OIA PROCESS
Government agencies are committed to openness and transparency in the provision of public
services to New Zealanders. The Official Information Act 1982 (or OIA) gives New Zealanders
(citizens, permanent residents, visitors to New Zealand, and body corporates registered or with a
place of business in New Zealand) the right to access to official information and is important for
ensuring government is open and transparent. The guiding principle is that information must be
made available if requested, unless a reason exists under the Act for withholding it.
The role of the Office of the Government Statistician and Chief Executive
The Government Statistician and Chief Executive’s office (OGSCE) is responsible for formally
receiving, assigning, tracking, reviewing, finalising and sending completed OIA responses.
Departmental OIAs
Departmental OIAs are the requests made directly to Stats NZ. The end to end process is outlined in
this section.
RECEIPT OF OIA REQUEST
Departmental OIAs are typically received in the info email account ([Statistics New Zealand request email]) and then
forwarded to the OGSCE team email to log and acknowledge. (received)
If the request is received by someone else in the organisation, the expectation is that it is forwarded
immediately to the OGSCE to log and coordinate.
Upon receipt of the request the OGSCE sends an email to acknowledge receipt (see
‘Appendix 1: OIA
Acknowledgement Email (example)’ for more information) of the request to the requestor as soon as
possible. The email acknowledgement should outline:
- The date of their request
- The date it was officially received in Stats NZ
- The information that is being requested
- That it is being responded to under the OIA
- That they will receive a decision on their request within 20 working days
An OIA response calculator (to calculate the due date of the response) can be found at
https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/.
The request is then logged in the Ministerial Servicing Log (note: al OIA documentation should be
saved in Tui Tuia). In most circumstances, the person responsible for the coordination of the OIA
request is determined by the content requested, as each member of the OGSCE has assigned
portfolios.
REQUEST ASSESSMENT
The office completes an initial assessment of the request to determine the fol owing:
- is it an OIA?
- is this information that Stats NZ holds?
- what is the size of the request and can a decision be made within 20 working days?
- is this information already publicly available?
- how long wil it take to compile the information if not already publicly available?
- who in the organisation is best to compile the information requested?
If the request requires a coordinated response across several teams, the OGSCE will usually
coordinate the request and send relevant sections to the relevant teams or identify the best person
to coordinate the request.
When the request is assigned to the relevant team, this should outline the timeframes associated
with responding to the request – including enough time for redactions, review and approval. The
assignee can work with the OGSCE in the event that they think there is insufficient time to compile
the information requested.
If the initial assessment indicates that a large amount of information may be covered by the request,
a meeting to scope the request may be cal ed to consider whether the request needs to be refined
by the requestor, or if an extension on the time limit is required.
DRAFT
The team or person responsible for providing the information for the response (drafter) compiles
the information.
Documents requiring redactions will be handled by OGSCE. However, there are instances where a
drafter has knowledge of the Act and can indicate what redactions are required. These will be
reviewed by the OGSCE, any redactions made to the documents are confirmed with the drafter
before the draft is completed.
The response letter (to be sent with the requested information) is drafted by the OGSCE detailing:
• the original information request;
• any information being withheld, and why;
• any information being refused and why;
• the requestor has the right to make a complaint to the Ombudsman (Ombudsman contact
details must be supplied).
REVIEW/APPROVAL
Once the draft response is completed by the OGSCE it must be forwarded back to the drafter’s team
for the appropriate senior manager that has the delegation to review and approve the response. Any
further changes requested from the senior manager can be incorporated into the response before
finalising (and approving).
SENDING THE RESPONSE
The final response is sent by the coordinator (from OGSCE). In cases where either the request is a
sensitive matter, or there have been difficulties corresponding with the requestor, OGSCE manager
may want to send the response.
FILE/COMPLETE
To close the request the fol owing must be completed:
• update the Ministerial Servicing Log by recording the date sent;
• save the final response in Tui Tuia.
