E.16 Processing Official Information Requests (National Policy)

Policy Standard

• Requests for official information are processed in accordance with the Official Information Act 1982.

Performance Standards

1. Official information is all information generated and held by the Department on any subject. It may be held in any form, including in the minds of the Department’s employees acting in their official capacity.
2. New Zealand citizens, residents, companies, or companies with a place of business in New Zealand, and any person in New Zealand can request any specified official information from the Department.
3. New Zealand companies or companies with a place of business in New Zealand, are entitled to ask for and receive any information (which is readily retrievable) and held about them by the Department.
4. Any official information requested is to be made available to the requester unless there is good reason (See PPM 17 Performance Standards paragraph 10) for withholding it.
5. Generally release is in the manner preferred by the requester, and may be by inspection, the provision of copies, arrangements to hear or view, transcript, a summary, or oral information.
6. The Department can charge for the provision of official information.
   • The first 20 pages of photocopying are not to be charged for but every subsequent page is 20c per page.
   • The first hour of work is to be at no charge, but subsequent time is charged at $38 per half hour. If extra time is spent locating or retrieving an item because it is not where it ought to be, or if time is spent on deciding whether or not to allow access or in what form, this is not to be charged.
   • The requester is to be informed of the likely charges before the request is processed and invited to decide whether they wish to modify the request.
7. The Department is obliged to provide reasonable assistance to the requester, and to transfer the request to another Department if it is believed the information is held there. Such a transfer shall be made promptly and no later than 10 working days.
8. A decision on release is to be made as soon as reasonably practicable and no later than 20 working days after the request.
9. The time limit can only be extended if 20 working days is not a reasonable time frame in the circumstances. This may be where the quantity of information is large or necessitates a large search, or a decision requires consultation. An extension can only be granted by the CE of the Department, or by someone authorised by the CE. The requester must be given notice of the length of the extension within 20 working days, as well as the reasons for it and the fact that he / she can complain under section 28(2) to the Ombudsman about the extension.
10. Information requested is made available to the requester unless there are conclusive or good reasons for withholding it.
11. When information is withheld in whole or in part, the Department must inform the requester of the reasons for this and, if requested, the grounds in support of those reasons. The requestor must be advised of his / her right to complain to the Ombudsman.
12. Each prison must maintain a record of all requests for access to official information, the decisions on release of the information and the date on which the information is supplied to the requester.
13. A conclusive reason for withholding information is if disclosure would:
    • Prejudice New Zealand’s defence, security or international relations (s6(a));
    • Prejudice any international government or organisations entrusting information to the government on a basis of confidence (S6(b));
    • Prejudice the maintenance of the law (including the prevention, investigation, and detection of offences and the right to a fair trial) (S6(c);
    • Endanger the safety of any person (S6(d));
    • Seriously damage the economy by prematurely disclosing decisions to change or continue with Government economic or financial policies (S6 (e)).
14. A good reason for withholding information is if it is necessary to:
    • Prevent prejudice to the security, defence, or international relations of the Cook Islands, Tokelau, Niue or the Ross Dependency (S7);
    • Protect the privacy of natural persons (including the privacy of a deceased person) (S9(2)(a));
    • Protect information where the making available of the information would disclose a trade secret or would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or who is the subject of the information (S9(2)(b));
    • Protect information which is subject to an obligation of confidence or which any person is compellable to provide, where the making available of the information would be likely to prejudice the supply of similar information or information from a similar source and it is in the public interest that such information should continue to be supplied, or it would be likely otherwise to damage the public interest (S9(2)(b));
    • Avoid prejudice to measures protecting the health or safety of members of the public (S9(2)(c))
    • Avoid prejudice to the substantial economic interests of New Zealand (S9(2)(d));
    • Avoid prejudice to measures that prevent or mitigate material loss to members of the public (S9(2)(e));
    • Maintain the constitutional conventions which protect confidentiality of communications by or with the Sovereign or her representative, collective and individual ministerial responsibility, the political neutrality of officials, and the confidentiality of advice tendered by Ministers and officials (S9(2)(f));
    • Maintain the effective conduct of public affairs through the free and frank expression of opinions by, between, or to, Ministers, officers and employees of a Department or members of an organisation, in the course of their duty, or through protection of any of them from improper pressure or harassment (S9(2)(f));
    • Maintain legal professional privilege (S9(2)(h));
    • Enable a Minister or Department to carry out commercial activities (S9(2)(I));
    • Enable a Minister or Department to carry out negotiations without prejudice or disadvantage (S9(2)(j));
    • Prevent disclosure or use of information for improper gain (S9 (2) (k)).
15. Good reasons to withhold official information must be weighed against any other considerations which may render it desirable, in the public interest to make the information available. In other words, the provisions in paragraph 14 do not allow information to be withheld if the public interest requires otherwise. The Department must be able to demonstrate that the public interest has been considered.
16. There may be other reasons for withholding information, including:
    • The release is contrary to another Act or could constitute contempt of court (S18(c));
    • The information is, or will soon be, publicly available (S18(d));
    • The information does not exist, or is not held by the Department (S18 (e));
    • The information requires substantial collation or research (S18(f));
    • The information is not held by the Department and is held by another department, or connected closely with the functions of another department (S18(g));
    • The information is trivial, or the request is frivolous or vexatious (S18 (h)).

Any concerns about requests for official information should be directed to one of the Legal Advisers at National Office.