Under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA) and Privacy Act 2020, you can make a request for official information.
What is Official Information?
- Policies and procedures
- Decisions, our rationale for decisions, or our decision-making process
- Drawings, images or maps
- Reports, memos, letters, notes and
emails
- Internal policies or guidelines for decision
making
Building and resource consents are available to you by requesting a digital property file. Click here for more information on how to request a digital property file.
How long will it take?
If you ask us for official information, by law, we must respond to your request as soon as reasonably practicable - and no later than 20 working days after we receive it.
However, over the holiday period there are three weeks that don’t count as ‘working days’.
For LGOIMA requests, the holiday period is 20 December 2024 to 10 January 2025 (inclusive). This affects LGOIMA requests received on or after 22 November 2024, or those on or after 21 November 2024 for agencies observing Chatham Islands or Westland anniversary dates.
Will I be charged for the official information I have requested?
We may decide to recover some of the costs associated with requests for information that would require considerable labour and materials.
The costs are outlined in our Schedule of Fees and Charges and are as follows:
- $38 per half hour of staff time in excess of one hour
It may be justified to charge higher rates for staff time where staff with specialist expertise that are not on salary (ie, contractors) are required to process the request.
The decision to charge will be made clear to you within 20 working days of receiving your request.
How do I request official information?
- Complete the online request form below
- Phone our customer services Centre – 0800 926 732 or 07 571 8008
- Ask in person – at any of our five offices
- Post your request to – Private Bag 12803, Tauranga Mail Centre, Tauranga 3143
- Email us – info@westernbay.govt.nz
If you are not satisfied with the information provided to you under LGOIMA, you can contact the Office of the Ombudsman.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your request made under the Privacy Act you can contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
