Auckland City Local Governance Statement
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Procedures for Dealing with Official Information
Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act
(LGOIMA) / Official Information
Principles of LGOIMA
- The Act makes official information held by
local authorities more freely available.
- Allows for effective participation by the
public in actions and decisions of the local authority.
- Promotes open and public transaction of
business of the council.
- Promotes the accountability of council members
and staff.
- Protects information where it is in the public
interest and for personal privacy.
How to request official information |
Withholding information | Charging for information | Ways of providing information
| Your options
How to request official information
Anyone
can request information. The
request can be written or oral and can be made:
We have to provide reasonable assistance to anyone who wishes to make a
request. Please
make sure that your request has the following:
- your name
- postal address or e-mail address
- what information you are requesting (clearly specify).
Send a request to:
Official Information
Democracy Services
Auckland City Council
Private Bag 92516
Wellesley Street, Auckland
E-mail:
officialinformation@aucklandcity.govt.nz.
Urgent request
You may ask that your request be treated as urgent. In
such cases, we require reasons for seeking the information urgently.
We will try to process the request as soon as possible.
Timing
We will acknowledge your request as soon
as possible.
We will decide whether the request will be
granted or not as soon as practicable and no later than 20 working
days after we receive the request.
Extension of time limits
If we receive a request that relates to a
large quantity of information and meeting the original time limit is not
possible as it would compromise the quality of information provided, we
can extend the time limit set out.
Withholding information
Reasons for withholding
We may withhold official information for specific
reasons stated under the Act.
The reason to withhold must be consistent with the public
interest and the preservation of personal privacy or interests of other parties
who would be affected by the disclosure of the information.
For example, good reasons may exist for withholding
information where making the official information available may:
- prejudice the
maintenance of the law
- disclose the commercial
information of a third party or a trade secret
- endanger the health and
safety of any person
- protect the privacy of
natural persons.
(Refer to Section 6, 7 and 8 of the LGOIMA)
Charging for information
If the reply is likely to take a significant amount of research or
photocopying, council is entitled under the Act, to charge for the provision of
the information.
Our charging policy details the amount that we may charge for the supply of
information:
- The first five (5) hours of time spent on fulfilling official information
requests will be free; and thereafter a charge of $38 for each additional half
hour;
- Twenty (20) pages of free photocopying, thereafter a charge of 20c per
page for photocopying.
- All other charges incurred shall be fixed at an amount that recovers the
actual costs involved. This includes:
- producing a document by computer or other like equipment
- reproducing a photograph, film, video or audio recording
- arranging for the applicant to hear or view an audio or visual recording
- providing a copy of any maps, plans etc.
We must write to the requester advising them of the cost of their request
before we begin working on the request. The requester then has the option of
proceeding, withdrawing or refining their request.
In accordance with section 13(4) of the Act, we may require that the whole or
part of any charge be paid in advance.
Charges may be waived at the discretion of the General manager.
Ways of providing information
You may stipulate your preferred
method for receiving the information (e.g. a meeting with staff, discussion in
person or over the telephone, an electronic copy or hard copy).
Personal information
A request by a third party for information about another individual is a request
in terms of the provisions of the LGOIMA.
We shall not disclose any official information to a public sector
agency if the principal purpose for which that information is sought is for use
in an information-matching programme.
Privacy Act 1993
The release of personal information about an individual to
that individual is governed by the Privacy Act 1993.
The Privacy Act 1993 main purpose is the promotion and
protection of individual privacy. The principles of the Act also give
individuals the right to access personal information and to request correction
of it.
Transfer of your request
If we do not hold the information to a request but another agency or organisation
does, we will transfer your request to that agency or organisation.
We will advise you of the
transfer of your request within 10 working days from the day on which we
received the request.
Charging for information
If the reply is likely to take a significant amount of research or
photocopying, council is entitled under the Act, to charge for the provision of
the information.
Our charging policy details the amount that we may charge for the supply of
information:
- The first five (5) hours of time spent on fulfilling official information
requests will be free; and thereafter a charge of $38 for each additional half
hour;
- Twenty (20) pages of free photocopying, thereafter a charge of 20c per
page for photocopying.
- All other charges incurred shall be fixed at an amount that recovers the
actual costs involved. This includes:
- producing a document by computer or other like equipment
- Reproducing a photograph, film, video or audio recording
- Arranging for the applicant to hear or view an audio or visual recording
- Providing a copy of any maps, plans etc.
We must write to the requester advising them of the cost of their request
before we begin working on the request. The requester then has the option of
proceeding, withdrawing or refining their request.
In accordance with section 13(4) of the Act, we may require that the whole or
part of any charge be paid in advance.
Your options
You can contact us
- to clarify information provided to you
- to request further information
- if you require new or
additional information (then we will consider this as a new request).
If you are not happy with the information
we provided, you have the right to complain to the
Office of the Ombudsmen.
If you have any questions regarding the process for official information
requests please contact us.
Updated March 2009
