Hon Andrew Little 'lr' we}: is, 5 NOV Offi al Information Act 1982 request -- review of the CIA and proactive releases Thank you for your request of 18 September 2018 seeking the following information under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act): "all advice and communications on plans for a rewew of the OIA, Including covering proactive re/eases under 548. Several documents fail within the scope of your request. A list of these can be found in the Appendix, which also Indicates which information is being released or Withheld. The documents lam releasing to you. along With necessary redactions, are attached. Some contact details and names have been redacted from documents under section of the Act to protect the privacy of naturai persons Some material has been Withheld under section of the Act to maintain the confidentiality of advice tendered by Ministers of the Crown and officials. In addition, some material has been withheld under section of the Act to maintain the effective conduct of public affairs through free and frank expression of opinions by Officiais. If you are not satisfied with my response to your request, you have the right to complain to the Ombudsman under section 28(3) of the Act. The Ombudsman may be contacted by email at Info@ornbudsman.pariiamenl.nz, Thank you for taking the time to write, You incerely Andrew Little ister of Justice iwsmm :1 sum reimmniims HemtitoW'lBO \'ettleaiwid a a Appendix Document Title (subject date) Decision on release Email . Attachment: Aide memoire - proactive release (12 February 2018) Cabinet paper release requirements Strengthening proactive Released with some information withheld under (privacy of natural persons) Released with some information withheld under (free and frank) Email . Attachment: Aide memoire with 2 appendices AM for meeting with Ministers Hipkins and Curran on possible OIA reform (18 May 2018) Meeting with Ministers Hipkins and Curran possible reform of the Official Information Act 1982 Released in full information withheld under frank) and Released with some (free and (confidentiality of advice) Information from 2 weekly reports to the Minister of Justice 0 Weekly report of 4 May 2018 . Weekly report of 7 September 2018 Released with some information withheld under (privacy of natural persons), (free and frank), and (confidentiality of advice) Released with some information withheld under (privacy of natural persons) and (free and frank) Email 0 Attachment: Briefing 15 May 2018(11.11am) OIA Reform Withheld in full under (free and frank) Withheld in full under (free and frank) Email 15 May 2018 (11.23am) Withheld in full under (free and frank) m'us Email 0 Attachment: Report to Ministers with 4 attachments Papers for meeting with Mins Curran and Hipkins (17 May 2018) Possible legislative reform to the Official Information Act 1982 Released with some information withheld under (privacy of natural persons) Released with some information withheld under (privacy of natural persons), (free and frank), and (confidentiality of advice) AIM proactive release- Enterprise Vault Archived Item Page 1 of 1 Document 1 I From Hubscher, Chris I Date Monday, 12 February 2018 12:18:48 pm. To Cc correspondence, official; Purple, Folder; Greaney, Caroline; Chhana, Rajesh; Sye, Lauren Subject - proactive release .lmageogajng (6 KB @20180212 AH - Proagive release and the recommended refor?ms Hl Andrew Please find an for this GOV item attached. I?ll be In attendance forJUstice. Regards, Chris Chris Hubscher Policy Manager I Electoral and Constitutional DDI: +64 4 918 8930] Ext 58930 Cell: 5% 1 IE a_logo.jpg Aide llilemoirez'Cabinet paper - Strengthening proactive 5,9191?i release re uirements - GOV Committee, 4.30pm Tuesday 13 February 2018 Purpose 1. The Associate Minister of State Services (Open Government), I-lon Clare Curran 3. 9 .r 10. 11. proposes to strengthen the expectations on ministers around the proactive release of official information. Justice supports this proposal, but would prefer a phase-in period, to allow for consistent systems across government to be established and tested. Hon Curran may also suggest the government took to progress legislative reform of the Official information Act 1982 (01A), as car Law Commission and Open Government Partnership recommendationsl The Cabinet Manual already includes a general Committee papers and minutes on significan proactively once decisions have been made Hon Curran's preferred proposai wo . $1 material where decisions are mad . to ministers taking these in period to ?ew . vi. . reement by states committed to making government more . muntable. In January 2018, the independent Reporting . .