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.

  • 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.  

  • Integrity doesn’t stop at the border

    News article
    Issue date:
    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

    News article
    Issue date:

    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 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.
  • International Right To Know Day coming up on 28 September

    News article
    Issue date:

    Information Access Commissioners and Ombudsmen from across Australia and New Zealand are urging government agencies to do more to make information available for the benefit of citizens.

  • Ombudsman Quarterly Review - Winter 2019

    News article
    Issue date:

    Our newest OQR is out. In this issue:

  • 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.

  • Awareness of whistleblowing legislation alarmingly low

    News article
    Issue date:

    Public awareness of the Protected Disclosures Act (PDA) is very low, according to research undertaken on behalf of the Ombudsman.

  • New guides – Commercial withholding grounds and consulting third parties

    News article
    Issue date:

    The Chief Ombudsman has published a new tranche of guidance on the OIA. There are two new guides on the commercial and negotiations withholding grounds and one guide on how the OIA applies to information about public tender processes.

  • Chief Ombudsman welcomes new Oranga Tamariki role

    News article
    Issue date:

    Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier is welcoming the opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of children and young people within the state care and youth justice system.