Full scan needed under new rules

By RICHARD WOOD

Proposed regulations under the Electronic Transaction Act will require printed documents needing to be kept for tax reasons to be scanned into a computer system if the original is to be destroyed.

The proposal, put out for discussion by Information Technology Minister Paul Swain, changes an act provision allowing a document to be destroyed once the information on it has been entered into an electronic storage system.

Under this system, destruction of the original could result in loss of forensic information.

The change adds to a requirement to store all business-related email.

The act, passed last October, allows electronic communications to be used as a substitute for printed ones legally required by the Government under legislation.

It will come into effect 28 days after the regulations being proposed are finalised.

Another issue being addressed involves disclosure notices under the Credit Contracts Act and notices under the National Parks Act and the Conservation Act.

The proposal will require email recipients to formally agree that they will accept notices electronically.

Problems with changed email addresses and email not being checked are dealt with by regarding such notices as having been received after four days.

An IT archiving company executive says businesses appear to be unaware of the need to store electronic communications in a similar way to printed documents.

Vaughan Nankivell, sales manager for IT firm Convergence, said what needed to be stored was "anything that is a commitment as far as providing a transaction, that involves an offer or acceptance, legal advice, banking communications, and communications between company directors".

A widespread campaign was needed to get the message across, he said. Electronic communications archiving could be set up to happen automatically.

His firm had developed a system to improve handling of email. Under traditional email systems, emails could be detached, deleted and altered and could lose header information. This, Nankivell said, would be a problem under the new act.

Electronic Transaction Act