News

Today the Chief Ombudsman has launched an online calculator that will make it easier for you, and local government agencies, to estimate the maximum timeframe for responding to an official information request.

Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier has issued the following statement on his consideration of complaints about the managed isolation and allocation system and border-related issues.

The Ombudsman Quarterly Review (OQR) for Winter 2021 is out.

In this edition:

Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier is reminding people making requests for official information, and agencies dealing with those requests, to be mindful of the need to act fairly, reasonably, and with understanding, during the latest nationwide COVID-19 lock

Ombudsman New Zealand continues to ensure fairness for all at this time.

The Chief Ombudsman and his staff are working remotely in accordance with Alert Level 4 regulations, and continue to accept complaints and enquiries.

The Chief Ombudsman investigates complaints about managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) facilities but he can’t always step in.

Two mental health inpatient facilities have yielded very different inspection results despite being run by the same District Health Board and being within metres of each other on the same hospital grounds, Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier says.

Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier has recommended Macleans College in Auckland apologise to a student it expelled following an incident involving a teacher in 2019.

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).

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.

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

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.

The OIA calculator is back online.

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

OIA calculator

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

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.