OLT Memorandum
Six-monthly report on Official Information Act, proactive release and
Ombudsman complaint performance
To:
Operational Leadership Team
Copy to:
Elisabeth Brunt, Group Manager Government Services, Government and
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Executive Services
Phil Knipe, Chief Legal Advisor Health Legal, Government and Executive
Services
From:
Sarah Turner, DDG Government and Executive Services - Te Pou
Whakatere Kāwanatanga
Date:
Tuesday, 17 September 2024
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For your:
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Classification:
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Purpose
1.
This memo provides an analysis of the Ministry’s performance against its obligations under
the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA), Ombudsman complaints data, and proactive release
of Cabinet papers, for the January to June 2024 reporting period.
Recommendations
2.
I recommend that OLT:
a)
Note that:
i.
The Ministry’s completed OIA request volumes for January to June 2024
remained high and has increased from the previous reporting period by 13.5%.
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ii.
The Ministry maintained a high level of OIA response timeliness (98.6%), with a
smal percentage of replies requiring extensions (5.3% of total completed
requests).
iii.
Strong performance was maintained by integrating staff from other areas within
Government Services under the matrix model.
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Next steps
Engagement with the Office of the Ombudsman
36. The Government Services Group has communication channels with the Office of the
Ombudsman to reaffirm the Ministry’s commitment to col aborative engagement.
37. The Government Services group is assessing the status of al current and any outstanding
inquiries with the Ombudsman to ensure these are promptly addressed, and regularly
reviews its internal processes to ensure these align with best practices and the
Ombudsman’s expectations.
Management of complaints
38. It is essential that business units undertake regular staff training and refresher sessions in
OIA obligations and procedures to help build understanding and prevent avoidable
procedural errors. Government Services is focusing on the fol owing activities to address
avoidable complaints that could arise from delays in communicating a response:
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Ensuring clear communication channels and guidance on OIA processes for both
staff and requesters to avoid misunderstandings. This includes personalised sessions
with directorates, this is often requested and popular with new staff members.
Continuous improvement through analysing past complaints and adapting
procedures accordingly to strengthen the organisation's ability to handle OIA
requests effectively and reduce avoidable complaints over time.
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OLT Memorandum
Six-monthly report on Official Information Act, proactive release and
Ombudsman complaints performance To:
Operational Leadership Team
Copy to:
Elisabeth Brunt, Group Manager Government Services, Government and
Executive Services
Phil Knipe, Chief Legal Advisor Health Legal, Government and Executive
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Services
From:
Sarah Turner, DDG Government and Executive Services - Te Pou
Whakatere Kāwanatanga
Date:
18 March 2025
For your:
Information to note
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Classification:
IN CONFIDENCE
Purpose
1.
This memo provides an analysis of the Ministry’s performance against its obligations under
the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA), Ombudsman complaints data, and proactive release
of Cabinet papers, for the 1 July to 31 December 2024 reporting period.
Recommendations
2.
I recommend that OLT:
a.
Note that the Ministry responded to 98.3% of OIA requests on time over the
reporting period.
b.
Note that the volume of OIA requests completed was consistent with the previous
six-month reporting period, allowing more accurate prediction of volume than was
possible during COVID-19.
c.
Note the inflow of OIA requests continues to exceed recommended caseloads and
that Government Services will review what is re
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d.
Note that the results show early indications of reduced performance, with a small
increase in the use of extensions and reduction in average response times, due to the
sustained high caseloads.
e.
Note there has been a 50% reduction in the number of deficiency findings against
the Ministry by the Office of the Ombudsman.
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Investigations under the Ombudsmen Act 1975 17. Under the Ombudsmen Act 1975, the Ombudsman general y investigates the administrative
actions and decisions of government agencies, ensuring they are fair, reasonable, and
consistent with good governance principles. These investigations typical y arise from
complaints made by individuals who believe they have been treated unfairly. ACT 1982
18. In the July to December 2024 reporting period, the Ministry was notified of one
investigation under the Ombudsman Act regarding the process for determining eligibility of
refugees and protected persons to access publicly funded health and disability services.
While the matter was more appropriate for Health New Zealand to address, the Ministry
was asked to supply supporting information.
19. Of note is an ongoing investigation from an earlier reporting period regarding disinterment
policies, where the Ombudsman is querying the appropriateness of burial and cremation
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guidelines. The Ministry is working closely with Health New Zealand on this matter.
