Film reel on briefcase

Whakaputua mai Deposit with us

Find out more about depositing material with Ngā Taonga. Kick-start the process by filling out the Collection offer webform.

Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision collects, preserves and provides access to material and taonga of cultural, social and historical significance to Aotearoa New Zealand. See What we collect for more information about our collecting aims and services for depositors.

To offer material (including Te Māngai Pāho funded content), please complete the Collection offer form below. Our specialists will contact you to discuss your offer and advise you whether your material meets our selection and acquisition criteria.

Deposit hiatus

We currently have a hiatus on receiving new collection material (except for Te Māngai Pāho funded content). The hiatus is partly to support our focus on Utaina, an urgent project to preserve over 300,000 Crown collection items on at-risk magnetic media before 2025. It also provides us an opportunity to reduce our archival backlogs and refine how we acquire collections, so we can ensure timely approaches to collecting decisions and processing deposits.

If you have material you hope to deposit with us in the future, we invite you to fill out the Collection offer form below. We will use this information to contact you once our collection hiatus lifts and we are ready to assess new deposits. If you are depositing Te Māngai Pāho funded content, please complete the Collection offer form and we will be in contact shortly.

Collection offer form

If you are depositing material funded by Te Māngai Pāho, please email tmpdeposits@ngataonga.org.nz for a Collection Offer Form instead of filling out this web form.

Please tell us about the material you would like to offer.

Depositing FAQs

Is it free to deposit with Ngā Taonga?

Yes. We provide collection management services and climate-controlled storage free of charge. However, we ask depositors to cover transport costs for delivering material to us and returning material we do not select, or later deselect from our collection. If your material has been digitally preserved, we can supply you copies at no cost, but preservation on demand is charged as per our pricing guide.

Can I just drop off my material at the front desk?

Please do not deliver material without discussing it with us first. We have a carefully managed process for receiving material and unplanned drop-offs put the material at risk of being misplaced or damaged. After receiving a Collection offer form and completing a Deposit agreement with you, we will arrange a time for your material to be safely delivered.

Can I get back material I deposit?

Yes. Ngā Taonga provides an archival service for your material but you remain the owner. You can withdraw your material at any time, either temporarily or permanently.

Will Ngā Taonga digitise my material?

We endeavour to digitally preserve our collection to make our audio-visual taonga more accessible, now and for future generations.  However, digital preservation is resource-intensive and we cannot guarantee your material will be digitised within a certain timeframe. If you want your material digitised by a deadline, we offer preservation on demand services (see our pricing guide for more details), or you can temporarily withdraw the material to have it preserved by a commercial provider. See more advice here.

What is a Deposit agreement?

The Deposit agreement is a legal document that confirms the terms by which Ngā Taonga will care for your material. After receiving a Collection offer form an archivist will confirm if your offer fits our selection criteria, we will then be in touch to draft a Deposit agreement with you. This includes documenting your contact details, assessing whether the material includes mātauranga Māori, identifying kaitiaki and copyright holders and agreeing appropriate access conditions. After we have completed a Deposit agreement, we will contact you to coordinate delivery of your material.

Can other people access my material?

Only with your permission. Our goal is to provide New Zealanders access to audiovisual taonga. However, we also understand some taonga may need access restrictions for reasons such as licencing embargos or cultural conditions. Therefore, our Deposit agreement includes a grant of rights, where you can tell us what access is appropriate for your material, including conditions relating to Ngā Taonga sharing the material (such as in our online collection) and third-party use (such as a documentary-maker re-using your footage).