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Responding to information requests

Responding to information requests

Every day, schools deal quickly and efficiently with straightforward information requests such as “I would like my child's records because our family is moving to a new town.”

Sometimes a less straightforward information request is made.

These can be time-consuming and throw the spotlight on school and board processes, particularly if they're not managed correctly.

Keep reading to learn more about the risks associated with these types of requests and the steps your board can follow.

What is your board responsible for?

Your board is the legal entity responsible for responding to information requests.

It is the agency subject to the Privacy Act 2020open_in_new and the Crown entity subject to the Local Government, Official Information and Meetings Act 1987open_in_new (LGOIMA) and the Official Information Act 1982open_in_new (OIA).

Therefore, your board is the legal entity responsible for ensuring all information requests are dealt with correctly.

Your board (as an agency) should have a Privacy Officer for any requests under the Privacy Act.

This is usually the principal or a member of the senior leadership team.

Requests under LGOIMA and the OlA are usually dealt with by boards on a case-by-case basis, delegating as appropriate.

What are the potential risks with information requests?

Less straightforward information requests pose a legal risk for boards.

They are time-consuming, can generate further requests, and can be associated with complaints.

Requests that are dealt with poorly can lead to complaints to your board, The Privacy Commissioner, and the Office of the Ombudsman.

Information requests allow boards and schools to identify gaps in their policies and procedures in light of the requested information.

The following is a list of some of the board and school areas of responsibility relevant to information requests:

  • Information requests.
  • Collection, use, storage, and retention of information.
  • Board meeting procedures.
  • Staff and parent concerns and complaints.
  • Parenting disputes.
  • Student management procedures, including enrolment and student behaviour management processes.
  • Health and safety, including child protection, visitors, and notifications to Oranga Tamariki under the Children's Act 2014open_in_new.

Boards that regularly review their policies and procedures are better equipped to respond to information requests.

What does good board practice look like?

Your board should be helpful to the requester and provide the information as soon as possible by following these steps:

  • As soon as the request is received, briefly acknowledge the request, and calculate the 20 working-day response timeframe.
  • Notify your board's insurance agent for all but straightforward information requests.
  • Refer straightforward Privacy Act requests to the school Privacy Officer.
  • Refer straightforward requests under the Official Information Act to the principal to be dealt with as part of their responsibility for day-to-day administration.
  • Your board should action all other requests. Then, table the request at the next board meeting, so your board can delegate who is to deal with it.
  • Because of the 20 working-day response timeframe, it may be necessary for the presiding member (Chair) of your board to call an additional meeting, which needs to be notified in the usual way.
  • Alternatively, your board could make the necessary decisions about who is to deal with the request through an electronic resolution.
  • Once your board has decided on the information request, it must notify the requester within 20 working days. It should either provide the information simultaneously or within a reasonable time.
  • Under the OIA, a charge can sometimes be considered for the time and expenses of providing the information to the requester.
  • Apart from the acknowledgement above, all communications with the requester should be on board letterhead, signed with board authority on behalf of your board.
  • Suppose the requester is unhappy about a board decision to extend the time to respond, withhold information, or charge for providing information. In that case, they can complain to the Office of the Ombudsman.

Your board's notification letter needs to tell the requester they can complain about any decision to withhold information.

Who can make an information request, and what about?

Individuals and entities can make information requests about themselves or someone else, even if they are not a member of the school's community.

These include:

  • Any citizen or permanent resident of New Zealand.
  • Any person who is in New Zealand.
  • The media.
  • A New Zealand-incorporated company, or a company with a New Zealand-based office.

An information request does not have to be in writing. It can be made verbally as well.

The information requested does not have to be written information. It could be “information of the mind”, such as a recollection of a discussion.

The requester does not have to give a reason for their request, even when your board asks for one.

If your board does ask the requester why they are making their request, your board's letter should explain why.

For instance, to help it decide whether the public interest in providing the information is equal to or outweighs any good reason to withhold or narrow the scope of a vast request.

An example of a vast request: “I want every document about my child, including all records about attendance, academic progress, pastoral care and student discipline, all emails, all meeting minutes, and notes of every discussion between teachers, including RTLB teachers and school staff.”

How do we decide which Act applies to the information request?

Even if the person has not specified an Act or has named the wrong Act, your board must still consider the request under the appropriate legislation:

  • The Local Government, Official Information and Meetings Act usually covers requests for copies of meeting agendas, associated reports, and minutes.
  • The Privacy Act covers requests for a person's own information.
  • The OIA covers all other requests for information.