- a draft report for public comment that assesses New Zealand?s through our second Action Plan. It suggests considering the Law 5 recommended reforms, including those related to proactive release. to Know: Review of the Official information Legislation. it called for: . placing a duty on agencies to take all reasonably practicable steps to proactively make official information publicly available, and in extension of the CIA protection against certain civil and criminal actions to cover information released proactively. The Law Commission also recommended extending the OiA's application to certain parliamentary information (eg. Parliamentary Services and the Office of the Clerk), simplifying unclear withholding grounds, better protecting commercially sensitive information, establishing a statutory oversight function, and clarifying the OlA's reach. The previous government did not pursue any of these recommendations. Approved by: Caroline Greaney, General Manager Civil Constitutional File number: CON-06-03-03 . Justice?s advice on legislative reform respect of the suggestion that the CIA should cover parliamentary information, Parliament already has processes for developing rules around access and Use of information, Which are designed to achieve a balance between access to information and Parliament's effective functioning. This approach is consistent with those taken in the Australian and Canadian federal parliaments, and the US congress. The 880 and Ombudsman announced a Joint work programme to improve public sector OIA practice in October 2016. In addition to education and guidance, the SSC is publishing OiA,statistics from 110 government agencies. and the Chief Ombudsman analyses and publishes complaints received against Ministers a a . statistics, which are'updated every six months, are an accounta public can see how well each agency is applying the CIA, en?st information increasingly accessible. This work programme, and the proactive release pr u?i ores: . sinificantl im-rove the transarenc of cove ?115%? 1. AM for meeting with Ministers Hi pkins and Curran on possible OIA reform - Page 1 of 1 Document 2 From Denoual, Hayley . Date Friday, 18 May 2018 3:03:04 pm. To Andrew Williams Cc Johnston, Anna; Hubscher, Chris; Greaney, Caroline; Purple, Folder; correspondence, official; Crooke, David . Subject AM for meeting with Ministers and Curran on possible OIA reform Tuesday 22 May Hi Andrew Please find attached an AM for the Minister?s meeting with Ministers Hipkins and Curran on possible reform of the Official information Act 1982 next Tuesday 22 May - together with two appendices providing further background information Thanks . Hayley (on behalf of Anna'Johnston) Hayley Denouai Nance??90mg Senior Advisor El . nd 5 utlonai pramsminimalism. - I ti?gg gait . Meeting with Ministers Hipkins and Curran - 9935' possible reform of the Official Information Act 1982 ti?i?b JUSTICE [Ii/m 1? ?Win Hon Andrew Little, Minister of Justice 8pm, 22 May 2018 Purpose 1. You are meeting with Hon Chris Hipkins, Minister for State Services and Hon Clare Curran. Associate Minister for State Services (Open Government) on 22 May 2018. This note provides you with background for that meeting and some possible talking points. 2. The meeting follows discussion at Cabinet about possible reform of the Official information Act 1982 (OIA). Hon Curran would like to carry out targeted consultation with experts to help Ministers decide whether to progress a formal reView of the CIA. Key messages 3. The Ministry of Justice administers the CIA and would be respo or carrying out targeted consultation and any review of the subject to 0th 4. Ministers may wish to consider: a es, the respective roles of the relevant Ministers . what kind of review (if any) the Go .- 0 (see App - possible approaches). 5. The 880 and Ombudsmen'sjoint - . .5- . \Qco .