Any paper copies can be disposed of in the secure bins
TRANSFERS
Departmental OIAs
If you decide to transfer a request (or part of a request) to another agency this must be done
promptly, and no later than 10 working days from the date the request was received in Stats NZ.
If Stats NZ doesn’t hold the information and a part or full transfer of a request is required begin this
process as soon as practical.
Note: any transfers of a request outside the maximum or extended time limit could be the subject of
a complaint to the Ombudsman under the Ombudsman Act 1982 – and a finding that the agency
acted ‘contrary to the law’.
The agency which you believe holds the information requested must be contacted first, so they can
confirm they hold the information of the request, and formally accept the transfer of the request.
If the transfer is accepted by the agency you must:
- inform the requestor (in writing) their request is being transferred, and provide details of
the agency that will be responsible for the request; and
- formally confirm with the agency accepting the transfer (in writing) and forward the original
request (and any attachments) to the agency.
Once the transfer is complete the request must be closed in the Ministerial Servicing Log. Note: for
part transfers, where Stats NZ will be providing part of the information the request needs to remain
open.
Ministerial OIAs
If it is decided that all, or part of a Ministerial OIA belongs to another Minister you must ask the
Statistics Private Secretary to contact the corresponding Private Secretary in the first instance to
discuss. If the Minister’s Office confirm a transfer is necessary, you may be required to draft
correspondence to both the requestor, and the Minister who will accept the transfer, for your
Minister’s Office to send out. Once the transfer is complete the request must be closed in the
Ministerial Servicing Log. Note: for part transfers, where the Minister’s Office will be providing part
of the information the request needs to remain open.
Requests that can’t be transferred
If the information of the request is not held by Stats NZ, and no other agency holds the information
of the request, it cannot be transferred.
In these rare instances, the request can then be refused under section 18(e) as the requested
information does not exist, or section 18(g) as the information is not held by the agency and it is
unable to transfer the request.
TIME EXTENSIONS
Time extensions for OIA requests can occur under the fol owing circumstances:
- the request is for a large quantity of information, and an agency can’t make a decision within
a 20-working day time limit
- the request requires a search through a large quantity of information that cannot be
completed within a 20-working day time limit
- a transfer is being considered this cannot be completed within the ten working day time
limit.
- Stats NZ is consulting in order to make a decision on the request and can’t reasonably
complete this within the 20-working day timeframe.
When extending a request, the fol owing must be communicated to the requestor (in writing):
- That you have decided to extend the time limit;
- How long the extension is for;
- The reason for the extension (refer to the list above); and
- That the requestor has a right to complain to the Ombudsman about the extension decision.
Providing the number of days that the request has been extended by, and the new due date wil help
to avoid confusion on when the requestor can expect their response.
Time extensions for Ministerial OIAs must first be discussed with the Minister’s Office, who will need
to agree on the extension, and then contact the requestor and advise them in writing. You may be
required to draft the correspondence for the Minister’s Office to send out.
Note: Unnecessarily extending the timeframe of a request can result in the requestor complaining to
the Ombudsman.
The details of the extension (most importantly the revised due date) must be recorded in the
Ministerial Servicing Log.
Options around this:
Sometimes an information request can seem unclear or excessive, often because of the way that a
request has been worded, or, the requestor isn’t entirely sure of the information they want. Before
resorting to a time extension, the fol owing options can be considered:
Organise a meeting to discuss and scope the request
Cal ing a meeting with team members who have knowledge the subject(s) of the request or are
responsible for compiling the information to try to interpret and understand what is being asked for.
This will determine the next steps (e.g., extending the time of the request, or, contacting the
requestor to discuss their request).
Contact the requestor to discuss their request.
By directly clarifying what the requestor seeks can reduce the time spent on the request.
If the request remains the same after clarifying with the requestor, then a time extension can be
considered.
There is a possibility where, if the request has significant rescoping it could be considered as a new
request (thus the clock starts again).
