Resources and publications
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Search guides, case notes, opinions, reports and other information. Resources and publications can also be searched by date and other options.
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More information about the resource categories on this page
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.
Outreach
Contains our media releases, newsletters, pamphlets, speeches and fact sheets. Fact sheets are published in multiple language and accessible formats.
Corporate documents
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.
View all projects, reference and data
Template letters and work sheets
These template letters and work sheets can be used by agencies to help respond to official information requests.
12 Resources Show all
Request for business plan for Christchurch Convention and Exhibition Centre
Case notesCompetitors could copy or adopt third party’s methodology and strategy and devise plans based on its established operating systems which would unreasonably prejudice its commercial position—information subject to an explicit obligation of confidence and of a confidential nature—release would damage the public interest by making suppliers reluctant to participate in future procurement processesRequest for draft guidelines on religious instruction and observance in schools
Case notesOfficials still in the process of drafting—premature disclosure in advance of the planned public consultation process was not in the overall public interestRequest for cost of fees paid to a law firm
Case notesRelease of total fees would not unreasonably prejudice third party’s commercial positionRequest for expenditure on goods and services provided by Palantir Technologies
Case notesRelease of total cost would not unreasonably prejudice third party’s commercial position—public interest in accountability for spending public moneyRequest for draft internal review of International Visitor Survey
Case notesInternal review still in draft form—redacted comments comprised preliminary views of individual within agency—s 9(2)(g)(i) applied—no overriding public interest in disclosureRequest for staff named in emails about genetically modified corn
Case notesSection 6(d) OIA did not apply—no real and objective risk of danger to safety—s 9(2)(g)(ii) OIA did not apply—many of the names were already publicly available in connection with this issue and no harm had ensued—section 9(2)(g)(i) OIA did not apply—infRequest for public submissions on draft standard
Case notesMembers of the public with a vested interest in developing standards would not be deterred from expressing their opinions in futureRequest for charitable trust’s funding application
Case notesTrust does not have a commercial position—even if it did, release of the information would not be likely unreasonably to prejudice it—the trust has no competitors, and is very different to other organisations in terms of its size, nature of operations and services¬—s 9(2)(b)(ii) does not applyRequest for report on DHB governance issues
Case notesDisclosure of report at time of request would have inhibited expression of free and frank opinions by officials—but passage of time and change in circumstances had diminished the likelihood of such prejudice—senior public servants would not be inhibited from expressing free and frank opinions in futureRequest by TVNZ for names of companies providing Department of Social Welfare with transcripts or videos of TVNZ programmes
Case notesRisk of litigation is not an unreasonable prejudice—public interest in release of information enabling pursuit of legal rights and remediesRequest for Crown Health Enterprise Business Plans
Case notesRequest for Crown Health Enterprise Business Plans—request refused on commercial grounds—some information protected by ss 9(2)(i) and 9(2)(j)—public interest in disclosure substantially met by release of balance of plansRequest for the contract regarding sale of Railway houses
Case notesRequest for copy of contract between NZRC and Stone Key Investments Ltd regarding sale of railway houses—refused as ‘commercially confidential’—contract document itself was not simply a standard form Agreement for Sale and Purchase with price and special conditions added, but was a specially drafted document which reflected the negotiating positions adopted by both parties—release would unreasonably prejudice the commercial position of Stone Key Investments—s 9(2)(b)(ii)—release was so likely to ‘prejudice or disadvantage’ the Corporation in future sales of surplus land that it was necessary to withhold the information at issue—s 9(2)(i)—sale agreement retained two key factors of the Corporation’s previous sales policy relating to its obligations as a ‘good employer’—public interest in disclosure of the manner in which those undertakings had been incorporated into the contract—public interest in disclosure of information enabling an assessment to be made of whether the Corporation had acted responsibly and obtained a ‘fair market price’—written summary released