Review of Official Information Act 1982

Opened 14 Apr 2009

Contact Details

• Margaret Thompson
• mthompson@lawcom.govt.nz
• 04 914 4821

Public Law
By enabling scrutiny of government activities, the Official Information Act 1982, contributes to public trust and confidence in government. The operating environment of the Act is now very different from 25 years ago, in terms of parliamentary and government processes, technology, use of internet, and socio-political norms. This review is intended to update the Act so it continues to operate efficiently and remains influential. The project focus is the effective operation of the legislation for members of the public, officials, journalists, researchers and politicians and it will build on recent research into how the Act works in practice. Work began on this project mid 2009, with the first objective being to scope the problems and issues, and check these with people who use and operate the Act, preliminary to releasing a public issues paper.