- - opportunities to significantly improve in - -.. g) -. ase requirements may be - Gamma . - isk assessment approach). - wuitation from 880 that rran considers that targeted consultation with 5 would co i ent formation the Government already has and assist Min ers in decidi roceed with OIA reform. A A - egg Possible reform to support proactive release 10.The Government is considering a proposal to strengthen requirements for proactive release of official information. In this context. Ministers have discussed whether the CIA should be amended to protect Ministers and agencies from civil and criminal liability when they release information proactively. The OIA currently protects against actions such as defamation claims, breach of privacy and breach of confidence, where information has been released in good faith under the CIA. Approved by: Chris Hubscher, Policy Manager, Electoral Constitutional, Policy Group 9(2llgili) . Background The Law Commission?s report 13. In its 2012 report The Public's Right to Know, the Law Commission recommended that protection from liability should not be extended to proactiveiy released information because: . proactive release?lnvoives an active and voluntary decision to?publish, which should include considering the legal consequences - - damage from information proactively released is potentially we?? is released to more people . if information released under the CIA is published by a ample. onl' a person who is harmed can take action against person harmed by information released proa 14. The report found that the fundamentals of . - sound, re necessary to respond to the context i ow Opera angle:S in technology. its recommendations er? ppendix T?g ta function. such as an Information Commissioner. nt did not pursue most of the recommendations. Recent work has ving OIA practice and been led by 880 and the Ombudsman. to the CIA 16. The ave been some recent caiis for reform to the CIA. For example, Sir Geoffrey Palmer has recommended that the Act be redrafted. An independent researcher for the Open Government Partnership (OGP) also recommended that New Zealand's next Action Plan address broader OIA reform, including some of the Law Commission recommendations. SSC notes that reform will feature in discussions on the 2018?20 0GP Action Plan. 17. Media commentators, such as Dr Bryce Edwards. have raised concern about OIA processes, but the dominant theme is compliance by government rather than the need for legislative reform. 3:er semis: . .- 'r ?5 43:21:: 4' Or s. a? JUSTICE - 1.3.2: 11.7: The legislative vehicle Law Commission?s 2012 Report The Public?s Right to Know: Review of the Official Information Legislation: Overview of Key Recommendations and Related Work to Date (Appendix Two) . Re-draft and re-enactthe 01A and LGOIMA to achieve better order and structure. and to modernise and simplify the language Fr butcommittedtokeepthe operation ofthe of?cial legislation under review and progress other me?ns as competing priorities allowed. Not applimbie The withholding grounds A9 - Make the ?good government withholding grounds easierto understand conventions and free and frank advice). . Introduce three new withholding grounds for protecting: - Sensitive commercial information relating to ?nancial position - information provided for the purpose of an investigation or inquiry - sensitive cultural information (there is currently limited provision for this in the but not the OLA). . Where third party information comes under the scope of a request, require that the third party be given advance notice. White the Of?ce ofthe Ombudsman. and 836. has published guides on the existing withholding grounds over the past three years, they do not address the need identified by the Report to express existing concepts in plainer lang uage. or to introduce new protections for certain types of information. Requests and resources . Better de?ne the term 'due particularity?. . Extend the ?substantial collation and research? refusal grounds to recognise that other elements of processing a request (2.9. consultation) can present unreasonable burden on agencies. Clarify the de?nition of 'vexatious requests'. No work progressed Processing requests . Clarify: - that one extension can be taken above the standard ZD-day timehame. - that partial transfers of requests are permitted. the process for handling 'urgent" requests. The Of?cial Information Amendment Act 2015 clari?ed that partial transfers are A pennitted. Complaints and remedies . Align the two distinct review processes that the CIA provides for (the Ombudsman conducts reviews according to the or the Ombudsman Act. depending on the type of information) - Introduce an additional grounds for complaintto the Ombudsman for unsatisfactory agency process (2.9. late responses) . Allow an individual whose case has resulted in Ombudsman recommendations to bring proceedings against the agency No speci?c response ?gm Proactive release . Place a duty on agencies subject to the OWLGOIMA to uke all reasonably practice their resources). AVA - - -ci?c response steps to proactively make of?cial information available (although accoun?ng for things li a in 2017. the Cabinet Manual was amended to include an expectation that 'Cabinet material (Cabinet and Cabinet committee papers and minutes) on - signi?cant policy decisions will be released proactively once decisions have - been taken'. SSC published proactive release principles and guidance to help agencies develop their own policies and pmdures. Advice on a possible non-statutory process for strengthening proactive release expectations is currently being developed. Oversight and guidance . The function of providing oversight for of?cial infomiaticn legislation should by statute and carried out by a stamtory of?ce holder. 