Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

What Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga does

Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga is the statutory national archives and information management regulator of New Zealand, operating under the Public Records Act 2005 as a Crown entity within the Department of Internal Affairs. Its mandate has two integrated components: (1) regulatory oversight of information and records management across the entire New Zealand public sector — including government departments, Crown entities, district health boards, tertiary institutions, state schools, and local authorities — through a mandatory Information and Records Management Standard, scheduled compliance audits, and disposal authorisations; and (2) preservation of and public access to the national archival collection of government records dating from 1840 to the present, including constitutional taonga such as He Whakaputanga, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and the Women's Suffrage Petition. The organisation is led by the Chief Archivist (Poumanaaki) and operates from four regional offices in Wellington (national headquarters and the new Te Rua archival building), Auckland, Christchurch, and Dunedin, with 84 employees.

The core technology platform is the Collections search online portal (collections.archives.govt.nz), which provides digital discovery, account creation, and pre-ordering of archival holdings, integrated with RealMe identity authentication. Supporting tools and services include the Information Management Maturity Assessment (used in regulatory audit preparation), the Government Loans Service (enabling public sector organisations to borrow transferred archives under Section 24 of the Act), the Ask an Archivist research assistance service, the Utaina audiovisual heritage preservation programme, and the Film Preservation Lab. The business model is government appropriations-funded; incidental transaction fees apply to the Government Loans Service ($62 per item beyond a 10-item weekly free quota, $25 per half-hour research) and ancillary services such as exhibition borrowing. There is no commercial revenue stream; the entity is publicly funded and does not have external shareholders. Go-to-market is a sales-led regulatory engagement model with the public sector, complemented by public access through reading rooms and the online portal.

Name

Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Legal name

Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Website

https://archives.govt.nz

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Archives New Zealand is the statutory national archives and information management regulator of New Zealand, operating under the Public Records Act 2005 to audit public sector recordkeeping and preserve the national archival collection since 1840. It serves the entire NZ public sector, local authorities, and public researchers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Archives and Public Records Management

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (51921), Public Administration (92), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121)

akta.pro primary industry

National Archives, Records & Information Governance (BPAIAAAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Archives, Special Collections & Preservation Operations (Rare Materials, Conservation) (EDAEAGAJ), Archival Preservation & Conservation (Handling, Storage, Environmental Controls) (MPADAMAF), Public Media Archives, Libraries & Content Preservation (MPABADAL), Cultural Heritage Institutions (Archives, Historic Houses, Monuments Foundations) (THAJADAI)

Keywords

• Government archives services
• Public records management
• Archival preservation
• Government records regulation
• Information management audit

Headquarters

HQ city

Wellington

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Government appropriations and regulatory services: Archives New Zealand is a Crown entity under the Department of Internal Affairs, primarily funded through government appropriations. Its core regulatory and archival functions are publicly funded.
2. Government Loans Service fees: Fees charged for government loans of public archives beyond free quotas, urgent loans, research services, and overdue/lost item charges. Standard loans are $62 per item beyond the 10 free per week; urgent loans are $62 per item; research is $25 per half hour.
3. Reading room access and exhibition services: Free in-person access to reading rooms for viewing archives. Fees may apply for exhibition borrowing (Borrowing for exhibitions service) and preservation advisory services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga is the New Zealand government's national archives, operating under the Public Records Act 2005. It preserves and provides access to public archives dating from 1840, regulates information and records management across public offices and local authorities, and operates the Collections search online portal, Government Loans Service, four regional Reading Rooms, archival preservation services, and the Ask an Archivist research advisory service.

