Official information policy

Purpose

1. The Department of Corrections (Corrections) is committed to transparency and accountability. This Official Information policy describes how Corrections will ensure it meets its obligations under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) and will comply with initiatives to increase the availability of official information to the people of New Zealand.

Application

2. This Official Information policy applies to everyone in Corrections, including permanent, seconded, contracted and temporary employees.

Definitions

3. Official information generally means any information held by Corrections or its employees. As per section 2 of the OIA, it includes:
   • Documents, reports, memoranda, letters, texts and emails.
   • Non-written information, such as digital, video or tape recordings.
   • Manuals which set out internal rules, principles, policies or guidelines for decision making.
   • Information which is known to an agency but may not be written down.

Key Principles

4. All decisions regarding Corrections’ management of official information requests and proactive releases are guided by principles that are aligned and supported by our values: Rangatira – Leadership; Kaitiaki – Guardianship; Whānau – Relationship; Wairua – Spirituality; Manaaki – Respect.
5. In particular, Corrections will:
   • comply with the requirements of the OIA and observe its guiding principle, which is that information should be made available unless there are good reasons under the Act to withhold it;
   • demonstrate integrity, honesty and sound judgement in the management of official information requests and proactive releases;
   • exercise due diligence and assess the potential effect of reactively or proactively releasing official information including considerations relevant to the preservation of safety, security and personal privacy;
   • support increased proactive release in line with the OIA’s purpose of progressively increasing the availability of official information to the people of New Zealand, including the publication of appropriate OIA responses;
   • take account of the particular needs of the requester and release official information in accessible and usable forms wherever possible;
   • decide, where appropriate, to release information in addition to what has been requested to place that information in the proper context and mitigate any potential harm from its release;
   • consult with other agencies if information proposed for release includes information relating to that agency, to allow it to conduct its own risk assessment;
   • consult or notify other relevant stakeholders before releasing official information, including consulting or notifying the relevant Ministerial Office on the reactive or proactive release of pertinent official information in advance on a “no surprises” basis;
   • drive a culture of continuous improvement in official information practice that empowers staff to learn, enhance performance, and innovate to best meet the needs of the New Zealand public;
   • consider public value in the making available of official information, including redeveloping and streamlining agency protocols to decrease inefficiencies and administrative burden, wherever possible.

Approach to reactive requests

6. Corrections will adhere to the statutory timeframes for responding to requests.
7. In interpreting a request, Corrections will consider the intent of that request and the requester’s eligibility to make a request under section 12 of the OIA. We will  give reasonable assistance to the requester to help them make requests and ensure their needs are met, including considering requests for urgency.
8. Requesters should not be unfairly denied the opportunity to make genuine requests. Corrections will carefully consider all factors and apply a high threshold before determining that any request is frivolous or vexatious. Corrections also will not unreasonably charge requesters for the supply of official information.
9. Corrections will regularly review and monitor its performance and capability to respond to requests for official information.

Approach to proactive release

10. Proactive release is different from release under the OIA in that material is published in the interests of transparency, not in response to a request under the Act.
11. Proactive release of information promotes good government, openness and transparency and fosters public trust and confidence in agencies. It can also help reduce the administrative burden on individuals to make requests for information, and on agencies in responding to requests.
12. Proactive release of official information includes:
    • Publishing agency-produced information which Corrections believes to be of interest to the wider public. For example, Annual Reports, Statements of Intent, research material, statistics or Briefings to Incoming Ministers; or
    • Publishing information that Corrections has previously released to an individual requester under the OIA.
13. Before information is proactively released our relevant considerations will include:
    • The guidance set out in the Cabinet Manual;
    • The requirements of the Privacy Act 2020;
    • The Protective Security Requirements;
    • any legal, security or other risk to Corrections.
    • Cabinet Office Circular (23) 4, noting that only Ministers may approve the proactive release of Cabinet material.
14. Corrections may choose to make redactions to proactively published official information. These redactions will be identified with the appropriate withholding provisions of the OIA.
15. Corrections will continue to identify enhancements to its proactive release policies and protocols, including the release of information provided to the Minister of Corrections.

Proactive release of information not subject to a request

16. Corrections will publish information that informs the public about how we undertake our functions, the role and structure of our agency, and the information we hold, with the goal of helping the public to contribute to government decision-making and administration.
17. We will consider for release material that would be likely to become subject to an OIA request.
18. We will consider for publication a range of other official information including but not limited to:
    • policies, procedures, manuals and guidelines
    • strategy, planning and performance information
    • information about policy development
    • information about statutory decision making processes and
    • information about work programmes.

Proactive release of previous OIA responses

19. Once a quarter or as otherwise determined, Corrections will publish responses to OIA requests that are appropriate for wider publication. When deciding whether to proactively publish a response to an OIA request, relevant considerations include:
    • Whether the information requested relates to or is personal to the original requester or where disclosure is not authorised by the Privacy Act 2020
    • whether there has been more than one request for the information, or on the topic the information covers;
    • whether the information would be of general interest to the public.
20. Corrections will advise requesters of official information that our response to them may be published on our website. Before publication, we will remove any personal details that would reveal the identity of the requester.
21. Corrections will ensure that the responses that are published are searchable and accessible, at a single access point on our website.

Monitoring, Assurance and Governance

22. Every six months Corrections will provide comprehensive information to the Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission on the number of OIA requests received, how we met the timeliness requirements of the OIA and the number of complaints notified by an Ombudsman. We will also advise on the number of Cabinet Papers proactively released.
23. Ministerial Services will include OIA handling statistics in regular reporting to senior leaders.

Learning and communication

24. Staff are supported to comply with this policy through a blended approach to learning where they have opportunities to:
    • Learn at their own pace through digital online learning within the Learning Hub
    • Take part in facilitator-led learning activities
    • Practice their learning in familiar real-life contexts.
25. This policy is supported by an online module within the Learning Hub to enable staff to navigate the OIA system effectively and efficiently. Staff who may be involved in processing OIA requests will be able to complete this module at the induction into their role and review related modules as needed.
26. This policy will also be supported by learning material that facilitators can deliver to groups of staff on an as-needed basis. Facilitators could be national practice leaders within the Ministerial Services team or experienced regional or site-based leaders.
27. The blended approach enables staff to:
    • Gain the skills and experience they need to be confident in handling OIA requests well.
    • Complete learning in their own time alongside other requirements of their role.
    • Have learning targeted to learners or sites identified as needing support to uplift practice.

Procedures, protocols and guides

This policy is supported by the following procedures, protocols, and guides:

• Official Information Act Guide  PDF, 575.1 KB
• Prison Operations Manual C.10 Official Information Disclosure
• Health Information Policy and Procedure
• Guidance on Dealing with Official Information requests and releases involving the Minister of Corrections

Other Related Departmental Policies and Procedures

• Privacy and Security Policy
• Privacy and Personal Information Guide
• Privacy Breaches and IOMS Access Guidance
• Complaint Resolution Practice Centre
• Information Sharing Guide
• Your Record Keeping Responsibilities
• Information Management Recordkeeping Policy
• Redaction Tool Guide
• Managing Web Content
• Code of Conduct

Related Legislation

• The Official Information Act 1982
• The Privacy Act 2020
• The Ombudsmen Act 1975
• The Public Records Act 2005
• The Public Service Act 2020

Key Accountabilities and Responsibilities