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.
49 Resources Show all
OIA compliance and practice in New Zealand Customs Service 2022
Official Information Practice InvestigationsThis report was released as part of ‘Ready or not?’, an investigation into OIA practices at 12 core agencies.Request for record of ‘without prejudice’ meeting
Case notesSection 7(2)(g) LGOIMA did not apply—‘without prejudice’ privilege is not an aspect of legal professional privilege—s 7(2)(c)(ii) applied—obligation of confidence attaches to information subject to without prejudice privilege—release would make people rRequest for information about death in custody
Case notesRequest for all correspondence about death in custody—unreasonable to rely on sections 9(2)(a) and 9(2)(ba)(i) without compiling and reviewing the information—subsequent reliance on section 18(f) (substantial collation or research) also unjustified—The OIA for Ministers and agencies: A guide to processing official information requests
Official informationThe purpose of this guide is to assist Ministers and government agencies in recognising and responding to requests for official information under the OIA.The LGOIMA for local government agencies: A guide to processing requests and conducting meetings
Official informationThe purpose of this guide is to assist local government agencies in recognising and responding to requests for official information under the LGOIMA.Making official information requests: A guide for requesters
Official informationIf you are seeking information from a Minister, or central or local government agency, you may be able to ask for it under either the OIA or LGOIMA.Legal professional privilege: A guide to section 9(2)(h) of the OIA and section 7(2)(g) of the LGOIMA
Official informationThis is a guide to the legal professional privilege withholding ground found in section 9(2)(h) of the OIA and section 7(2)(g) of the LGOIMA.Substantial collation or research: A guide to section 18(f) of the OIA and section 17(f) of the LGOIMA
Official informationSection 18(f) of the OIA (section 17(f) of the LGOIMA) is one of a number of mechanisms under the Act for dealing with requests for information that are administratively challenging to meet.Request for drafting instructions on the Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation and Compensation Bill
Case notesParliamentary Privilege Act 2014 did not provide a statutory bar on the Ombudsman’s investigation of a complaint under the OIA—section 9(2)(h) applied—withholding necessary to maintain legal professional privilege—no public interest overrideRequest for statistics on allegations of assault by Corrections staff
Case notesRequirements of Operations Manual meant source information to answer request should be held—manual compilation is not creation—s 18(g) does not apply—unreasonable to rely on s 18(f) when the fundamental difficulty in providing the information was down to the Department’s own administrative lapsesRequests for firearms statistics
Case notesRefusal under section 18(g) not justified—information held—Police could manually extract and compile statistics—where compilation involves substantial collation or research s 18(f) appliesRequest for CAA investigation report on Minister’s airport security breach
Case notesSection 9(2)(a) OIA applied to information that would identify Minister’s staff—s 9(2)(a) did not apply to non-sensitive information about actions that occurred in a public place, or to the name of the Investigator—s 6(c) did not apply to information suRequest for video footage recorded during an investigation
Case notes1100 hours of video footage—extension of time limit reasonable—concerns about volume of information addressed by disclosing a sampleRequest for transcripts of post-Cabinet press conferences (substantial impact)
Case notesDifficulty involved in finding and bringing together the requested transcripts - adverse impact on operation of the Office—s 18(f) appliedRequest for briefing notes relating to state visits
Case notesInspection on conditions in order to identify the documents required provided means of resolving s 18(f) refusalAdequacy 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 lossesDepartment 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 transcripts of post-Cabinet press conferences
Case notesPrime Minister’s office wanted to compare draft transcript with audio recording to check for errors—‘substantial collation or research’ does not encompass a quality assurance check of that nature—10 hours work did not amount to ‘substantial collation or research’Request for information concerning review of Oil Pollution Fund and MNZ’s preparedness to respond to oil spill
Case notesConsulting with requester in fulsome way removed reason for refusalRequest for legal opinions concerning Russian adoptions
Case notesRequest for legal opinions concerning Russian adoptions—withheld to maintain legal professional privilege—s 9(2)(h)—public disclosures of first opinion meant waiver had occurred—s 9 ‘necessity’ test not met—while section 9(2)(h) applies to second opinion need to withhold outweighed by a strong public interest in release of the information (with the exception of three paragraphs)Request for information on taser use
Case notesReview and manual extraction of details from 282 tactical operations reports—s 18(f) appliedRequest for copy of file of deceased brother held by NZSIS
Case notesReleasing information in alternative form enabled accountability without prejudicing security or efficient working of agencyDepartment of Internal Affairs not unreasonable to cancel passport
Case notesDepartment of Internal Affairs—decision to recall and cancel complainant’s NZ passport – position determined by terms of legislationRequest for recruitment consultant expenditure
Case notesNo cost code specifically and solely for recruitment fees—information could not be made available without ‘substantial collation or research’—release of other information resolved the complaintRequest for details of 404 land covenants
Case notesComplaint about s 18(f) refusal resolved by release of other informationRequest for list of reports received by Minister
Case notesRequest for four months worth of dates, titles and reference numbers of reports—decision making and quality assurance did not constitute ‘collation’ or ‘research’—release with caveat would address issues around reliability of data—s 18(f) did not apply, particularly in light of ability to extend time to respondRequest for medical waiver statistics
Case notesTask involved in manually reviewing tens of thousands of applications was ‘substantial’Request for numbers of staff with criminal convictions
Case notesRequest involved manual search of over 4,500 files and 2000 hours—refusal under s 18(f) justifiedRequest for Treasury reports
Case notesConsultation and decision making not relevant for the purposes of establishing ‘substantial collation or research’Request for ACC notice board bulletin
Case notesRequester sought a copy of ACC notice board bulletin - bulletin contains commentary and advice on various court decisions - prepared by practising solicitor in his professional capacity - purpose is to give general legal advice to case managers who routinely request and rely upon it - refused under s 9(2)(h) - legal professional privilege applies - no waiver even though it was distributed widely amongst ACC staff - marked confidential and subject to privilege - no public interest in release that outweighed strong public interest in ensuring privilege is maintained.Request for Crown Law opinion
Case notesRequest for Crown Law opinion that Creative NZ referred to in correspondence—withheld under s 9(2)(h)—legal professional privilege attached to information—whether partial disclosure of contents of opinion sufficient to constitute waiver—s 9(2)(h) appliedRequest for advice relating to an independent review, including legal advice transferred between agencies
Case notesRequest for information relating to independent review of PHARMAC’S Operating Policies and Procedures—some information withheld as it was considered legally privileged—legal advice transferred between agencies did not constitute a waiver of the privilege—common interest privilege applied