Does the Minister, or any member of their office, hold or store any official information relating to their portfolio or ministerial duties in private or personal email accounts, and if so, what steps are being taken to ensure that information is captured and retained in accordance with the Public Records Act 2005? and 1 other question

Answer

As Prime Minister, I can confirm my office relies upon policies and procedures on information management produced by the Department of Internal Affairs. The Department of Internal Affairs has a strict policy on information management and supporting procedures. This includes guidance on appropriate email management. Each employee of Ministerial Services is provided with a work email through which work activities should be conducted. The deliberate use of any personal email account to conduct work activities is not permitted. On the rare occasion this does occur out of justifiable necessity, the rules as set out in the Public Records Act 2005 still apply. I can confirm that Ministerial Services have reiterated expectations that if any work related material is held on a personal email account that it is to be reviewed and placed on the public record. It is my expectation that all staff working in Ministers’ offices will follow the Department of Internal Affairs’ policy and supporting guidance.