Research exploring ministerial compliance with the Official Information Act (OIA) has revealed some concerning practices.

A survey at the highest levels of government has found that compliance with the Official Information Act is not consistent across the board.

Dr Edward Willis, a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Law, and research assistant Gwen Hamilton, requested information from 26 Ministers about their decisions to withhold requested information on specific grounds over a three-month period between 1 April 2021 to 30 June 2021.

The request focused on refusals to supply information under section 18(d) of the Official Information Act (OIA), which provides that a request for information may be refused on the basis that the information requested is, or will soon be, publicly available.

Overall, says Dr Willis, the survey revealed some concerning practices - there was considerable variation in the timeliness of responses, with several Ministers failing to meet deadlines and two ministerial offices providing no substantive response at all.

“The inconsistency among ministerial offices in the responses to the request suggests that a culture of compliance with the Act has not fully developed. This is potentially of significant concern and should be investigated further as part of any reform proposals,” says Dr Willis.

“The responses we received suggest that Ministers are generally alive to the expectations and issues related to the proactive disclosure of information. However, responses also showed some concerning timelines regarding the subsequent release of information withheld under section 18(d), as some information had still not been released eight months after the request had been made.”

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