Resources and publications
Ngā rauemi me ngā tānga
Search guides, case notes, opinions, reports and other information. Resources and publications can also be searched by date and other options.
Use the search bar to make your search. Then use the filters to narrow down the results by resource type or topic.
More information about the resource categories on this page
Guides
Commonly used guides include:
- The OIA for Ministers and agencies
- The LGOIMA for local government agencies
- Making official information requests: a guide for requesters
Detailed guidance on the official information legislation and aspects of good administrative practice.
We also have guidance on disability rights and protected disclosures.
Case notes and opinions
Case notes are a short case summary, often demonstrating an aspect of a case.
An Ombudsman's Opinion is published where there is public interest in showing the full details of a case.
Reports
Reports include OPCAT, disability rights, official information practice and systemic investigation.
Outreach
Contains our media releases, newsletters, pamphlets, speeches and fact sheets. Fact sheets are published in multiple language and accessible formats.
Corporate documents
This includes our annual reports and strategic intentions.
Projects, reference and data
This includes our official information complaints data, updates on investigations and other projects, and submissions by the Ombudsman.
View all projects, reference and data
Template letters and work sheets
These template letters and work sheets can be used by agencies to help respond to official information requests.
64 Resources Show all
Decision to release tender information in response to Official Information Act request
Case notesComplaint about a decision to release information under the Official Information Act—Ministry consulted adequately with affected party—Ministry took into account affected party’s submissions, all relevant considerations, principle of availability, legisRequest for corporate culture information contained in bus tender submissions
Case notesCompetitors could use the information to compare and refine their own submissions, potentially reducing the successful tenderers’ competitive advantage in future tender rounds—this would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the successful tenderers— s 7(2)(b)(ii) applies—public interest in accountability for the Council’s decision required release of a summary statementRequest for business plan for Christchurch Convention and Exhibition Centre
Case notesCompetitors could copy or adopt third party’s methodology and strategy and devise plans based on its established operating systems which would unreasonably prejudice its commercial position—information subject to an explicit obligation of confidence and of a confidential nature—release would damage the public interest by making suppliers reluctant to participate in future procurement processesRequest for cost of digital and touch wall at new Christchurch Library
Case notesRelease would undermine supplier’s negotiations with other buyers which would unreasonably prejudice its commercial position—public interest in disclosure of information regarding Council expenditure outweighs withholding interestRequest for cost of fees paid to a law firm
Case notesRelease of total fees would not unreasonably prejudice third party’s commercial positionRequest for expenditure on goods and services provided by Palantir Technologies
Case notesRelease of total cost would not unreasonably prejudice third party’s commercial position—public interest in accountability for spending public moneyRequest for Skypath business case and procurement plan
Case notesReleasing business case and procurement plan would unreasonably prejudice the commercial position of the private partner in a public private partnership—withholding strengths and weaknesses of negotiating position necessary to enable Council to carry on negotiations without prejudice or disadvantage—ss 7(2)(b)(ii), 7(2)(c)(i), 7(2)(i) applyRequest for cost of recruiting Vice-Chancellor
Case notesRelease of total cost would not unreasonably prejudice third party’s commercial position—no specific negotiations—release of total costs would not deter businesses from treating with government—public interest in accountability for spending public moneyRequest for information associated with PHARMAC’s 2016/17 budget bid
Case notesPHARMAC did not have a commercial position and was not engaged in commercial activities—s 9(2)(j) applies to information about PHARMAC’s willingness to pay for pharmaceuticals but not to PHARMAC’s indicative budget in out-yearsRequest for tender submissions to replace jetty at Philomel Landing
Case notesRelease of tenderers’ pricing strategy would give an unfair advantage to their competitors and unreasonably prejudice their commercial position—s 9(2)(b)(ii) OIA applies—release would make tenderers reluctant to provide as much detail about their design specifications in future— s 9(2)(ba)(i) applies—it was in the public interest for NZDF to receive full and detailed submissions as this would otherwise undermine its ability to make an informed decision on the best tenderer to award a contractRequest for successful tenderer’s proposal
Case notesRelease would reveal successful tenderer’s marketing strategy which would unreasonably prejudice its commercial position— s 9(2)(b)(ii) applies—public interest met by disclosure of tender scores and minutes of evaluation panelRequest for copy of reviewers’ training manual
Case notesInformation was not a trade secret—although FairWay was engaged in commercial activities, it was not clear how disclosure would prejudice or disadvantage those activities—the manual was largely in the public domain, and there was little prospect of competition—ss 9(2)(b)(i), 9(2)(i) do not applyRequest for external monitor’s report on University graduate diploma
Case notesUniversity research contracts and trading can be commercial activities—the provision of education to full fee-paying international students may be a commercial activity—but providing tertiary education to domestic students is not a commercial activity—s 9(2)(i) does not applyRequest for information about proposed Clifford Bay ferry terminal