Charge the requestor for the information
There is an option of charging requestors for large requests. The decision to supply information
subject to a charge must be communicated as soon as reasonably practicable and no later than 20
working days after the day the request was received (unless that timeframe is extended). Guidelines
on charging for OIAs can be found at: https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/resources/charging-
guide-charging-official-information-under-oia-and-lgoima.
WITHDRAWALS
OIA requests can be withdrawn by the requestor. This needs to be confirmed by the requestor in
writing. When a request to withdraw an OIA is received the details must be recorded in the
Ministerial Servicing Log, and the request closed.
REFINING REQUESTS
Sometimes an information request can seem unclear or excessive, often because of the way that a
request has been worded, or, the requestor isn’t entirely sure of the information they want. By
directly clarifying what the requestor seeks can reduce the time spent on the request, but also helps
the requestor to receive the information they seek. Where a request needs to be refined contact the
requestor directly to work through their request. Note: any refinements to a Ministerial OIA will be
led by the Minister’s Office.
Ministerial OIA Requests
Ministerial OIAs are requests made directly to the Minister of Statistics’ Office (the Minister’s Office).
Stats NZ compiles and drafts the response to these requests on the Minister’s behalf. All
communications to the requestor are made by the Minister or his Office staff; no correspondence
sent by or made from Stats NZ.
The end to end process is outlined below.
• The request is received and acknowledged by the Minister’s Office
• The Private Secretary sends the OIA request to the OGSCE to coordinate. The time allocated to
draft the response to the request should be agreed to with the Private Secretary, as the 20
working days to provide a decision starts when received in Minister’s Office.
• OGSCE assigns a drafter (as described under the Request Assessment section in the
Departmental OIA section)
•
The assigned drafter compiles the information for the response.
•
OGSCE reviews and redacts any information to be withheld and drafts the response letter.
•
OGSCE drafts the cover aide memoire (see ‘
Appendix 2: Cover Aide Memoire’) which details:
o
the request
o
any relevant background on the information requested, or the requestor
o
a table detailing the proposed redactions.
•
the draft response is forwarded back to the drafter’s delegated senior manager to review and
approve the draft response.
The draft response, cover aide memoire and documents for release (with proposed redactions)are
provided to the Minister’s office for review, and approval from the Minister. Once the Minister’s
Office has confirmed the response has been sent the request can be closed by:
• updating the Ministerial Servicing Log by recording the date sent and
• saving the final response in Tui Tuia and any documents released with the request
Any paper copies can be disposed of in the secure bins
Reporting on OIAs
All OIAs received, whether Departmental or Ministerial are listed in the Minister’s fortnightly report.
Stats NZ does not consult with the Minister’s Office on Departmental OIAs, nor are copies of
responses sent across to Minister’s Office for consultation. However, if a specific request is either
contentious or controversial in topic, a heads up maybe given to the Minister’s Office on what the
proposed response wil be.
DATA REQUESTS
Data requests are requests for information where Stats NZ may hold the raw data, however, the raw
data requires customisation (and creation of new datasets) in order to provide the requestor with
the information they requested.
These requests are processed similarly to OIAs, although we are not required to adhere to the Act.
In the first instance, the OGSCE contacts the subject matter team to ask if they can produce the
datasets requested. The team can then determine if the dataset requested can be produced, an
estimated timeframe and if there may be any associated costs (under our charging policy for data) to
the requestor.
If the team confirms the request can be fulfilled, the OGSCE acknowledges receipt of the request, as
per the OIA process. However, the acknowledgement must specify that:
• the request wil be treated as a customised data request (not an OIA);
• the team that the request wil be handled by (and what subject matter area);
• an estimate of the time it will take; and
• whether there wil be a charge for the cost to produce the datasets.
The data request is then passed to the team to complete the request. Once the team has completed
the request they must notify OGSCE so the Ministerial Servicing Log can be updated. ‘
Appendix 3:
Data Request example’ provides an example of a data request received and acknowledged by the
OGSCE.
