Official Information RequestsNgā tono Pārongo Ōkawa

You can use our online form to ask for information under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA).

Make a LGOIMA Request

Or you can post your request to:

Governance Team
Napier City Council
Private Bag 6010
Napier 4142

Please be as specific as you can be in making your request; it helps us to find the information quickly for you. Make sure you include either a postal or email address so we can provide you with a response. It also helps us if we have a contact phone number in case we need to clarify something relating to your request. Please note that your details will not be used for any other purpose. 

How long will it take to process my request?

We will acknowledge your request and you will receive a response within 20 working days. You can use the calculator from the Office of the Ombudsman to determine when the 20 working days expire.

However, if your request is for a large amount of information, requires us to search through a large amount of information, or means that we need to consult before making a decision, we may extend the timeframe for responding to your request. If we extend the timeframe, we will advise you of the period of the extension and the reasons for the extension.

If the information you want is held by another organisation covered by the Act, we may transfer your request to that agency. If we transfer your request, we will let you know within 10 working days of receiving your request.

Urgent requests

You may ask that your request be treated as urgent. If you do, you must give reasons explaining the need for urgency.

Withholding information

We may withhold information for specific reasons. If we do, we will explain the reasons.

The specific reasons enabling us to withhold information are set out in sections 6, 7 and 17 of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act. The most common reasons to withhold information are to:

• Protect people’s privacy.
• Maintain legal privilege.
• Enable the Council to carry on its commercial activities. 

What will it cost?

Generally, there will be no charge for your request. Occasionally, however, if a request is for a significant amount of information or requires substantial collation and research, or we have received a large number of requests from the same person in a short timeframe which taken together require a large amount of staff resource to respond to, we may consider imposing a charge.

Council’s policy on charging for LGOIMA requests is in line with the guidelines of the Office of the Ombudsman, updated in April 2019:

• The first one hour of time will not be charged for.
• The first twenty pages of photocopying will not be charged for.
• Napier City Council can recover any other actual costs relating to providing a response:
• $38 per half hour of staff time in excess of one hour; and
• $0.20 per page for photocopying in excess of 20 pages
• Additional charges can be made for labour, materials and other direct costs.

Further details are available in the Ministry of Justice's Charging Guidelines for OIA Requests and the Office of the Ombudsman publication A guide to charging for official information under the OIA and LGOIMA.

If we are going to charge you, we will advise you of the maximum estimated cost of processing your request before we begin working on it. You will be asked to pay all of this cost in advance. You can then decide if you want to continue, withdraw or refine your request.

In certain cases, charges can be reduced or cancelled if:

• there is a compelling public interest in making the information available; and/or
• meeting the charge would be likely to cause hardship to the requester.

Review of decisions

If you are unhappy with a decision to withhold information, to charge a fee, to extend the timeframe on a request, or if you have concerns about how we have dealt with your request, you are able to have the decision reviewed by the Office of the Ombudsman.

You can email the Office at info@ombudsman.parliament.nz or else write to the Ombudsman at PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143.

Need more information?

If you have any questions regarding official information requests, please email governance@napier.govt.nz.

Related links & Information

• Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act
• Office of the Ombudsman
• Office of the Privacy Commissioner