Skip To Main Content

New Zealand Legislation: Acts

Acts are laws made by Parliament

Reprint as at 29 June 2009

Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987

Public Act	1987 No 174
Date of assent	17 July 1987

Note

Changes authorised by section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 have been made in this eprint.

A general outline of these changes is set out in the notes at the end of this eprint, together with other explanatory material about this eprint.

This Act was administered in the Department of Internal Affairs

Contents

1 Short Title and commencement

2 Interpretation

3 Act to bind the Crown

Part 1
Access to local authority information

5 Principle of availability

6 Conclusive reasons for withholding official information

7 Other reasons for withholding official information

8 Information concerning existence of certain information

9 Exclusion of public interest immunity

Part 2
Requests for access to information held by local authorities

12 Transfer of requests

13 Decisions on requests

14 Extension of time limits

16 Deletion of information from documents

17 Refusal of requests

17A Requests involving substantial collation or research

17B Duty to consider consulting person if request likely to be refused under section 17(e) or (f)

18 Reason for refusal to be given

Part 3
Publication of, and access to, certain documents and information

19 Publication setting out functions of local authorities [Repealed]

20 Right of access to publication published under section 19 [Repealed]

21 Right of access to internal rules affecting decisions

22 Right of access by person to reasons for decisions affecting that person

Part 4
Right of access to personal information

23 Right of access to personal information

25 Correction of information

26 Reasons for refusal of requests for personal information

Part 5
Review of decisions

Decisions under Part 2 and section 8 of this Act

27 Functions of Ombudsmen

28 Application of Ombudsmen Act 1975

29 Requirements of Ombudsman to be complied with within certain period

29A Consultation with Privacy Commissioner

30 Procedure after investigation

31 Disclosure of certain information not to be recommended

32 Recommendations made to local authorities

33 Requirements in relation to decision

34 Right of review

36 Complainant to be informed of result of investigation

37 Restriction on application for review

Decisions under Part 3 or Part 4 of this Act

38 Application of Ombudsmen Act 1975

39 Ombudsman may require publication of summary of report

40 Saving in respect of Ombudsmen Act 1975

Part 6
Miscellaneous provisions relating to access to official information

41 Protection against certain actions

42 Delegation of powers by local authority

43 Delegation of powers by officers

Land information memoranda

44A Land information memorandum

Part 7
Local authority meetings

45 Interpretation

46 Meetings of local authorities to be publicly notified

46A Availability of agendas and reports

47 Admission of public to meetings of local authorities

48 Right of local authorities to exclude public

49 Provisions applying when meeting open to public

50 Maintenance of order

51 Right of public to inspect or receive copies of minutes of meeting

51A Public notification of resolution at extraordinary meeting

52 Defamatory matter in copy of agenda or additional particulars supplied to public or in minutes of meeting

53 Oral statements at local authority meetings privileged

54 This Part of this Act to prevail over other enactments

Part 8
Miscellaneous provisions

56 Power to amend Schedules 1 and 2 by Order in Council

57 Consequential amendments to other enactments

58 Repeals and revocations

Schedule 1
Local authorities to which Parts 1 to 7 of this Act apply

Schedule 2
Local authorities (additional to those named in Schedule 1 to this Act) to which Part 7 of this Act applies

Schedule 2A
Resolution to exclude the public

Schedule 3
Enactments amended

Schedule 4
Enactments repealed

Schedule 5
Orders revoked

An Act to make official information held by local authorities more freely available, to provide for proper access by each person to official information relating to that person which is held by local authorities, to provide for the admission of the public to meetings of local authorities, to protect official information held by local authorities and the deliberations of local authorities to the extent consistent with the public interest and the preservation of personal privacy, and to establish procedures for the achievement of those purposes

BE IT ENACTED by the Parliament of New Zealand as follows: