Ombudsmen concerned about trend to avoid the application of the OIA

Date: September 27, 2012 EMBARGOED UNTIL 2PM

The Office of the Ombudsman says it is seeing a worrying trend of agencies seeking to exclude certain types of information from the application of the Official Information Act.

The concerns are raised in the annual report by the Office of the Ombudsman tabled in Parliament today.

Chief Ombudsman Dame Beverley Wakem says that since the Office first raised this concern five years ago it appears some agencies are still routinely drafting new or amending legislation in a way that means people cannot apply under the Act for access to information.

Over the past year the Office had referred to it (often at very short notice) several legislative proposals which seek to exclude the application of the OIA. The most significant of the proposals has been the proposed Mixed Ownership Model about which the Office made submissions to the Select Committee hearings on the Bill.

Dame Beverley says the OIA contributes to transparency, accountability and ultimately good governance in the public sector.

“It is somewhat bizarre to hear agencies argue that certain information is so sensitive that the only way to protect it is for the OIA not to apply.

“Proposals to exclude the OIA on the basis of a perceived need for greater protection are inconsistent and should always be regarded with a healthy degree of suspicion.”

Dame Beverley says if there is concern that the Act does not provide adequate protection, the appropriate step is to seek amendment of the legislation. The recent report on the review of the OIA undertaken by the Law Commission makes some recommendations in this regard.

“Proposals to amend the OIA would allow open and transparent debate and proper accountability to be taken before withholding provisions are strengthened by Parliament.”

She says concerns from some organisations that complying with the Act places an unreasonable cost burden on them are not supported by any evidence that she has seen.

“What is evident is that agency staff members are struggling with how to use the OIA and OA appropriately and, in many cases, there is no adequate document management system and a lack of systematised recording of sensitive issues and of other agencies involved who need to be consulted before release.

“If any organisation has genuine concerns the Office of the Ombudsman can help them train their staff and get better systems in place.”

This year, the Office received 1,236 Official Information Act complaints.

Dame Beverley says for the second time in a row, this is significantly more than in previous years and is the highest number for 11 years.

She says a worrying trend is a growth in complaints about delays by agencies in making decisions on official information requests.

The Office is currently considering what further action may need to be taken including the possibility of a general review and administrative audit of agencies’ official information request handling procedures.

“Patterns of complaints on a certain issue or arising from a certain area of an agency’s process or practice give us a good head start in seeing where we ought to target our enquiries in order to achieve maximum improvement and prevent further grievances occurring,” she says.

ENDS

The full report can be found on www.ombudsman.parliament.nz

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