Requests for Official Information - LGOIMA

Requests for Official Information - LGOIMA

Hawke's Bay Regional Council is committed to promoting openness and transparency and we make as much information as possible available through this website. 

If the information you are interested in is not available on this website, or from our staff (You can contact us here), then you also have the option to make a request for information under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA). This applies to official information held by Hawke's Bay Regional Council, its Council Controlled Organisations and its contractors.

Make a LGOIMA Request here 

or if you prefer, post your request to:

Governance Team
Hawke's Bay Regional Council
Private Bag 6006
Napier 4142

Please be as specific as you can 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.

How long will it take to process my request?

We will acknowledge your request and you will receive council's decision within 20 working days. You can use the calculator from the Office of the Ombudsmen to determine when the 20 working days expire.

However, if your request is complex, involves a large amount of research and collation, or requires us to consult with other parties, and we cannot provide you with the information within 20 days, we may extend the time limit and will let you know if we need to do this.

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 and 7 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 out its commercial activities and negotiations

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, we may consider imposing a charge.

Under the policy:

• the first one hour of time is free
• 20 pages of free photocopying
• the Regional Council can recover any other actual costs including staff time spent on responding to your request.
• Time in excess of one hour, and additional photocopying, are charged at the rates prescribed in the table below.

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