Resources and publications
Ngā rauemi me ngā tānga
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.
26 Resources Show all
Request for data on tooth decay in Taranaki children
Case notesSection 9(2)(a) OIA applied to identifying details (NHI number, addresses, dates of birth, dental clinics), but not to information about fluoride and dental decay which would not identify individuals—partial releaseRequest for handwritten comments on draft walking and cycling strategy
Case notesRelease would inhibit willingness of Council staff to provide free and frank opinions on drafts circulated by colleagues, or to test the content and recommendations of such documents, which would undermine the accuracy and value of the material that eventuates—s 7(2)(f)(i) appliesRequest for serious incident review
Case notesSection 9(2)(a) OIA applied—although significant information was already in the public domain withholding was necessary to protect the family’s right to be left alone in circumstances where highly distressing events had resulted in significant media andRequest for whether company vehicles issued infringement notices
Case notesSection 7(2)(a) LGOIMA did not apply—information about company not natural person—information releasedRequest for information about appointment of public service chief executive
Case notesSection 9(2)(a) applied to names of unsuccessful candidates—no public interest override—section 9(2)(a) and 9(2)(ba)(ii) did not apply to the names of external panellists—section 9(2)(a) did not apply to officials’ names, Cabinet distribution and attendRequest for names of submitters who opposed an application by the Ban1080 party to register its name and logo
Case notesSection 9(2)(a) OIA applied—withholding necessary to protect the privacy of submitters who were individual members of the public—potential consequences of disclosure included harassment and threats to safety—in view of these consequences the public inteRequest for reports into prisoner deaths in custody
Case notesRequest for reports into deaths of two prisoners in custody—s 9(2)(a) applied to parts of reports—strong public interest in release—disclosure to the Howard League subject to conditionsAdequacy of ex gratia payment to remedy mistake by Customs
Case notesNZ Customs officer rejected passenger on flight because water damage on passport—Ombudsman found officers failed to process the passport adequately and caused considerable cost to passenger because of this failure—complainant upheld and complainant received full payment to cover financial lossesRequest for Pre-Cabinet précis briefings
Case notesDisclosure of short and incisive pre-Cabinet briefings and risk assessments would inhibit future expression of free and frank opinionsDepartment of Internal Affairs provides reasonable service and advice to traveller on temporary passport
Case notesWhether the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) reasonably handled revalidation of a passport for New Zealand citizen travelling on temporary passport—Ombudsman concluded DIA had made every effort to inform the complainant of the steps needed to have his passport validatedRequest for deceased relative’s medical file
Case notesSection 9(2)(a) OIA did not apply—no meaningful privacy interest in information about an individual deceased for nearly 90 years—information releasedRequest for documentation about ‘Ageing in Place’ contract
Case notesRelease of detailed proposals and component prices would have an adverse effect on tenderers’ responses to future tenders issued by the DHB, which would damage the public interest—s 9(2)(ba)(ii) OIA applies—release would have an inhibiting effect in future on the quality of the documentation associated with the DHB’s contract negotiations and tender evaluation, which would be prejudicial to the future conduct of such tenders—s 9(2)(g)(i) appliesRequest for identities of contractors
Case notesPrivacy interest outweighed by overriding public interest in promoting accountability, transparency and public confidence and trust in the integrity of the public sectorRequest for information about severance payment
Case notesSection 9(2)(a) OIA applied—withholding necessary to protect strong privacy interests—significant impact of further media scrutiny on personal privacy—s 9(2)(ba)(ii) applied— settlement agreement contained express obligation of confidence—release wouldRequest for discussions between Ministers on business before Cabinet
Case notesDiscussions between Ministers on business before Cabinet imbued with a presumption of confidentiality—s 9(2)(g)(i) provides good reason to withhold undocumented discussionsRequest for draft public discussion document regarding auditor regulation
Case notesClose-to-final draft containing limited evidence of opinion material—risk of public misunderstanding of the status of this draft document did not justify withholding and could be addressed by disclosure of contextual information—strong public interest in transparency of the policy development process given full-scale public consultation no longer intendedRequest for names of teaching staff at Massey University
Case notesSection 9(2)(a) OIA did not apply—names already in the public domain and known to students—public-facing nature of the role means that University teaching staff would not ordinarily expect their names to remain private—risk of spam email was not a reasoRequest for job application file of National MP
Case notesSection 9(2)(a) OIA provided good reason to withhold some information—low privacy interest in other information about MP’s work and study history in China, due to the amount of information in the public domain and his high public profile—outweighed by pRequest for address information to assist enforcement of judgement orders
Case notesLandlords obtained judgment orders from Courts or Tenancy Tribunal against former tenants but were unable to have them executed as current address for judgment debtors unknown— requested current address information from Department of Work and Income (now part of MSD)—information withheld to protect clients’ privacy, and future supply of information— public interest in maintaining the proper administration of justice and promoting respect for the law outweighed privacy interest—MSD agreed to provide address information direct to Department for CourtsRequest for information about serious and sentinel event reports
Case notesRequest to District Health Board for information relating to ‘serious and sentinel events’—22 SSE reports withheld in full—s 9(2)(a) applies to information identifying patients’ families and medical staff—s 9(2)(ba)(i) applies to information identifying medical staff as release would impact negatively on willingness of staff to report incidents and to cooperate with subsequent investigations—s 9(1) public interest in release to promote the accountability of the DHB for management of individual cases and to assure the public that any identified deficiencies are being remedied—reports released with deletions—two ‘protected quality assurance activity’ reports withheld—s 59 of Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act prohibits disclosure of information gained in course of a protected quality assurance activity but s 60 allows release of information that does not identify a particular individual—reports released with deletionsRequest for letter of complaint
Case notesWithholding investigated by the Privacy Commissioner under the Privacy Act 1993 and the Ombudsman under the OIA—personal information about requester released—s 9(2)(a) OIA applied to the remainder—withholding necessary to protect the privacy of the compRequest for draft report on Department of Labour internal controls prepared by KPMG
Case notesDocument labelled ‘draft’ really a final—author was a consultant who would not be deterred from expressing free and frank opinions in future—s 9(2)(g)(i) does not applyRequest for information about Children’s Commissioner investigation
Case notesSection 9(2)(a) OIA applied to redacted material from draft investigation report—requester no longer authorised to act as advocate for the family—withholding necessary to protect the family’s privacy—requester’s prior knowledge did not affect the familyCharge for supply of information about Maori interests in the management of petroleum
Case notesCharge avoided by allowing inspection subject to conditionsRequest for transcripts of Police communications in relation to emergency calls
Case notesNo blanket protection for operational discussions between Police officers—need for withholding had to be assessed with regard to the content of the actual communications at issue—opinions expressed were ‘free and frank’ but were not ‘necessary’ for effective conduct of public affairs—details about the communications already publicly available—s 9(2)(g)(i) did not apply and even if it did it was outweighed by strong public interest in releaseRequest for draft responses to OIA requests
Case notesReleasing draft OIA responses would be likely to inhibit the future free and frank expression of opinions—s 9(2)(g)(i) applies