880, and the Of?ce of the Ombudsman. have continued to strengthen their oversight roles. SSC established a work programme to improve public seaor OIA practice in 2016. in 2016 the Secretarytor Justice delegated to the State Services Commissioner the Ministry of Justice's responsibility for providing advice or assistance to departments and organisations about the OLA. . Establish a new charging framework that is cohesive, consistent and principled. A review ofthe charging framework was begun by the Ministry ofJustice. A review of the charging framework is now planned for 2013. - Enhance guidance. particularty by: - publishing Ombudsman use: routinely - replacing the Ombudsman?s ?Practice Guidelines' with new guidelines that use case examples. and clarify principles and presumption: producing of a full commentary analysing Ombudsman decisions. Q, work to progress . 4 . i, The Of?ce of the Ombudsman has been reviewing and updating its of?cial irtfonnation legislation guides, which include case studies and succinct and accessible explanations of key principles and conceps. It also regularly publishes notes on 01A and Ombudsman Act uses on its website Justice is not aware whether work has been progressed on a full commentary on Chubudsman decisions. The 836 has also published a suite of guidance for agencies as part of its work programme to improve agency 01A practices. Scope of the Acts - Extend coverage to include cours adminisnation. Agreed The District Court Act 2016 and the Senior Courts Act 201 5 established a scheme for-determining what information was to be dassi?ed and 'court information?. and what was to be ?Ministry of Justice' information. latch-nation about the administration of the courts, such as expenditure, resources and statistics is now deemed Ministry of Justice information. and therefore subject to the - - Extending coverage to include Of?cers of Parliament (the Ombudsman, Auditor General and the Parliamentary Commissionerfor the Environment). Parliamentary Counsel Office. Of?ce of the Clerk. Parliamentary Service and Speaker ofthe House. Disagreed considered that curre developing mles around access satisfactory, and better achieve the ir'rfonnation and the proper functionin )10 work progreesed Anangea working party to resolve inconsistencies between schedules in the CIA and LGOIMA. and to ensure allagencieswhich needtobecovered bythescopeofthe?ctsare?sted. No speci?c response Compatibility with other legislation Resolve inexplicable differences between the 01A and LGOIMA. and clarify their relationship with each other and with otherlegislation. Consider combining the CIA and LGOIMA. No speci?c response regarding alignment Disagreed that the two Acts be combined. Produce guidance for agencies on the interaction between of?cial inionnation legislation and the Government release and reuse policy. No speci?c response No work progressed ?Document 3 From Weekly Report to Minister Little 04.05.2018 Liability for official information released proactively 6. We understand that you, Hon Clare Curran and Hon Chris Hipkins haVe diswssed amending the Official Information Act 1982 (CIA) to extend the section 48 protection from legal liability to information released proactively. Section 48 protects against actlons such as defamation claims, breach of privacy and breach of confidence, where information has been released in good faith under the OM. This protection does not currently apply to material that is proactively released. 