Sometimes an information request must be considered under more than one Act.

For example: “Can I please have board minutes about my complaint; my child's behaviour records; and all correspondence and meeting notes between my ex-husband and my child's class teacher.”

What does the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA) cover?

The LGOIMA covers board agendas, reports, and minutes from the public part of any board meeting.

Members of the public can inspect agendas and reports at the school office within at least two working days of a board meeting.

This does not include reports likely to be considered during public excluded business (in committee).

Members of the public who are inspecting agendas and reports can:

  • Take notes from the documents.
  • Request a copy of each document free of charge – your board must ensure the requester is provided with a free copy as soon as possible.

Members of the public attending a board meeting are entitled to a free copy of the agenda on request.

Members of the public can view minutes from the public part of any board meeting at the school office. When inspecting minutes, they are entitled to take notes and request a copy, free of charge.

Note: A request for minutes from the public excluded part of the meeting is a request under the Privacy Act if the requester requests information about themselves.

All other information in these minutes within the scope of the request is considered under the Official Information Act.

What does the Privacy Act cover?

The Privacy Act covers situations where an individual or their agent (authorised in writing) requests their own personal information.

Requests for information that include the personal information of others must be carefully reviewed, and information that identifies or names others must be deleted (“redacted”).

There are extremely limited circumstances in which the requester's personal information can be redacted, or their request refused under the Privacy Act.

A request by parents for information about their child is dealt with under the Official Information Act unless:

  • It is information parents have a right to receive about their child, or
  • The child has authorised the parent to make the request as their agent.

Refer requests for information under the Privacy Act to the school's Privacy Officer.

What does the Official Information Act (OIA) cover?

The OIA covers all other information requests, including requests from parents for information about their children.

Information requests involving the OIA expose boards to the most risk and dealing with them can take considerable time and energy for principals and boards.

How do you deal with an information request under the OIA?

Once your board has acknowledged the request, notified its insurance agent, and, if necessary, sorted out delegations, these are the steps to follow:

Step one – scoping the request
  • Does the request for any information have to be transferred to another agency, like the Ministry of Education or Oranga Tamariki? Again, there is a timeframe for this.
  • If the request is verbal or unclear, does your board need to clarify it in writing with the requester?
  • Does the request include information parents have a right to receive about their child?
  • Is part of the request related to information that your board or school no longer holds?
  • Does the scope of the request include “information of the mind”? For example, if no notes exist of a meeting, the board must still provide that information. However, a statement from someone present at the meeting could be provided.
  • Is the information requested in digital or paper form or a mixture of both?
  • Has the requester asked for it to be provided in a particular format?
  • Has all relevant information within the scope of the request been identified?
  • If the scope of the request is extensive, could the board work with the requester to narrow its scope?
  • Would it be appropriate to charge a fee for providing the information to the requester?
  • What information can be reasonably provided within the 20 working-day timeframes?
  • Is there some information that might take your board longer to retrieve? In that case, your board might need to notify the requester of an extension of time. But, again, the requester needs to be notified within the 20-working-day timeframe.
Step two – check if the information requested comes from another agency

Should your board notify the other agency of the information it proposes to release, or are there parts of the request that that agency should deal with?

Your board can transfer the request to another agency if it believes the information is held by or is more connected with that agency's functions.

The transfer should be made within ten working days of receiving the request, and your board should inform the requester.

Step three – decide if any information can be withheld

When deciding whether to withhold any information, your board's starting point is that it will provide all the requested information as soon as possible unless the criterion for one of the following reasons is met:

  • “Conclusive” reason to withhold.
  • “Other” good reason to withhold (that equals or outweighs the public interest in providing the information).
  • An “administrative” reason to refuse the request.
Step four – notify the requester of your board's decision about their request

If your board decides to withhold information, it's essential to give the reasons for deciding to do so.

When should you withhold information?

Your board may decide to withhold information for one of the following reasons:

Conclusive reasons to withhold information include where the release of the information would likely:

  • Prejudice the maintenance of the law, or
  • Endanger the safety of an individual.