INFORMATION REQUESTS DIAGRAM
An end to end process diagram of receiving and processing Departmental, Ministerial and Data
Requests is attached as
‘Appendix 4: Official Information Act Requests Process’.
APPENDICES
Appendix 1: OIA Acknowledgement Email
Template found here:
https://stats.cohesion.net.nz/Sites/TM/DSL/StrategicSupport/Administration/OIA%20Template%20-
%20Departmental%20OIA%20acknowledgement%20email.docx?d=w0b5f2fa0914045678f7b7475a9
10f4df
Example
From: Grace Spraggs
Sent: Friday, 5 July 2019 11:30 a.m.
To: Section 9 (2) (a)
Subject: RE: OIA request
Good morning,
I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your below Official Information Act request dated 5 July
2019 for the below in relation to the Government Chief Data Steward and Indicators Aotearoa:
• Any documents in the last 6 months sent to Minister Shaw regarding The Government Chief Data
Steward Strategy and Roadmap
• A list summarising what indicators for Indicators Aotearoa have data, and what ones don't. For any
indicators that don't have data, please provide any prioritisation which has been made on what is
the most important ones to source data for.
We received your request on 5 July 2019. We wil endeavour to respond to your request as soon as
possible and in any event no later than 2 August 2019, being 20 working days after the day your
request was received. If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we wil notify you of an
extension of that timeframe.
Your request is being handled by the Office of the Government Statistician and Chief Executive. If
you have any queries, please feel free to contact me using the details in the signature below. If
additional factors come to light which are relevant to your request, please do not hesitate to
contact us so that these can be taken into account.
Kind regards,
Grace
Grace Spraggs (pronouns: she/her/hers)
Senior Advisor – Office of the Government Statistician and Cheief Executive | Kaitohutohu Matua –
Tari O Te Kaitatauranga Matua Me Te Pouārahi Matua
Stats NZ | Tatauranga Aotearoa
DDI: +64 931 4071 | stats.govt.nz
Appendix 2: Cover Aide Memoire
Template found here:
https://stats.cohesion.net.nz/Sites/TM/DSL/StrategicSupport/Administration/OIA%20Template%20-
%20Ministerial%20OIA%20Coversheet.docx?d=w6b8beea560814b71932afa0ceb419315
Example:
Minister for Statistics – Official Information Act 1982 requests
OIA request number:
OIA260
Subject:
Digital and Data Ministers meeting – June 2019
Requester:
Section 9 (2) (a)
Stats NZ lead
Grace Spraggs
Ph. Section 9 (2) (a)
Date due to the Minister’s Office: 23 August 2019
Date due to the requestor:
30 August 2019
Request
The request is for the fol owing:
Any communications, notes, or facsimiles thereof, briefings or follow-up information regarding
the Digital and Data Ministers meeting you attended on 17 June 2019
Advice from Stats NZ
Information to be released
Stats NZ advise that documents to be released were those included in the meeting pack for the
Digital and Data Ministers meeting for 17 June 2019. This includes briefings from Stats NZ, and
documents from the Department of Internal Affairs and the Social investment Agency.
Stats NZ has consulted with the Department of Internal Affairs, the Government Chief Privacy
Officer, and the Social Investment Agency in preparing the response, and any relevant redactions to
information.
The briefings from Stats NZ are publicly available on Stats NZ’s website, and the response provides
the requester with links to these briefings online.
Communications Implications
It should be noted that Minister Little also received this request, and it has been transferred to
Minister Faafoi. The due date for Minister Faaoi’s response is xxx
Public Interest
In making our recommendations, officials have considered the public interest considerations in
section 9(1) and reasons for withholding information in section 6 of the Official Information Act and
consider there is good reason for withholding information where indicated in the following table.
Document
Redactions
Meeting agenda – Digital and Data Ministers 17 Redaction made to information under section
June 2019
6(a) of the Act.
A3 – Government use of cloud services:
Released in full.
background on the cloud
A3 – Responding to the Algorithm Assessment
Redactions made to information under section
Report: Options for next steps
9(2)(f)(iv) of the Act.