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From: Celia Wellington <[email address]>
Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2025 12:46 PM
To: Elisabeth Brunt <[email address]>
Cc: Jan Torres <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Official Information stats - PSC report for Jan-Jun 2025
Thanks Elisabeth – that would be great
From: Elisabeth Brunt <[email address]>
Sent: Wednesday, 13 August 2025 12:16 pm
To: Celia Wellington <[email address]>
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Cc: Jan Torres <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information stats - PSC report for Jan-Jun 2025
Kia ora Celia
Following is a link to the data that we provide the PSC for their reporting, which will likely
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happen in the beginning of September: OIA and Ombudsman 6 monthly stats.docx. Note
that the questions/formatting are set by the PSC. This data will inform our six-monthly report to
ELT/OLT…
When compared to the previous reporting period, the total number of requests completed is
down slightly (approx. 10% reduction). However, the complexity of requests has increased, with
the use of extensions increasing and the mean time to respond has increased from 11.4 days to
16.2 days. Note that these statistics are not reflective of the total workload of the team as they
do not include the Ministerial OIA requests.
With Ombudsman complaint data, the number of complaints notified to the Ministry has
increased from 12 to 16. However, the number of final opinions against the Ministry has
dropped from 4 to 2. Due to the lag time in investigations, the datasets are not strictly
comparable but do provide useful trend information.
Below is a quick comparison to a handful of agencies that we have pulled from the available
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data (not final verified data). It shows that only 3.4% of completed complaint investigations
resulted in a finding against the Ministry. This compared to 13% for the Department of
Corrections and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, and 23% for Health New
Zealand.
Elisabeth Brunt (she/her)
Group Manager Government Services
Government and Executive Services
s 9(2)(a)
[email address]
Manatū Hauora, 133 Molesworth Street
Thorndon, Wellington 6011
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From: Celia Wellington <[email address]>
Sent: Tuesday, 10 February 2026 2:41 pm
To: Andrew Dames <[email address]>
Subject: RE: For Your Information: PSC OIA and Proactive Release Reporting
Thanks Andrew – that’s really helpful
From: Andrew Dames
Sent: Tuesday, 10 February 2026 1:26 pm
To: Celia Wellington <[email address]>
Subject: RE: For Your Information: PSC OIA and Proactive Release Reporting
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Kia ora Celia,
We sure can
A number of them are topics led/owned by small teams, so the workload gets concentrated and
repeatedly draws on the same SMEs when there is a particularly hot topic, for example the
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Medicinal Cannabis Scheme, Lake Alice Redress, and Puberty Blockers:
Directorat
Overdu
e
es
Notes
12 from Medsafe: Medicines Amendment Act 2021, COVID adverse
events, medicinal cannabis scheme, archived material on product
recalls/medical device regulations. Majority from the same frequent
requesters.
Remainder on general RS topics: National Radiation Storage Facility,
Fixated Threat Assessment Centre. Delays also influenced by the
transition into a new/acting DDG familiarising with the subject
RS
17
matter/Ministry sign out processes
PHA
5
Smokefree
Policy
12
Puberty blockers, Health workforce regulation
GES (pre
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CS)
4
Lake Alice redress
2 on Pae Ora amendments/HAU transfer, 1 on general Ministry's
P&G
3
monitoring function
Regarding the use of extensions, we rely on other mechanisms where we can (e.g., staged
releases, partial responses) and try to only issue extensions if we’re confident we can justify the
need for it. We try minimise the use of extensions as we know this is low hanging fruit for
requestors making complaints to the Ombudsman.
Regarding the impact of vacancies, of the 41 overdues, 34 (83%) occurred during a period of
reduced senior-level capability/capacity within the team (mid July – late October):
• allocation of Senior Advisor FTE to provide cover at the Minister’s office (10 weeks, July
to mid-September)
• staff illness, Senior Advisor FTE (ongoing concussion symptoms – 6 weeks,
August/September)
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• resignation and planned time off, Senior Advisor and Principal Advisor FTEs (October)
• compounded by mostly brand new Advisors (<6 months of experience)
I think it is a reasonable assumption that delays in the period were a combination of factors, but
generally a result of resourcing both within the OIA team and within the relevant SME teams with
high volume topics. However, earlier reporting periods show we can manage surges effectively
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when the right people at the right capability levels are available in the OIA team.
Thanks,
Andrew Dames
Acting Group Manager
Government Services
Corporate Services Group | Te Pou Tiaki
[email address]
Manatū Hauora, 133 Molesworth Street Thorndon, Wellington 6011
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From: Celia Wellington <[email address]>
Sent: Monday, 9 February 2026 2:28 pm
Andrew Dames
Acting Group Manager
Government Services
Corporate Services Group | Te Pou Tiaki
[email address]
Manatū Hauora, 133 Molesworth Street Thorndon, Wellington 6011
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