Section 9 of the OIA lays out various other reasons withholding information, many of which have a focus on expectations of confidentiality. to respond. Section 15 of the OIA says agencies must make One useful way to challenge these decisions is if you believe the agency hasn't adequately considered the public interest aspect of releasing the information. Elections, Transitions, and Government Formation, Provision of information by the state sector during transitions, 7. Transfers must be made promptly and within 10 working days of receiving the request, and the requester must be informed. Being able to make requests in any way means you can make them via email, phone, and Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a virus (more specifically, a coronavirus) identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China. For example, NZ Police have told people making requests via FYI that they must visit a police station to make a request in person, or fill out a particular form. The requester must be informed of any such extension within the 20-working-day period after receiving the request. Ministers are personally responsible for complying with the duties imposed on them by the Act. It should be clear that the department is consulting rather than providing the request for the Minister's information, and sufficient time should be allowed for the Minister's office to raise any concerns about the proposed decision. An Act to make official information more freely available, to provide for proper access by each person to official information relating to that person, to protect official information to the extent consistent with the public interest and the preservation of personal privacy, to establish procedures for the achievement of those purposes, and to repeal the Official Secrets Act 1951 8.53 A department should advise its Minister if it intends to release any information that is particularly sensitive or potentially controversial, in accordance with the “no surprises” principle (see paragraph 3.22). The LGOIMA also takes a break, but its one runs from the 20th of December to the 10th of January. A department should consult its Minister if the request relates to Cabinet material, because such material relates to his or her activities as a Minister. "Tēnā koutou" is for addressing three or more people. The Right to Information Act 2009 (Qld) (RTI Act) 1 provides a right of access to documents of an agency and Minister. 8.29Access by individuals to information about themselves is governed by the Privacy Act (see paragraphs 8.66 – 8.77). One of the most important things in making a request is directing your question to the right place. Local government bodies are covered by the LGOIMA rather than the OIA. They must actively ensure that adequate systems, information, and training are available to the relevant staff. If they don't provide the information in the format you requested, section 16(3) says they have to tell you why they didn't. [DATE] - I received an acknowledgement of receipt of my request from [AGENCY]. [the agency] shall make the information available in the way preferred by the person requesting it As at 1 October 2010 the charges are inclusive of GST at 15%. Please also explain None of these requests asked for enough information for the Department of Corrections to require a charge, and agencies cannot combine requests by different people for the purpose of refusing it for being too much work or charging money for it. If you can't find a dedicated OIA email address listed, you can send it to a general one. Section 15A of the OIA says they can do this if it's necessary because the information you've asked for takes a long time to retrieve, or if they need to make consultations before they can respond and they can't do this within the standard time limit. For example, section 9(2)(a) allows information to be withheld in order to protect privacy. Agencies will typically release information in PDF form. What it says, essentially, is simple: If you ask the government for information, they have to give it to you. Keep in mind that ministers and the agencies they oversee, e.g. If the request was extended past the standard 20 working days, make sure you adjust this section of your complaint to mention this. You should attach a zip file to your complaint, containing all the correspondence you've had with the agency about your request. Make sure you also include any attachments that the agency sent to you. If you are requesting large amounts of information, especially if it's tabular data, make sure you specify that it should be released in a format that will be useful for you. 8.20 The Official Information Act balances the Act's purpose of progressively increasing the availability of official information against the need to protect official information to the extent consistent with the public interest and the preservation of personal privacy. To be eligible to request official information under the OIA, you must be:4. a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident; a person in New Zealand; or a corporate entity (that is, a company or an incorporated society) which is either incorporated in New Zealand or has a place of business here. It may, however, avoid the need for a later review if an official information request can be discussed, giving the Office of the Ombudsman the chance to talk through the issues and the relative strengths of the likely arguments if a review were to be sought. © Copyright 2020 Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. You should be able to find an appropriate email address on the agency's website. It is good practice for Ministers and departmental chief executives to agree on how consultation arrangements on Official Information Act requests will be handled generally. Having a government authority demand private information can be intimidating. The policy is implemented by DoD Regulation 5400.7-R and 5200.1-R. In your complaint, you should outline what's happened and why you disagree with the decision. When you make a request on FYI, it will tell you when to expect a response. The reasons for withholding information under section 9 can be overridden if there is sufficient public interest in the information being released. Or they might refuse your request because they don't hold the information you're looking for. You don't need to provide any information you don't want to, though an agency may refuse to fulfil your request if they can't establish eligibility. Please provide this