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Guides
Commonly used guides include:
- The OIA for Ministers and agencies
- The LGOIMA for local government agencies
- Making official information requests: a guide for requesters
Detailed guidance on the official information legislation and aspects of good administrative practice.
We also have guidance on disability rights and protected disclosures.
Case notes and opinions
Case notes are a short case summary, often demonstrating an aspect of a case.
An Ombudsman's Opinion is published where there is public interest in showing the full details of a case.
Reports
Reports include OPCAT, disability rights, official information practice and systemic investigation.
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Contains our media releases, newsletters, pamphlets, speeches and fact sheets. Fact sheets are published in multiple language and accessible formats.
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This includes our annual reports and strategic intentions.
Projects, reference and data
This includes our official information complaints data, updates on investigations and other projects, and submissions by the Ombudsman.
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Template letters and work sheets
These template letters and work sheets can be used by agencies to help respond to official information requests.
1057 Resources Show all
Getting support and making a complaint in the Oranga Tamariki system
Pamphlets and postersA guide to advocacy, monitoring and complaints for tamariki (children), rangatahi (young people) and their whānau (family).Ombudsman Quarterly Review Summer 2024
Ombudsman Quarterly Reviews (OQR)The Ombudsman Quarterly Review for Summer 2024 is out now. In this issue:Inland Revenue refusal to provide tracing information for overseas borrowers justified
Case notesA complainant requested information from Inland Revenue about how it traces student loan overseas. Inland Revenue refused the request on grounds it would be contrary to the provisions of the Tax Administration Act.Waka Tangata: APOR E-news (December 2023)
Waka TangataISSUE 12: News and views from integrity organisations in the Pacific and AustralasiaProtected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2022 guide for Ministers
Protected Disclosures ActThis guide provides information and guidance for Ministers who may receive protected disclosures.Omission by Civil Aviation Authority to consider the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Case notesThe Chief Ombudsman received a complaint from Deaf Action NZ (a disability advocacy organisation) about the response of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to its November 2018 request to include New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) captions in airline-safety briefing videos.When to contact the Ombudsman about natural disaster insurance complaints
FactsheetsToka Tu Ake EQC provides natural disaster damage insurance for residential buildings and some residential land.Ombudsman Quarterly Review Spring 2023
Ombudsman Quarterly Reviews (OQR)In this issue the Chief Ombudsman calls for council workshops to be open by default; the Ombudsman’s new accessibility strategy; an overview of the Ombudsman’s engagements both locally and abroad; and a round up of the most popular guides on our website.Council decisions on new home’s code compliance certificate unreasonable
Case notesThe Council’s decision that it was homeowner’s responsibility to fix the non-compliance was unreasonable. The Council failed to maintain communication and did not propose suitable remedies.Request for official information about scholarship criteria framed as question
Case notesFailure by the Ministry of Education to respond to a request for official information within the statutory timeframe – Ministry did not process the request as an OIA request as Ministry considered that it required the generation of comment – OmbudsmComplaint from rangatahi about experience in care
Case notesThe Chief Ombudsman received a complaint from a young person who came into the care of Oranga Tamariki as an infant.Unreasonable omission by WorkSafe to adequately consider hazard mitigation for serious incident
Case notesComplaint concerning the adequacy of WorkSafe’s investigation into a serious choking incident at an early childhood service leaving a young child severely disabledOmbudsman Quarterly Review Winter 2023
Ombudsman Quarterly Reviews (OQR)The Winter 2023 Ombudsman Quarterly Review is out now. In this issue:Children in Care - published outcomes of complaints
Case notesRead some of the published outcomes of complaints in relation to Children in Care that the Chief Ombudsman has investigated:Our children in care complaint process – adult view
FactsheetsThis diagram shows how to make a complaint about Oranga Tamariki or one of its Care or Custody Providers.Our children in care complaint process – child view
FactsheetsThis diagram shows a simplified view of our complaints process, which is designed for children and young people in the Oranga Tamariki system.Waka Tangata: APOR E-news (June 2023)
Waka TangataWarm Pacific greetings from a cold and rainy Melbourne, where winter is fast approaching but, as with all Ombudsman offices large and small, in hot and cold climates, the work continues unabated.Ombudsman Quarterly Review Autumn 2023
Ombudsman Quarterly Reviews (OQR)The Autumn 2023 Ombudsman Quarterly Review is out now.Failure by Minister to respond to three OIA requests within the statutory timeframe
Case notesThe Chief Ombudsman dealt with three separate complaints in the second half of 2022 concerning delay by the Minister for Māori Development in responding to requests for official information under the Official Information Act.Request for information about vaccination certificates for domestic use
Case notesBackground On 9 October 2021, the New Zealand Council of Civil Liberties (NZCCL) sent a joint letter to the Minister for COVID-19 Response and the Prime Minister expressing concern about the civil liberties implications of the planned introduUnreasonable approach by INZ to the removal of the ability to support a Partnership Category visa for deemed perpetrators of family violence
Case notesIn 2018, the Ombudsman received six complaints from New Zealand citizens and residence class visa-holders about Immigration New Zealand’s (INZ’s) application of the Victims of Family Violence (VFV) visa category.Decision to decline a character waiver and associated visa application
Case notesImmigration New Zealand acted unreasonably in deciding not to grant a character waiver and in subsequently declining a visa application.Getting ready - Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Act implementation
FactsheetsThe Ombudsman is committed to being in a stronger position to consider complaints, investigate and monitor serious and significant issues. Read this factsheet to see how the Ombudsman has prepared for this role.Factsheet: Chief Ombudsman’s role examining and monitoring aged care facilities
FactsheetsNew Zealand has made an international commitment to make sure detained people are being treated in the right way and are living in a humane environment.Ombudsman Quarterly Review Summer 2023
Ombudsman Quarterly Reviews (OQR)In this issue: a first for a NZ Ombudsman at Waitangi, an illuminating piece from the architect of the Official Information Act, international news from integrity organisations in the Pacific and Australasia, new case notes and more.Omission by school board to follow due process before excluding student for gross misconduct
Case notesA student was suspended by the principal on the basis of ‘gross misconduct’ after bringing alcohol to school and sharing it with another student. The Chief Ombudsman investigated whether the board followed a reasonable process in relation to the suspension hearing, and whether the decision to exclude the student was sound.Exercise of discretion to refuse request for personal information not unreasonable
Case notesA complainant made a request for information about themselves that they believed had been provided to Inland Revenue (IR) by a third party. IR provided a summary of the information it had received but refused to provide a full copy of the information, or details of who provided it.Determination of ineligibility for publicly funded healthcare was wrong
Case notesComplaint about a determination by the Ministry of Health that a person was ineligible for publicly funded healthcare as they did not meet the time criteria prescribed in the Health and Disability Services Direction 2011.Waka Tangata: APOR E-news (December 2022)
Waka TangataWaka Tangata: APOR E-News
Waka TangataBiannual news and views from integrity organisations in the Pacific and AustralasiaOmbudsman Quarterly Review Spring 2022
Ombudsman Quarterly Reviews (OQR)The Spring 2022 Ombudsman Quarterly Review is out now. It includes Govt agencies receive OIA report card, Oranga Tamariki’s “litany of failures” in Malachi Subecz case, Ombudsman’s disability rights role featured at the UN, 60 years of the Ombudsman in NZ, and more.Overseas borrower liable for student loan debt when IR unable to contact them
Case notesThe Chief Ombudsman received a complaint from an overseas borrower about the way the Inland Revenue Department (IR) administered their student loan and the addition of interest and penalties that they were required to pay.