Case notesInterislander’s operating costs, growth predictions and business strategy protected by s 9(2)(b)(ii)Request for information about exploration permits awarded to Anadarko Petroleum
Case notesApplication and evaluation subject to obligation of confidence—release would make bidders reluctant to share full information in future, which would undermine MBIE’s ability to carry out statutory functions—release would also reduce the appeal of investing in New Zealand and MBIE’s ability to administer the Crown Minerals Act, which would otherwise damage the public interest—sections 9(2)(ba)(i) and (ii) apply—revealing information about particular prospects or reserves would disadvantage third party vis-à-vis their competitors—revealing information about projected costs would disadvantage third party in its negotiations with service companies—section 9(2)(b)(ii) applies—public interest met by available informationRequest for project and hazard management plans relating to Mount Victoria tunnel refurbishment
Case notesSection 9(2)(b)(ii) applies to genuinely innovative methods that competitors could copy or adapt in future tenders, but not to the plans in their entirety—strong public interest in disclosure to promote accountability for adherence to the plans and effective participation in the consultation processRequest for cost of building naming rights
Case notesRelease of total cost would not unreasonably prejudice third party’s commercial position—public interest in accountability for spending public moneyRequest for information about a Department’s employment operations
Case notesPre-cast concrete operation is a commercial activity—s 9(2)(i) appliesRequest for salvage plan relating to MV Rena
Case notesRevealing salvage company’s detailed methodology would give other companies a competitive advantage in future tenders, which would be likely unreasonably to prejudice its commercial position—s 9(2)(b)(ii) appliesRequest for financial information concerning Council’s waste management proposals
Case notesCouncil waste management activities not commercial—s 7(2)(h) does not applyRequest for transport rates, cost and revenues per route
Case notesCost per route to the Council not protected by s 7(2)(b)(ii)—any prejudice would not be unreasonable—s 7(2)(b)(ii) applies to revenue per route—this would reveal operators’ tender strategies, thereby prejudicing their ability to participate competitively in future tendersRequest for tender scores for successful tenderer
Case notesRelease of tender scores would not be likely unreasonably to prejudice successful tenderer’s commercial position—s 9(2)(b)(ii) does not applyRequest for copy of winning tender for Lawrence Oliver Park
Case notesRelease would enable competitors to anticipate winning tenderer’s strategy in future bids, which would unreasonably prejudice their commercial position—s 7(2)(b)(ii) appliesRequest for audit report of approved organisation under Animal Welfare Act
Case notesAcrimonious history and prolonged legal dispute were relevant to decision whether or not request was vexatious—while future similar requests might be vexatious this one was not—the requester’s legitimate concern about effectiveness of Ministry’s oversight of approved organisations was the catalyst for the audit report, and she was initially promised a copy of it—requester was genuinely interested in and entitled to know the findings—request not frivolous or vexatious—Trust does not have a commercial position—s 9(2)(b)(ii) does not applyRequest for total amounts paid for parking services
Case notesRelease of total amounts paid would not unreasonably prejudice the commercial position of the incumbent providers in future tender rounds, nor would it disadvantage the Council in carrying on negotiations—ss 7(2)(b)(ii) and 7(2)(i) do not applyRequest for reports of unannounced inspections of rest homes and hospitals
Case notesRelease of adverse findings might damage providers’ reputations and therefore their commercial position, but this would not be unreasonable—s 9(2)(b)(ii) does not apply—public interest in promoting public safety and consumer protectionRequest for criteria used by Council to determine whether or not to waive parking tickets
Case notesParking enforcement is a law enforcement activity not a commercial one—s 7(2)(h) does not applyRequest for tender submission pricing schedule
Case notesSection 9(2)(b)(ii) applies to detailed pricing schedule but not total price—strong public interest in disclosure of total priceRequest for charitable trust’s funding application
Case notesTrust does not have a commercial position—even if it did, release of the information would not be likely unreasonably to prejudice it—the trust has no competitors, and is very different to other organisations in terms of its size, nature of operations and services¬—s 9(2)(b)(ii) does not applyRequest for names of tenderers and prices
Case notesRelease of names and total prices, as opposed to detailed pricing or market strategy, would not be likely unreasonably to prejudice the tenderers’ commercial positions—public interest in release to promote integrity and transparency of the tender process—s 7(2)(b)(ii) does not applyRequest for company’s annual report
Case notesReleasing cost of sales, expenses and revenue would enable competitors to determine the underlying cost of the company’s products and undercut them thereby prejudicing their commercial position—s 7(2)(b)(ii) appliesRequest for tender proposals, evaluation and scoring material relating to appointment of default KiwiSaver providers
Case notesRelease of detailed organisational information including information about products and fees would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the default providers’ commercial positions—section 9(2)(b)(ii) applies to tender proposals—explicit obligation of confidence—release would make it more difficult for MED to monitor compliance of default providers with their instruments of appointment and have a damaging effect on the success of the KiwiSaver scheme itself—section 9(2)(ba)(ii) applies to evaluation and scoring information