New Zealand’s Information and Records Management Standard: Supporting Integrated, Accountable Practice
The Information and Records Management Standard (16/S1), issued by the Chief Archivist, is the foundational framework for managing information and records across the New Zealand public sector. Designed to support both digital and physical formats, the Standard reflects the reality of today’s complex business and information environments.
Replacing multiple earlier standards, 16/S1 consolidates best practice guidance into three core principles:
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Organisations are responsible for managing their information and records through governance, strategy, and leadership.
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Information and records management must support business, with systems designed to manage high-risk and high-value information across all environments.
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Information and records must be well managed—created, maintained, and disposed of reliably, accessibly, and securely, in line with legal and business needs.
The Standard sets clear compliance requirements, with supporting guidance on topics such as digital transition, metadata, outsourcing, and long-term preservation. Local authorities and approved repositories also have additional instructions related to physical storage and protection of archives.
Organisations are encouraged to assess their maturity using tools like the Information Management Maturity Assessment to identify improvement areas.