You have a legal right to access records made about youLearn about your rights to access records and the limited lawful reasons why you might not get access to records. You may also be able to request records about your whānau.
Archives New Zealand (Archives NZ) is New Zealand’s national archive and holds records from government and public institutions, dating back to around 1840.
Some records held by Archives NZ are restricted. This means permission is needed from the relevant government agency (called the controlling agency) to access the records. For example, you would contact Oranga Tamariki if you wanted access to child welfare records in Archives NZ’s collection.
The process for accessing restricted records is simpler if you request your records directly from the government agency, instead of Archives NZ. Find out how to request your records from government agencies.
We prepared this guidance with information received from Archives NZ.