the links below:

o [1]What is information and records management?
o [2]Public sector archival selection statement – Archives New Zealand
o [3]Text messages and other communications – Archives New Zealand
o [4]General disposal authority 7

 

There is also no specific audit activity focused on social media postings.
The audit uses the higher-level framework of the Information Management
Maturity Assessment (IMMA). An organisation may look internally at how it
manages social media in line with the requirements of the IMMA (i.e. Topic
10: Creation and Capture of Information) and the Information and records
management standard (the Standard). Both the IMMA and Standard are
available on our website.

 

As our audits only cover recordkeeping in public offices at a higher level
(including records as social media postings) we can provide the total
number of audits carried out so far in the last five years:

o 2020/21 – 30
o 2021/22 – 37
o 2022/23 – 27
o 2023/24 – 28
o 2024/25 – 4 complete, 19 to be finalised.

 

There have also not been any compliance cases in the last five years
concerning social media.

 

Audit reports and the audit schedule for the last five years are available
on our website via the links below:

o [5]Audit reports – Archives New Zealand
o [6]Audit schedule

 

Please contact us at [7][email address] if you have any questions
about this response.

 

Please note that in cases where our response provides information that is
identified to be of public interest, the response may also be published on
the Department of Internal Affairs’ website. If we publish the response to
your request under the Act, all personal information, including your name
and contact details, will be removed.

 

You have the right under section 28 of the Act to seek an investigation
and review by the Ombudsman of this decision. Information about how to
make a complaint can be found at [8]https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
or freephone 0800 802 602.

 

Nâku noa, nâ

Archives Library New Zealand

 

Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kâwanatanga |
[9]https://www.archives.govt.nz

National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mâtauranga o Aotearoa
| [10]https://natlib.govt.nz/

 

 

Archives New Zealand and National Library are a part of the Department of
Internal Affairs

 

References

Visible links
1. https://www.archives.govt.nz/manage-info...
2. https://www.archives.govt.nz/manage-info...
3. https://www.archives.govt.nz/manage-info...
4. https://www.archives.govt.nz/files/etfoy...
5. https://www.archives.govt.nz/manage-info...
6. https://www.archives.govt.nz/files/etfoy...
7. mailto:[email address]
8. https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
9. https://www.archives.govt.nz/
10. https://natlib.govt.nz/