A3 – Data Protection and Use Policy – Builds
Released in full.
trust and confidence in government’s use of
data across the social sector
Memo – Data Protection and Use Policy –
Redaction made to information under section
process finalise the Policy
9(2)(f)(iv) of the Act.
Minutes – Digital and Data Ministers summary
Redactions made to information under section
and actions – Meeting 17 June 2019
6(a) of the Act.
A3 – Digital Government Strategy – Strategic
Withheld under section 9(2)(f)(iv) of the Act
Direction
A3 – Digital Government Strategy – Features
Withheld under section 9(2)(f)(iv) of the Act
and Actions
Data Protection and Use Policy Principles
Withheld under section 9(2)(f)(iv) of the Act
A3 – Government use of cloud services -
Withheld under sections 6(a), 9(2)(g)(i) and
9(2)(f)(iv) of the Act
Consultation
Stats NZ had consulted with the Department of Internal Affairs, the Government Chief Privacy
Officer and the Social Investment Agency on this request and intended response.
Recommended Action
We recommend that you:
a. Agree to sign the attached letter to
re
Section 9(2)(a) garding his request for documents, due with
the requestor by 30 August 2019.
AGREE / DO NOT AGREE
Hon James Shaw
Minister of Statistics
No.
Content
Decision
OIA
Reason for
Previously
Other
Section/s
withholding
Released?
significant
applied
If so, to who,
details
(if
how recently
withholding
and with
information)
what
redactions?
The figures and
details redacted
20190314_A3_Impacts of
could likely form
6
the Vote Assessment for
part of future
Budget 2019
Redacted
Section
2(ba)(i)
budget
discussions
within Vote
Statistics
20190423_Letter_Hon
James Shaw to Hon David
7
Parker re Stats NZ budget Release
bid
in ful
N/A
N/A
20190515_Letter_Hon
David Parker to Hon
8
James Shaw re Stats NZ
Release
budget bid
in ful
N/A
N/A
20190423_Letter_Hon
James Shaw to Hon Grant
9
Robertson re Vote
Release
Statistics
in ful
N/A
N/A
Appendix 3: Data Request example
From: Grace Spraggs
Sent: Wednesday, 25 September 2019 4:03 p.m.
To: Section 9 (2) (a)
Cc: Pubudu Senanayake <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Age breakdown of immigrants
Good afternoon Section 9 (2) (a)
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has transferred question one of your
request for information to Stats NZ, as per the attached email.
I am writing to acknowledge receipt of the transfer from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and
Employment. Your request for wil be looked after by Pubudu Senanayake (copied) from Stats NZ’s
Population Indicators and wil be treated as a customised data request, rather than a request for
information under the Official Information Act.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Kind regards,
Grace
Grace Spraggs (pronouns: she/her/hers)
Senior Advisor – Office of the Government Statistician and Chief Executive | Kaitohutohu Matua –
Tari O Te Kaitatauranga Matua Me Te Pouārahi Matua
Stats NZ | Tatauranga Aotearoa
DDI: +64 931 4071 | stats.govt.nz
Unleashing
the power of data to change lives
From: Section 9 (2) (a)
Sent: Saturday, 14 September 2019 9:52 a.m.
To: *OIA <[email address]>
Subject: Age breakdown of immigrants
Hi there
1. Can I have a breakdown of immigrants (not tourists) arriving in New Zealand for children for each
year and country since 2004.
The age bands I would like are the following
<1yo
1-2yo
3-4yo
5-9yo
10-14 yo
15-19 yo
Can I have a breakdown of emigrants (not short term travellers) leaving New Zealand for children for
each year and country since 2004.
The age bands I would like are the following
<1yo
1-2yo
3-4yo
5-9yo
10-14 yo
15-19 yo
2. Can I have copy of the policy and process for including migrant children onto the National
Immunistion Register?
Thank you
Section 9 (2) (a)
