Official Information requests over the 2024/2025 holiday period
When a person makes a request for official information, the agency generally must respond to the request as soon as reasonably practicable, and no later than 20 working days after the request is made.
Over the holiday period, however, there is a three week period where the days are not counted as ‘working days’.
For Official Information Act (OIA) requests, that period is 25 December 2024 to 15 January 2025, inclusive. That means the maximum time limit for responding to OIA requests made from 27 November 2024 may run into the new year. The Ombudsman’s OIA calculator can show you the latest date for a response.
For Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA) requests, the period is 20 December 2024 to 10 January 2025, inclusive. This may affect LGOIMA requests made from 22 November 2024, or from 21 November 2024 for agencies observing Chatham Islands or Westland anniversary dates. The LGOIMA calculator can show you the latest date for a response.