Good reasons to withhold information include the following:

  • To protect the privacy of natural persons.
  • To maintain the effective conduct of public affairs through:
  • a free and frank expression of opinions by or between members of an organisation subject to the OIA or employees of any organisation subject to the OIA in the course of their duty, and
  • the protection of such members of organisations and employees from improper pressure or harassment.
  • To maintain legal professional privilege.
  • To protect information that, if released, would unreasonably prejudice the commercial position of the supplier/subject of the information.
  • To enable a Minister of the Crown or any department or organisation holding the information to conduct commercial activities without prejudice or disadvantage.
  • To protect confidential information where:
    • providing the information would prejudice the supply of similar information,
    • it is in the public interest that this information continues to be supplied, or
    • the release would likely otherwise damage the public interest.

If your board decides there is a “good reason to withhold information”, it needs to determine if that reason equals or outweighs the public interest in providing the information.

Administrative reasons to withhold information include the following:

  • The information is publicly available or soon will be.
  • The request is frivolous or vexatious, or the information requested is trivial.
  • The document alleged to contain the information does not exist or cannot be found.
  • The information cannot be made available without substantial collation and research. If this applies, your board also needs to consider whether charging or extending the time limit would solve the issue. Again, it needs to consult with the requester about this.

If your board decides to release a document after some of the information has been withheld, it will need to make deletions or alterations to the document as necessary.

These are called redactions.

Check carefully to make sure the redacted information cannot be seen in the document to be released.

Redaction can be done with a felt tip pen to “blackout” the information. However, an online redaction tool such as Adobe Acrobat Pro is the only completely secure method.

What is a board notification letter?

This is your board's letter notifying the requester of its decision about their request.

It needs to reference the requested information clearly.

If the requested information no longer exists, the letter needs to advise the requester.

If your board refuses the request or withholds some of the information that is part of the request, it must let the requester know the reason (for example, “to protect the privacy of natural persons”).

Advise the requester of their right to complain to the Office of the Ombudsman if they are not happy with your board's decision.

What information must schools give parents about their children?

Section 103 of the Education and Training Act 2020open_in_new gives parents the right to receive reports on matters preventing or slowing their child's progress or harming their relationship with teachers or other students.

When both parents are noted on the school's enrolment records, they can assume both parents are entitled to information about their child.

Parents as guardians are also entitled to certain information about their child to exercise their role. This is usually similar to the information obligations described above.

Usually, both parents are guardians of their child. However, sometimes a child has additional court-appointed guardians.

There is more information about the role of the guardian in the Care of Children Act 2004open_in_new.

Uncertainties about the information the school must provide to parents about their child can arise with separated parents if they have unequal responsibility for the child and/or there is a parenting dispute.

Note: Even if a court order prevents contact between a parent and their child, they are still permitted certain information about their child if they are their guardian.

If a parent's request for information is broader than information that meets the above obligations, it should be considered under the OIA.

The younger the child, the public interest in parents receiving information about their child usually outweighs the child's right to privacy.

For requests by parents for information about their older child, the public interest balance could change depending on the circumstances of the requester and the child.

This is because there could be information the student does not want to be shared with their parents.

If you're unsure, please contact us for support and advice.

Can you charge the requester for information?

The OIA does not permit your board to charge for time and expenses incurred when considering whether to provide information. Still, it can consider a reasonable charge for the time and expenses incurred in providing the information.

Your board needs to look at whether payment might cause the requester financial hardship and whether there is a public interest in releasing the information without a charge.

On the other hand, if the requested charge is substantial, it is good practice to allow the requester a chance to narrow the request.

The amount charged should follow the Ministry of Justice Charging Guidelinesopen_in_new.

The most common charges made by boards are for photocopying and staff time.

The guidelines allow for 20¢ per page photocopied (after the first 20 pages) and $38 per half hour (after the first hour) for staff time spent making the information available.

If your board has decided to charge for releasing the information, it must advise the requester of the estimated amount and the right to ask the Ombudsman to review this.

Where can you go for advice?

As well as NZSBA, you can check out the following:

Both websites have calculators to quickly work out the 20-working-day timeframes to respond to requests.

Questions your board could ask

  • Are we aware of our responsibility to ensure all information requests are dealt with correctly?
  • Do we recognise that information requests may be subject to the Privacy Act 2020, the Local Government, Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA), and the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA)?
  • Do we know which types of information are covered under each Act?
  • Do we know where to go for advice and support for dealing with information requests?

Templates, resources, and references

Click on the link(s) below to access the templates, resources, and references related to this topic.

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Websites
Education and Training Act 2020 
Other Acts