Product overview

Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga operates as New Zealand's national archives, providing a platform of interconnected services for government records management and public access. The core offering includes the Collections search web portal for discovering and accessing records, the Government Loans Service for temporary borrowing of archives by public offices, and physical Reading Rooms across four locations. Supporting services include the Ask an Archivist research assistance, the Information Management Maturity Assessment tool for regulatory compliance, and preservation services including the Film Preservation Lab. The organisation also operates major programmes like Utaina for audiovisual heritage preservation and maintains He Tohu digital exhibitions. All services operate under the mandatory Information and records management standard issued under the Public Records Act 2005.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Collections search Online search portal enabling users to find and access government records held by Archives New Zealand from 1840 to the recent past, with account creation, advanced search, and pre-ordering of records for reading room viewing.
• Government Loans Service Service enabling registered public sector organisations to temporarily borrow transferred public archives from Archives New Zealand for administrative use under Section 24 of the Public Records Act 2005, with registration, request processing, loan management, and return procedures.
• Reading Rooms Physical facilities in Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch, and Dunedin where researchers and public sector staff can access original archives in person, with Saturday access available at the Wellington location.
• Ask an Archivist Research assistance service allowing members of the public and researchers to submit questions to professional archivists about research topics, record types, or how to access specific archives.
• Information Management Maturity Assessment Self-assessment tool for public offices and local authorities to evaluate their information management practices against Public Records Act 2005 requirements and the mandatory information and records management standard, used in audit preparation.
• Preservation and Disaster Recovery Services Expert advisory service providing guidance on preservation and disaster recovery for archives, including advice on caring for physical records, environmental conditions, and emergency response procedures.
• Film Preservation Lab Specialised laboratory for preserving and restoring motion picture film in the national collection, part of the 80-year National Film Unit heritage programme.

Quantifiable outcome

• The 2026 Survey of public sector information management runs from 3 to 21 August 2026, covering the entire New Zealand public sector.

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• National Library of New ZealandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchives New Zealand and the National Library share a combined leadership under the Department of Internal Affairs. They share a new heritage campus (Te Kahu) in Wellington and have implemented shared reading rooms at Te Puna, National Library. The two institutions collaborate on exhibitions such as He Tohu and jointly occupy the new archival building Te Rua.
• Association of Local Government Information Management (ALGIM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerALGIM has developed the Information Management Toolkit endorsed by the Chief Archivist. The toolkit provides disposal guidance for local authorities. Archives New Zealand references and directs local authorities to this ALGIM resource for information management best practice.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Library and Archives Canada: Canada's combined national library and archives institution, managing government records of historical value and providing researcher access — directly comparable to Archives NZ in scope, mandate, and service mix.
• The National Archives (UK): The UK's official national archive, providing public access to central government records and offering similar services to Archives NZ — reading rooms, online catalogue (Discovery), regulatory guidance on records management, and statutory preservation mandate.
• National Archives of Ireland: Ireland's national archive, holding government and historical records with research access and government advisory functions — directly comparable to Archives NZ in mandate, scale and service delivery.
• National Archives and Records Administration (NARA): The US federal national archives agency with statutory mandate to preserve government records, regulate federal recordkeeping, and provide public access — directly analogous to Archives NZ's role for the New Zealand public sector.
• National Archives of Australia: Australia's national archive, holding Commonwealth government records and providing research access, government services, and a national collection — a direct regional peer with similar statutory function and operational model.
• Public Record Office Victoria (PROV): Victoria state archive in Australia; Archives NZ explicitly adapted its IM3 Information Management Maturity Assessment tool from PROV. Provides archival storage, government records standards, and public access for the Victorian public sector.

Broad incumbents

• National Library of New Zealand: Domestic peer institution under the same Department of Internal Affairs; shares Te Kahu heritage campus and He Tohu exhibition with Archives NZ. Together they provide complementary national heritage and information services.
• State Library of New South Wales: Australian state library with significant heritage collections and public reading rooms; comparable as a regional government heritage institution that combines library and archival-style services for researchers.

Emerging players

• National Film Unit (New Zealand) heritage programme: Operated within Archives NZ itself but conceptually adjacent to standalone audiovisual preservation entities like Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision; the 80-year NFU heritage programme represents an audiovisual-specialised peer capability.

Regional players

• Singapore National Archives: National archive of Singapore with statutory mandate to preserve government records and provide public access; comparable in function but operating in a different geographic and policy context.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ArchivesNZ
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/archivesnz
• Facebookfacebook.com/ArchivesNewZealand
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/archives-new-zealand

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga