The purposes of this Act are—
to provide for the continuation of the repository of public archives called the National Archives with the name Archives New Zealand (Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga); and
to provide for the role of the Chief Archivist in developing and supporting government recordkeeping, including making independent determinations on the disposal of public records and certain local authority archives; and
to enable the Government to be held accountable by—
ensuring that full and accurate records of the affairs of central and local government are created and maintained; and
providing for the preservation of, and public access to, records of long-term value; and
to enhance public confidence in the integrity of public records and local authority records; and
to provide an appropriate framework within which public offices and local authorities create and maintain public records and local authority records, as the case may be; and
through the systematic creation and preservation of public archives and local authority archives, to enhance the accessibility of records that are relevant to the historical and cultural heritage of New Zealand and to New Zealanders’ sense of their national identity; and
to encourage the spirit of partnership and goodwill envisaged by the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi), as provided for by section 7; and
to support the safekeeping of private records.