Glossary

Accessibility over time

The Public Records Act requirement that records stay findable, retrievable, and usable for as long as they are kept, even as systems, staff, and formats change.

In practice

Accessibility over time is why where you save something matters as much as whether you save it. Records left only in an inbox, a personal drive, or an unsupported file format can become unreadable or unfindable as systems and staff change, so migrations must carry records and their metadata forward intact.

Frequently asked questions

What threatens accessibility over time?

Saving records only in personal mailboxes or drives, using proprietary or unsupported formats, and migrations that move content but drop metadata. Each makes a record harder to find, open, or interpret later.

See it in the register

Accessibility over time, in one connected register.

IAR turns terms like this into working practice: assets classified against your disposal authority, stewarded by position, and ready to evidence.