20 December 2010
Under the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993, the classifications issued by the old Office of the Chief Censor of Films (CCF) - over a period of nearly 80 years - are legally binding unless superseded by a new decision from the Classification Office.
Classification decisions are a matter of public record, and the Classification Office wants to make them publically accessible. In a project begun in September 2009 the Classification Office has been adding and updating records from the registers of the CCF in order to achieve this aim. When this work is completed, New Zealand will have a complete censorship database dating back to the 1920s.
What does this mean for your NZ Register of Classification Decisions searches?
Until this process is complete, we advise anyone searching for older film titles to contact the Information Unit. Please also let us know if you are unsure about any of the information on the records that you find.