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Rongo kōrero

See the latest news and announcements.

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  • New guide—The OIA and the Inquiries Act 2013

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    The Inquiries Act 2013 provided a new framework for the conduct of public and government inquiries into matters of public importance.

    But there has been some uncertainty about how it interacts with the Official Information Act (OIA).

  • Case note on treatment of disabled mother and removal of newborn child

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    A case note released today looks into a complaint about Child, Youth and Family, which became Oranga Tamariki – Ministry for Children, removing a five-day-old child from their autistic mother.

  • Invitation: disabled people's experiences during COVID-19

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    The Independent Monitoring Mechanism (IMM) is writing a report about disabled people’s experiences during the COVID-19 emergency.  

  • Ombudsman Quarterly Review Autumn 2020

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    Issue date:

    Our latest OQR is out. In this issue:

    how our Office responded to lockdown COVID-19 inspections of prisons and care homes complaints resolution—avoiding a backlog Chief Ombudsman’s term renewed.
  • Independent oversight to ensure the rights of disabled people are upheld during the COVID-19 pandemic

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    The Independent Monitoring Mechanism (IMM) is made up of the Disabled People’s Organisations’ Coalition, the Human Rights Commission and the Ombudsman.

  • New case notes released today

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    Some interesting OIA issues are covered in new case notes published by the Chief Ombudsman today.

  • Chief Ombudsman’s term extended for five years

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    Parliament has agreed to extend Peter Boshier’s appointment  as Chief Ombudsman for another five years.

    In the Chamber, the Leader of the House, Chris Hipkins highlighted Mr Boshier’s efforts to resolve complaints in a timely way.

  • COVID-19: The duty to document does not cease in a crisis, it becomes more essential

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    The Chief Ombudsman joins his international counterparts in their call for documentation, preservation and access to information as governments, businesses and citizens deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.  

  • Integrity doesn’t stop at the border

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    A Memorandum of Understanding signed this week sets out how the New Zealand and Thai Ombudsmen will work together for good governance, integrity and human rights across the Asia and Pacific regions.
  • Chief Ombudsman releases new case note on chief executive remuneration

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    The Chief Ombudsman has published a new summary of his investigation into the State Services Commission (SSC)’s decision to withhold information about public service chief executive remuneration.

  • OIA calculator back online

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    The OIA calculator is back online.

    Thank you for your patience while we addressed the issues in the previous version.

    OIA calculator

  • OIA and LGOIMA requests over the holidays

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    By law, when you ask an agency for official information they have to respond to your request as soon as reasonably practicable and no later than 20 working days after they got it.
  • New complaints handling research announced

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    We’re helping with research by the University of Newcastle Australia into the benefits of good complaints handling in public sector organisations.

  • Changes to the LGOIMA, including ‘working day’ definition

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    Changes to the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA) which came into effect on 21 March 2019 will affect ‘working day’ calculations for LGOIMA.

  • Message from the Chief Ombudsman - 19 March 2019

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    Last Friday’s attacks in Christchurch have shaken us all to the core.

    To the people of Christchurch and to all those who have lost loved ones, my thoughts are with you. Kia kaha.

  • New guide – Publicly available information

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    Issue date:
    Read our new guide on the publicly available refusal grounds.