7. in its 2012 report The Public?s Right to Know, the Law Commission recommended that the protection should not be extended to proactively released information, because: de considering the legal consequences a damage from information proactively released is potentially greater as it r?a people I proactive release involves an active and voluntary decision to publish, which should in if information released under the OIA is published by a requ in the media), any person who is harmed can take action against the req gency. A per harmed by information released proactively may be left 3WD tan use Contactz?Chris anager, Elector Rajesh Cl tary, Policy. ekly Rep Liability for officia 9 12. Cabinet discusse - paper Strengthening Proactive Release Requirements on 3 September 2018. The paper notes that the proactive release policy could be supported by an amendment to the Official Information Act 1982 (01A) that would extend the section 48 protection from legal liability when information is released under the CIA to information released proactively. .41? - released proactively Contact: Chris Hubscher, Policy Manager, Electoral and Constitutional Policy. Rajesh Chhana, Deputy Secretary, Policy. Domnnent4 Lescelius, Jason From: Megan Bray Sent: Thursday, 17 May 2018 5:21 pm To: David Hawkins Subject: Papers for meeting with Mins Curran and Hipkins, 22 May 8pm Attachments: I Report to Ministers__ Next steps in considering reform of the Official Information Act Table of Law Commission recommendations and work to date FINAL Attachment SSC System wide progress implementing the Mo} A3 on OIA leg reform April SSC A3_Proactive release summary A3 May 2018.PPTX Hi David, . E-copies of papers for Minister Little's meeting with Minister Curran and Minister Hipkins on 22 May regarding the Official information Act. Regards, Megan Megan Bray Private Secretary (Open Government) Office of Hon Clare Curran I Associate Minister of State Services (Open Gov t) 160 i Room 4.5L Executive Wing Private Bag 18 888 lParliament Buildings I DDL +64 4 817 5493 Mobile 3 us Ir \It?lf SI Wu i? HMMI??llit?? Tr rant?lnall 'tu lui Ilnnuu REPORT gig Possible legislative reform to the Official Information Act 1982 Date: i7 May 2018 Report No: Contact: Catherine Williams, Deputy Commissioner, integrity, Ethics and Standards Telephone: 1 Action Sought dline Hon Clare Curran . Associate Minister of State Services Send the report to 'ni ay 2018 {Open Government) Hipkins an le. Mini Hon Chris Hlpkins Discuss - . Minister of State Services re Hon Andrew Little ?e$$eproposds $\eeting on 22 May 0. A Minister of Justice port. 2018, 8.00 - 8.30 pm a as Enclosure. Yes (atta a Executive SAL. -.. ?c . targeteu-?ion on the Official Information Act l982 (0 - ill assist rs t- - ide whether or not they consider there is a cas t. Initiate a of the OIA. %1 information on: . It ission's 2012 recommendations for reform of official law and subsequent work 2 The attach 2.3 2.4 information Minister Curran used for Ministerial consultation on a proactive release policy. 2329263 Recommended Action 3 We recommend that you: 0 agree to targeted consultation on the Official Information Act 1982 to inform consideration on whether or not there is a case to initiate a formal review of the Act. Agree/disagree Hon Clare Curran Associate Minister of State Services (0 n1} 1 (W Hon Andrew Little Minister of Justice SSC Report: Possible legislative reform to the Official Information Act l982 Purpose of Report 4 This report proposes targeted consultation on the Official information Act 1982 (OIA). This will assist Ministers'to decide whether or not they consider there is a case to initiate a formal review of the CIA. Background 5 There have long been calls in New Zealand fora review of, or amendment to, the CIA. This means we have a lot of information available on the how the CIA works. For example: 5.1 in 20l 2 the Law Commission undertook a review of official information legislation. The report recommendations included significant legislative change but the then Government favoured largely operational improvements (ref to Attachment A for Law Commission's recommendations and work to dat ht progre its concern 5.2 The annual public engagement on the initiatives Ne statutory framework and the operation of 1 IA is comin again during discussion of the 2018/20 . - 5.3 There are growing calls by media, . to . for the government 5.4 in response to Dame Bev agencies' OIA practi . A the Office of the Ombudsman, ano orking on operationat improveme - - tstate of the programme). 5.5 . - . - horedacolumn for the decisions 7 Witww?w Proposal . 201 2 Law Commission report was against). 