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Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987

Access to local authority information

7: Other reasons for withholding official information

You could also call this:

"When councils can keep information secret for good reasons, like protecting people or businesses."

Illustration for Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987

There are times when you cannot get official information from your local council. This can happen if releasing the information would hurt someone's privacy or reveal a trade secret. You can find more about this in section 5 of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.

If the council withholds information, it must be for a good reason, such as protecting people's health or safety. The council might also keep information secret to avoid hurting the commercial position of a person or business. In some cases, the council must keep information secret to maintain the effective conduct of public affairs, as explained in sections 6, 8, and 17 of the Act.

The council can also withhold information to protect the location of waahi tapu or to avoid serious offence to tikanga Maori, especially when it comes to resource consents or heritage orders under the Resource Management Act 1991. This means the council has to balance the need to keep information secret with the need to make information available to the public. The council must consider what is in the public interest when deciding whether to release information.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM122287.

Topics:
Government and voting > Local councilsRights and equality > PrivacyBusiness > Fair tradingMāori affairs > Treaty of Waitangi
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"When the council can keep information secret from you"

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"When you ask for information, the council might not say if it exists to keep it safe."

Part 1Access to local authority information

7Other reasons for withholding official information

  1. Where this section applies, good reason for withholding official information exists, for the purpose of section 5, unless, in the circumstances of the particular case, the withholding of that information is outweighed by other considerations which render it desirable, in the public interest, to make that information available.

  2. Subject to sections 6, 8, and 17, this section applies if, and only if, the withholding of the information is necessary to—

  3. protect the privacy of natural persons, including that of deceased natural persons; or
    1. protect information where the making available of the information—
      1. would disclose a trade secret; or
        1. would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or who is the subject of the information; or
        2. in the case only of an application for a resource consent, or water conservation order, or a requirement for a designation or heritage order, under the Resource Management Act 1991, to avoid serious offence to tikanga Maori, or to avoid the disclosure of the location of waahi tapu; or
          1. protect information which is subject to an obligation of confidence or which any person has been or could be compelled to provide under the authority of any enactment, where the making available of the information—
            1. would be likely to prejudice the supply of similar information, or information from the same source, and it is in the public interest that such information should continue to be supplied; or
              1. would be likely otherwise to damage the public interest; or
              2. avoid prejudice to measures protecting the health or safety of members of the public; or
                1. avoid prejudice to measures that prevent or mitigate material loss to members of the public; or
                  1. maintain the effective conduct of public affairs through—
                    1. the free and frank expression of opinions by or between or to members or officers or employees of any local authority in the course of their duty; or
                      1. the protection of such members, officers, employees, and persons from improper pressure or harassment; or
                      2. maintain legal professional privilege; or
                        1. enable any local authority holding the information to carry out, without prejudice or disadvantage, commercial activities; or
                          1. enable any local authority holding the information to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations); or
                            1. prevent the disclosure or use of official information for improper gain or improper advantage.

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                              Notes
                              • Section 7(2)(ba): inserted, on , by section 362 of the Resource Management Act 1991 (1991 No 69).
                              • Section 7(2)(ba): amended, on , by section 6 of the Resource Management (Natural and Built Environment and Spatial Planning Repeal and Interim Fast-track Consenting) Act 2023 (2023 No 68).
                              • Section 7(2)(f)(i): amended, on , by section 12 of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Amendment Act 2023 (2023 No 41).