Source: Office of the Ombudsman
The Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier has published his half-yearly data on Official Information Act (OIA) and Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA) complaints.
The data covers the number of complaints received under each Act from 1 January 2024 to 30 June 2024, as well as the number of complaints completed by the Ombudsman during this period.
The number of complaints received about the way government agencies handled OIA requests was 946, a rise from 759 in the last six-month period. The top three types of complaints were refusals in full (272 – an increase from 187), delays in making a decision (189), and partial refusals (186). The Ombudsman also received a number of complaints about incomplete or inadequate responses (100) and extensions (74).
Of the total received, 695 were from individuals, 99 from media, 81 from a political party research unit and the remaining 71 were from other sources.
A total of 47 complaints were received about school boards, with 20 of those complaints relating to delays in making decisions or inadequate responses. This continues the trend of the last few half-yearly periods where the Ombudsman received a high volume of school board OIA complaints.
There were 250 complaints made under the LGOIMA, up on the last six-monthly period when 237 complaints were received.
Of the 250 LGOIMA complaints, 186 were from individuals, 47 from companies or ratepayer and other groups, and 17 from the media.
The top four types of complaints were refusals in full (79), refusals in part (52), delays in making decisions (49), and inadequate or incomplete responses (45).
Complaints data
Complaints received
Complaint type LGOIMA | OIA Total 250 946 Individual 186 695 Media 17 99 Other [1] 47 152 (81 were from a political party research unit)
Reasons for complaints
Complaint type LGOIMA | OIA Delay in decision 49 189 Refusal in full 79 272 Refusal in part 52 186Incomplete / inadequate response 45 100 Extension – 74 Other [2] 25 –
Complaints completed
Complaint type LGOIMA | OIA Completed 210 797 Individual 187 612 Media 13 89 Other [3] 10 96
[2] For the LGOIMA, this comprises decisions not made as soon as practicable, charge, manner or form of release, delay in releasing information, refusal – personal information about body corporate, Privacy Act request, extension, and other.
For the OIA, it comprises Privacy Act requests, charges, delay in releasing information, decisions not made as soon as reasonably practicable, refusal – statement of reasons, refusal – internal rules and guidelines, refusal – personal information about body corporate, manner or form of release, and other.
[3] For the LGOIMA, this comprises special interest groups and companies, associations, and incorporated societies.
For the OIA, this comprises departments, government organisations, or local authorities; companies, associations, incorporated societies; political party research units; special interest groups; trade unions; researchers; Members of Parliament; and review agencies (eg: HDC, IPCA).
About the data
The data released by the Ombudsman concerns both OIA and LGOIMA complaints received and completed from 1 January 2024 to 30 June 2024. It includes information on the number of complaints received by Minister or agency, the nature of the complaint and type of complainant (media, private individual, etc). For the complaints completed, the data also includes the outcome of the complaint.
The data does not enable a direct comparison among agencies, as complaints data on its own does not give the full picture. The number of complaints received by the Ombudsman may be a very small proportion of the total number of OIA or LGOIMA requests received by an agency.
Shortly after the Ombudsman publishes complaints and outcomes data, Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission publishes its own data on OIA requests received by agencies and their response times.
