New Zealand · Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987

LGOIMA, built for the councils that actually run it

For territorial authorities, regional councils, and council-controlled organisations — AccessPoint runs 20-working-day decisions with the withholding grounds and public interest balance recorded, plus the open-meetings side of the Act.

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New Zealand — LGOIMA at a glance

Decision deadline
As soon as reasonably practicable, and no later than 20 working days
Extension
Permitted where the request is large or consultation is necessary, with notice within the original 20 days
Withholding
Sections 6, 7 and 17, most subject to a public interest balance
Charging
Permitted under the Ombudsman's charging guidelines
Meetings
Public notice, agendas, and grounds for excluding the public
Languages
English

Built for New Zealand — LGOIMA

One platform for the whole access-and-privacy mandate, pre-configured for this regime and running in your own Microsoft 365 tenant.

20 working days, and the notice that extends it

An extension must be notified within the original 20 working days, with the reason and the new date. AccessPoint tracks both dates and surfaces the notice inside the window that makes the extension valid.

The public interest balance

Most LGOIMA withholding grounds are not conclusive — they yield where the public interest in release outweighs them. AccessPoint records that balance against the specific information, which is what an Ombudsman investigation examines.

Charging under the guidelines

Apply the Ombudsman's charging guidelines with the free allowance first, itemize the charge, and keep the basis on the file — because charging is a frequent subject of complaint.

Elected members and the media

Councils field requests from journalists, ratepayers, and elected members, often about the same matter. Track requester type and relationship so responses stay consistent across a contested issue.

The meetings side of the Act

LGOIMA is a meetings statute too. Record public-excluded resolutions with the ground relied on, so the decision to exclude is documented as carefully as a decision to withhold.

In your own tenant

Information, requests, and audit history stay inside your own Microsoft 365 and Azure tenant — no third-party cloud and no cross-border transfers.

The half of the Act nobody systematises

LGOIMA governs your meetings as well as your requests. Most councils only track one of them.

The M in LGOIMA is meetings, and Part 7 carries real obligations: public notice, agendas available in advance, and a resolution stating the ground whenever the public is excluded from part of a proceeding. Those decisions are reviewable, and the grounds for excluding the public map closely onto the grounds for withholding information — which means a council can find itself having excluded the public from a discussion while releasing the underlying report, or the reverse, without anyone noticing the inconsistency. Councils that run requests in a case system and meetings in a separate governance workflow have no place where the two meet. AccessPoint records public-excluded resolutions against the same grounds vocabulary the request side uses, so the inconsistency becomes visible before a complaint makes it visible.

One grounds vocabulary Exclusion and withholding assessed against the same list.
The extension notice Prompted inside the 20 days that make it valid.
Defensible charges The guidelines applied and the basis kept on file.

Configured out of the box

Installing the nz-lgoima jurisdiction pack seeds your tenant with everything this regime needs — a starting point you can adjust, not a lock-in.

Related guide: FOI Workflow Quick Check
  • LGOIMA 1987 as the legal-authority spine
  • The 20-working-day decision clock with New Zealand public holidays
  • Extension handling with the mandatory in-window notice and new date
  • The ss. 6, 7 and 17 withholding grounds with public interest balance recorded per item
  • Charging under the Ombudsman's guidelines with the free allowance applied first
  • Requester types covering ratepayers, media, and elected members
  • Public-excluded meeting resolutions recorded against the same grounds vocabulary
  • Ombudsman complaint and investigation tracking with outcomes

New Zealand — LGOIMA Questions

How does LGOIMA differ from the OIA?
LGOIMA applies to local authorities and council-controlled organisations, while the Official Information Act applies to central government. The access provisions are closely parallel — the same 20-working-day clock and substantially the same withholding grounds — but LGOIMA also carries the open-meetings regime, which the OIA does not. AccessPoint ships them as separate packs.

How are extensions handled?
An extension must be notified to the requester within the original 20 working days, stating the period of the extension and the reasons for it. AccessPoint tracks the original and extended dates and surfaces the notice inside the window, because an extension taken without timely notice is not a valid extension.

Can we track meeting obligations too?
Yes. Public-excluded resolutions are recorded with the ground relied on, using the same grounds vocabulary as the request side — which makes it possible to see when a council has excluded the public from discussing material it has released, or is withholding material it discussed in open session.

Where does the information reside?
Entirely within your own Microsoft 365 and Azure tenant, in the region you choose. Requests, documents, redactions, and audit history never leave your control — no third-party cloud and no cross-border data transfers.

Run LGOIMA in Your Own Tenant

Try AccessPoint free for 30 days, configured for New Zealand local government. No credit card required.

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