Founding Principle

Collaboration between and within agencies for the common good is fundamental to delivering E-Government benefits, especially those of open government, streamlined services and reduced cost.

1. Standardisation of policies within an agency and across agencies is beneficial to both the agency and to government as a whole.

2. Agencies must manage data and business documents in ways that are both deliberate and explicit, based on the adoption of relevant international and industry standards and guidelines.

3. Policies and standards should be straightforward and beneficial, applicable to any size of organisation and formulated to encourage good practice.

4. Data and business documents owned by the Crown are strategic assets.

5. Government agencies will be good corporate citizens, behaving responsibly with the data and business documents held by them.

6. Treaty obligations and cultural awareness issues pertain to data and document management.

7. Data and business documents will be publicly and equitably available and accessible unless explicit reasons preclude this.

8. Privacy and confidentiality of individuals and commercial interests will be protected.

9. Collection, use, retention and disposal of data and documents must be subject to legal and defined business requirements.

10. Data and business documents must be controlled, defined, and have integrity so that they are fit for the purpose of their collection.

11. Data and business documents should be collected or created once into a prime authoritative data source, then used many times.

12. Data and document management policies apply irrespective of storage medium.