information in Further guidance can also be found on its website. Section 2 of the OIA and LGOIMA each define a working day as any day of the week that isn't a Saturday or Sunday, certain public holidays (including local regional anniversaries for LGOIMA requests), or for a period over the new year. If you do choose to assert your eligibility, I would recommend doing so as a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, rather than by saying that you are in New Zealand. It is good practice therefore to consult the author of the document before releasing it. 8.42 Ministers and departments are responsible for keeping a record of the Cabinet documents that they have made available publicly. Please break this data down in the same way as per 1 and 2. As there may be no guarantee when this will be, requesters may prefer to use officially designated channels for ministerial communication (see. 8.50 A department may consult its Minister about any request for official information it receives. It is possible for agencies to extend the time limit past 20 working days. It was extended by a further 20 working days on 2017‑09‑19. The Ombudsman's guidance on the OIA for Ministers and agencies asks the question "What if a requester is not eligible". 8.47Special consultation arrangements apply to the release of Cabinet records that date from a previous opposition administration (see paragraph 8.134). This is unlawful. The Department of Corrections received a request for official information from me on 2017‑08‑22. In addition, the Official Information Act governs the right of requesters to be given reasons for decisions or recommendations that have affected them in their personal capacity, whether the requester is an individual or a corporate entity. There has been no further correspondence to date. Some agencies, like Statistics New Zealand, are typically really good at responding quickly. Information held by the Attorney-General in this capacity is not, therefore, official information in terms of the Act. Please provide this information in a machine-readable spreadsheet format, such as CSV or XLSX. I swapped the order of a few paragraphs and made some minor changes to the wording to better match the template given here, and fixed a typo. Where the request is not transferred to the Minister, the views of the Minister are not determinative, and an assessment needs to be made by the department as to whether any of the withholding provisions apply. The Ombudsman's guidance note on charging says that: It's possible that it's already available online, in which case you could have saved yourself a month of waiting. Any agency that has an email address can receive a request via FYI, and agencies that have a Twitter account or Facebook page can receive requests in that way. The guidelines support tenancy managers to understand the varying levels of Anti-Social Behaviour and how to manage it. Please break this data down in the same way as per 1. social media. The Ombudsman will investigate your complaint, and they are allowed to look at information that has been withheld in order to determine if the decision to withhold it was justified. 20 working days The Office of the Ombudsman has also published guidance on charging on its website. It is New Zealand's primary freedom of information law and an important … Releasing the information to requestors as soon as reasonably practicable particularly where no harm or prejudice has been identified in the release of the information; Providing requestors with a specific date (or a date by which) it is expected that the information will be released; and. You can read it in full, or just refer to the sections you need. This document is both a guide and a reference for OIA users. 4 Information is irrelevant if it is not within the scope of the application. should usually not charge an MP allowable by the Official Information Act was [DATE], however this date has now passed and I have not yet received a response. The worst case scenario is that they say no. It is the agency's responsibility to make sure your request is handled appropriately regardless of how they received it. So if you are addressing a single person, such as a minister, "Tēnā koe" should be used instead. In most cases, you should expect to have received an acknowledgement email saying that your request will be processed under the OIA. What information can you ask for? That's not to say you can't ask for this information — you can — but it's covered under the Privacy Act instead. The Ombudsman's guidance note on requests made online explains that: Section 18 of the OIA allows agencies to refuse requests under certain conditions. They'll have to tell you how much time they've estimated for each chargeable activity. The agency should then take steps to make the information available to you. For example. Numbering each piece of information you are requesting like this makes it easier to quickly refer to specific parts of your request. If the 20 working days deadline passes and you haven't received a response from the agency, your first step should be to make sure they did receive your request. A department or Minister will be expected to provide a detailed justification in each case, and should use the review as an opportunity to set out the real concerns about the request. If you are asking a local government body for information under the LGOIMA, they cannot ask you to provide proof of eligibility. Often, they will ask for your address to prove you are in New Zealand. Taking some time to research this while writing your request can save time in the long run, as it may mean they don't need to ask you for clarification. If you don't ask the right agency, your request might be delayed because they have to transfer it to an agency that can help you. None of these requests asked for enough information for the Department of Corrections to require a charge, and agencies cannot combine requests by different people for the purpose of refusing it for being too much work or charging money for it. Numbering each piece of information you are requesting like this makes it easier to quickly refer to specific parts of your request. 02 ) 6207 7244 from 8am-8pm daily October 2010 the charges are inclusive of GST at %. Are worth making 2020 department of the Corrections Act 2004 ) smaller parts have! The law what some of the information you 're not a New citizen. That they say no what a particular clause means, have a different send! 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