14 November 2017
Archives New Zealand, Mulgrave Street, Wellington
Phone +64 499 5595
Ross Francis
Website
www.archives.govt.nz
fyi-request-6765-
www.dia.govt.nz
[email address]
Dear Mr Francis
Official Information Act Request Ref: 17/18-0145
Thank you for your request for official information from Archives New Zealand, received on
Monday 30 October 2017.
You have asked:
“The Audit of the Ministry’s record keeping has failed to identify some fundamental
and important gaps in our recordkeeping systems and processes. The audit is
promoted by Archives New Zealand as a value-adding activity that wil provide a gap
analysis of our current recordkeeping capability against Public Record Act
requirements and standards. The audit, however, has failed to accurately identify
areas for improvement by overstating the current level of the Ministry’s compliance.”
What fundamental and important gaps in the Ministry’s recordkeeping was Ms
Wakefield referring to? What advice and or recommendations (if any) did Archives
provide the Justice Ministry in response to Ms Wakefield’s concerns? Please provide me
with copies of all internal and external communication, including any discussion of Ms
Wakefield’s concerns among any Archives’ employees, in regards to these questions.
This includes information held in the minds of officials.
The fundamental and important gaps in the Ministry’s recordkeeping Ms Wakefield was
referring to are set out in her email to Marilyn Little, dated 17 April 2015, provided to you
on 26 October 2017. These were:
• 5.1.1 “Records management requirements are identified in business processes and
functions”
• 5.2.1 “Records are captured routinely, documents and organised according to the
organisation’s business requirements”
• 5.3.3 “Disposal authorities are mapped to systems that create and maintain records”
The response from Marilyn Little, dated 23 April 2015, was provided to you on 26 October
2017. No other documents on this issue are held.
link to page 2
The member of staff who led the Ministry of Justice audit no longer works for the
Department of Internal Affairs. Other staff who were involved or had an oversight of the
audit process recalled that the Ministry were anticipating a harsher audit report that they
hoped would support their efforts to obtain a new electronic document management
system. No further information on this issue is held.
Schedule A sets out the documents which fal within the scope of your request, together
with my decision on release. This includes the rating changes tables, which were released to
you in our response dated 26 October 2017 as part of bundle 2014-0808.
Information on security details and the provider and location of the Ministry's off site
storage provider is being withheld under section 9(2)(ba)(i) of the Official Information Act,
to protect information which is subject to an obligation of confidence. I do not consider that
the public interest in this information outweighs the withholding of it.
You also requested:
Please note that in Archives’ reply to me dated 26 October 2017, some documents
supplied referred to meetings that were held which were attended by Archives’
employees. However, I have not been given a copy of any notes from these meetings.
Were notes created? If so, please forward all information that Archives holds about
these meetings, which may have been held in 2014 and 2015.
[A]ll such records, including records of any other meetings or phone calls between
Archives and the Justice Ministry in regards to recordkeeping in 2014 and 2015
A search of our records has been undertaken. No meeting minutes were recorded at any of
the meetings referred to in the documents released to you on 26 October 2017, nor were
any file notes made for telephone calls made or received by Archives staff in relation to the
Ministry of Justice audit. It is Departmental practice to record minutes where information of
note or actions resulting from meetings is required. Had any minutes or file notes been
required as a result of those meetings and phone calls, these would have been recorded.
Under General Disposal Authority 7, calendar invites to meetings do not need to be retained
as they are considered transitory records.
1 All existing information on these meetings has
been released to you in our response 26 October 2017.
As mentioned above, the staff member who led the audit of the Ministry of Justice has since
left the Department of Internal Affairs and is therefore unable to provide any recollection on
the discussions held at these meetings. We recommend you contact the Ministry of Justice
for any minutes they may have created from these meetings.
1 https://records.archives.govt.nz/resources-and-guides/general-disposal-authority-7/
Page 3 of 3
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision.
Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz
or Freephone 0800 802 602.
Yours sincerely
Richard Foy
Acting Chief Archivist
Archives New Zealand
Page 3 of 4
Schedule A: Documents released to Ross Francis under the Official Information Act 1982
# Name of document
Document Summary of contents
Release or withhold
date
1. Ministry of Justice - Client
December Self-assessment completed by the Ministry of Justice
R
Report (A816476)
2014
2. Non-Judicial Authorities -
December Self-assessment completed by the Ministry of Justice
R
Client Report (A816014)
2014
3. Ministry of Justice -
December Report prepared by audit reviewer
Information about security withheld under s
Reviewers Report (A816477) 2014
9(2)(ba)(i)
4. Non-Judicial Authorities -
December Report prepared by audit reviewer
R
Reviewers Report (A816518) 2014
5. Non-Judicial Authorities -
January
Review of the alignment of MoJ’s self-assessment’s ratings
Identification of offsite storage location/provider
Desktop Review Findings
2015
with the documentary evidence provided
withheld under s 9(2)(ba)(i)
(A819312)
6. Ministry of Justice - uploading April 2015 Spreadsheet of al questions, self-assessment response and
Information about security and identification of
into CSAA (A830649)
evidence gathered through audit process for uploading to
offsite storage location/provider withheld under
Client Self-Assessment Application
s 9(2)(ba)(i)
7. Non-Judicial Authorities -
April 2015 Spreadsheet of al questions, self-assessment response and
Information about security and identification of
Audit findings for uploading
evidence gathered through audit process for uploading to
offsite storage location/provider withheld under
(A832772)
Client Self-Assessment Application
s 9(2)(ba)(i)
8. MoJ - Rating changes
April 2015 Table outlining ratings changes from self-assessment to
Information about security withheld under s
completion of audit
9(2)(ba)(i)
9. Non-Judicial Authorities -
May 2015
Table outlining ratings changes from self-assessment to
R
Rating Changes
completion of audit
Page 4 of 4
