Official Information Act 1982

Introduction

You could also call this:

"Getting Access to Official Information About You"

This act is about making official information available to you. It wants to help you get information that is about you. The act also protects official information when it is necessary to do so, to keep the public safe and to protect people's privacy.

The act sets up steps to follow so that these goals can be achieved. You can get information that is about you, and the act helps to make sure this happens.

The act also gets rid of the Official Secrets Act 1951, which is an old law that is no longer needed.

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This page was last updated on 24 May 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM64784.

Highlights from this law

4: Purposes

This law helps you get information to have a say and hold others accountable.

5: Principle of availability

Information should be available to you unless there's a good reason to keep it secret

24: Right of access to personal information

You can ask to see your own personal information

6: Conclusive reasons for withholding official information

When the Government can keep official information secret to protect New Zealand

9: Other reasons for withholding official information

When the government can keep information secret for good reasons

12: Requests

Asking the Government for Information

23: Right of access by person to reasons for decisions affecting that person

Know why a government decision was made about you

26: Correction of information

Fixing mistakes in your personal information

Topics:

Rights and equality > PrivacyGovernment and voting > Government departments

1: Short Title and commencement, or

"What the Official Information Act 1982 is called and when it starts"

Official Information Act 1982

Reprint as at:: 2025-04-05
Assent:: 1982-12-17
Commencement:: see section 1

The Parliamentary Counsel Office has made editorial and format changes to this version using the powers under subpart 2 of Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019.

Note 4 at the end of this version provides a list of the amendments included in it.

This Act is administered by the Ministry of Justice.

An Act to make official information more freely available, to provide for proper access by each person to official information relating to that person, to protect official information to the extent consistent with the public interest and the preservation of personal privacy, to establish procedures for the achievement of those purposes, and to repeal the Official Secrets Act 1951