2Interpretation

1. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

   climate change has the meaning given in section 2(1) of the Resource Management Act 1991

   department means a government department named in Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the Ombudsmen Act 1975 (other than the Parliamentary Counsel Office)

   document means a document in any form, and includes—

   1. any writing on any material:
   2. any information recorded or stored by means of any tape recorder, computer, or other device; and any material subsequently derived from information so recorded or stored:
   3. any label, marking, or other writing that identifies or describes any thing of which it forms part, or to which it is attached by any means:
   4. any book, map, plan, graph, or drawing:
   5. any photograph, film, negative, tape, or other device in which 1 or more visual images are embodied so as to be capable (with or without the aid of some other equipment) of being reproduced

   enactment—

   1. means any provision of—
      1. any Act of Parliament; or
      2. any secondary legislation, within the meaning of the Legislation Act 2019, that is made by Order in Council; and
   2. in relation to section 54, includes any bylaw, standing order, or rule of procedure of any local authority

   Internet site, in relation to a particular local authority, means an Internet site that is maintained by, or on behalf of, the local authority and to which the public has free access

   local authority—and, in both cases, includes—

   1. for the purposes of Parts 1 to 6, means those local authorities and public bodies named or specified in Schedule 1; and
   2. for the purposes of Parts 7 and 8, means those local authorities and public bodies named or specified in Schedule 1 or Schedule 2,—
   3. any committee or subcommittee or standing committee or special committee or joint standing committee or joint special committee which the local authority is empowered to appoint under its standing orders or rules of procedure or under any enactment or Order in Council constituting the local authority or regulating its proceedings; and
   4. a committee of the whole local authority

   member, in relation to a local authority, means any person elected or appointed to that local authority or to any committee or subcommittee of that local authority, and includes the presiding member of that local authority or of any committee or subcommittee of that local authority

   natural hazard has the meaning given in section 2(1) of the Resource Management Act 1991

   official information—

   1. means any information held by a local authority; but
   2. does not include—
      1. information contained in library or museum material made or acquired and preserved solely for reference or exhibition purposes; or
      2. information which is held by a local authority solely as an agent or for the sole purpose of safe custody and which is so held on behalf of a person other than a local authority; or
      3. information contained in any correspondence or communication that has taken place between the office of the Ombudsmen and any local authority and that relates to an investigation conducted by an Ombudsman under this Act or under the Ombudsmen Act 1975, other than information that came into existence before the commencement of that investigation; and
   3. does not include information contained in any correspondence or communication that has taken place between the office of the Privacy Commissioner and any local authority and that relates to any investigation conducted by the Privacy Commissioner under the Privacy Act 2020, other than information that came into existence before the commencement of that investigation

   Ombudsmen means the Ombudsmen holding office under the Ombudsmen Act 1975

   organisation means—

   1. an organisation named in Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Ombudsmen Act 1975 (other than the Parliamentary Service Commission):
   2. an organisation named in Schedule 1 of the Official Information Act 1982

   person includes a corporation sole, and also a body of persons, whether corporate or unincorporate

   personal information means any official information held about an identifiable person

   prescribed amount, in relation to any document or copy of any document provided pursuant to this Act, means the amount determined in accordance with regulations made under this Act

   presiding member means the Chairman or presiding member of a local authority; and includes the Mayor of a borough; and also includes any person acting as the Chairman or presiding member of a local authority or of any committee or subcommittee of a local authority

   publicly notified means made known by means of a notice that—

   1. is made publicly available, until any opportunity for review or appeal in relation to the matter notified has lapsed, on the local authority’s Internet site; and
   2. is published in at least—
      1. 1 daily newspaper circulating in the region or district of the local authority; or
      2. 1 or more other newspapers that have a combined circulation in that region or district at least equivalent to that of a daily newspaper circulating in that region or district

   regional council has the meaning given in section 5(1) of the Local Government Act 2002

   regulations means regulations made under section 55

   statutory officer means a person—

   1. holding or performing the duties of an office established by an enactment; or
   2. performing duties expressly conferred on that person by virtue of that person's office by an enactment

   territorial authority has the meaning given in section 5(1) of the Local Government Act 2002

   working day means any day of the week other than—

   1. a Saturday, a Sunday, Waitangi Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day, the Sovereign’s birthday, Te Rā Aro ki a Matariki/Matariki Observance Day, and Labour Day; and
   2. if Waitangi Day or Anzac Day falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, the following Monday; and
   3. the day observed in the appropriate area as the anniversary of the province of which the area forms a part; and
   4. a day in the period commencing with 20 December in any year and ending with 10 January in the following year.

2. Repealed

3. Subject to subsection (4), information that is held by an officer or employee or member of a local authority in that person's capacity as such an officer or employee or member or in that person's capacity as a statutory officer shall be deemed to be held by the local authority of which that person is an officer or employee or member.

4. Nothing in subsection (3) applies in respect of any information that any officer or employee or member of a local authority would not hold but for that person's membership of, or connection with, a body other than a local authority, except where that membership or connection is in that person's capacity as such an officer or employee or member of that local authority or as a statutory officer.

5. Repealed

6. Any information held by an independent contractor engaged by any local authority in his or her capacity as an independent contractor is, for the purposes of this Act, deemed to be held by the local authority.