Open main menu Close main menu

News

Rongo kōrero

See the latest news and announcements.

You can also subscribe to our newsletters to get updates in your inbox.

  • It’s your Right to Know

    News article
    Issue date:

    Today is International Right to Know Day.

    As New Zealand’s Chief Ombudsman, it is one of the most significant dates in my calendar.

  • Final opinion on Taihape Area School’s complaint over its farm

    News article
    Issue date:

    Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier has recommended the Ministry of Education apologise to the Taihape Area School community and board of trustees over its handling of a farm that was bought by the former Taihape College and local community.

  • Ombudsman Quarterly Review Winter 2021

    News article
    Issue date:

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

    In this edition:

  • Chief Ombudsman’s statement on official information response times during COVID-19 lockdown

    News article
    Issue date:

    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 working in accordance with Alert Level 4 regulations

    News article
    Issue date:

    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.

  • MIQ complaints fact sheet

    News article
    Issue date:

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

  • Contrasting results for two mental health units operating side by side

    News article
    Issue date:

    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.

  • New case note: Board of Trustees decision to expel student on basis of gross misconduct not justified

    News article
    Issue date:

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

  • Ombudsman Quarterly Review Autumn 2021

    News article
    Issue date:

    Our latest OQR is out.

    In this issue:

  • Final opinion on HDC complaints

    News article
    Issue date:

    An opinion by the Chief Ombudsman has found that the handling of three separate complaints by the former Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) was unreasonable.

  • First full inspection of Māngere Refugee Resettlement Centre

    News article
    Issue date:

    The Chief Ombudsman has released his report on an unannounced inspection of Māngere Refugee Resettlement Centre under the Crimes of Torture Act 1989.

  • Ombudsman marks New Zealand Sign Language Week with new resources

    News article
    Issue date:

    Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier has released a series of New Zealand Sign Language resources to coincide with the start of New Zealand Sign Language Week 2021, today.

  • New case note—information about COVID-19 clusters

    News article
    Issue date:

    The Chief Ombudsman has published a case note on a complaint about a request for information about the names of COVID-19 clusters linked to cases in the Bay of Plenty District.

  • New guidance—the OIA’s confidentiality withholding ground

    News article
    Issue date:

    The Chief Ombudsman has published a new guide today on the OIA’s confidentiality withholding ground.

    The OIA says that information must be made available unless there is a good reason not to.

  • New privacy guide and case notes

    News article
    Issue date:

    The Chief Ombudsman has published a new guide today on the OIA’s privacy withholding ground.

    The OIA says that information must be made available unless there is a good reason not to.

  • New guide—The OIA and the Inquiries Act 2013

    News article
    Issue date:

    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

    News article
    Issue date:

    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

    News article
    Issue date:

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

  • OIA calculator back online

    News article
    Issue date:

    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

    News article
    Issue date:
    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

    News article
    Issue date:

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

  • Free and frank advice and the Official Information Act

    News article
    Issue date:
    How do we strike the right balance between enabling confidential consideration of free and frank advice, and enabling the public to access official information to support open government? Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier discusses in a new Victoria University Policy Quarterly article.