8 To round out the information already available we propose that targeted consultation take place to understand current positions on the CIA. The State Services Commissioner has been delegated the functions under section 46 of the CIA by the Secretary for Justice. This function includes providing advice and guidance to agencies to act in accordance with the CIA. People with specific expertise in the law 9 . We propose that the following people who hove specific expertise be opprooched for - their views: - and Other individuals and groups 10 The views from those with expertise in the low, could be supplemented by other New Zeoldnders os discussed below. New Zeaianders engaged with the developing our next Open Government Partnership Action Plan it New Zealanders are providing their thoughts oniine conversation! topics-of?conversationi and through social media to suggest initiatives that would make New Zealand more open. Others are registering to attend workshops on the development of New Zealand's 20i8/2020 OGP Action Plan. Ideas that have been submitted to date include reform of official information laws. The Open Government Partnership Expert Advisory Group 12 This group provides advice to the State Services Commission from the perspective of civil society on open government matters. The members are: Who . Background Mr Anaru Fraser Mr Fraser is the General Manager of Hui El? an agency that seeks to promote, st Community Sector. Mr Fraser ha munity Aotearoa connect the intern al Mr Te Raumawhitu (Te Rau) Kupenga sf litigation consulting firm . he Ministry for the . He holds a number of Professor Miri Lips mix Digital Government School of ersity of Wellington. Since 2015 Professor Lips has has: ing and undertaking a five-year research pro m- 3 overnment and Democracy in the Digital Age? hio with the Department of Internal Affairs, Inland epartment, the Ministry of Education and Datacom. Mr Scott as w?mtler is the chief executive of Volunteering New Zealand and as experience working in private, public and other NGO roles. He speaks internationally on volunteering, democracy, and open government. Mr Phil Newman Mr Newman is the International Programmes Director at Tearfund (a New Zealand based aid and development organisation, serving communities across Africa, Asia and South America). He moved from working in finance to international aid development, governance here and in Austraiia. Ms Rachel Roberts Formally a journalist and radio producer for National Radio, Ms Roberts works with agencies across sectors on strategic leadership, strategy development, implementing projects, advocacy and communications. . Ms Suzanne Chair Transparency international New Zealand. Ms Snively Snively specialised as an economic strategist at PWC. She has 30 years' experience as a company director on public and private Boards. Journalists 13- .14 15 be issues raised. Resourci? There is no professional journalist grouping that represents the media. Given this some or all the following, who are covered by the Press Council complaints process, couid be approached for a discussion on the OM. 13.1 Otago Daily Times, on independent newspaper that is locally owned. 132 Stuff. 13.3 NZ Herald. 13.4 TVNZ. 13.5 Media works (whose ownership includes Newshub, TV3, and Newstalk 213). 13.6 Maori Television.? 13.7 RNZ. 13.8 Richard Harmon, who has 35 years of politic na perienc a publishes oniine through his website Politi other bloggers and other commentators Other bloggers and comment or@ tent that 111% not been covered through the COP convers $2 clude: A 1? 14.1 \?Ny WV f?a 14.4 1) Subject When gathered, some wider workshops and or online tools could i6 The targeted consultation would need to be led by the Ministry of Justice, who administer and lead policy advice on the CIA, with the support of the State Services Commission. 17 If a subsequent decision is made to review the the expectation is that the Ministry of Justice will lead the review, with support from the State Services Commission. Timeframe 18 If you agree to the targeted consultation the Ministry of Justice and the State Services Commission wiil come back to you with a proposed timeframe and resourcing requirements. . Consultation 20 The Ministry of Justice was consuifed on ?rh Law Commission?s 2012 Report The Public?s Right to Know: Review of the Official Information Legislation: Overview of Key Recommendations and Related Work to Date (Attachment A) l: . The legislative vehicle a reed, but committed to keep the operation of the of?cial Not applicable mgr; tion legislation under review and progress other dations as competing priorities allowed. . Re?d raft and re-enact the CIA and LGOIMA to achieve better ord cture, and to modernise and simplify the language 0 A The withholding grounds A . Make the ?good government withholding grounds easier to understand -. pr?ir ?le to withholding'g'roun'ds for sensitive commercial While the Of?ce of the Ombudsman. and 580. has published guides on the conventions and free and frank advice). - - - . exrsting Withholding grounds over the past three years, they do not address the need identified by the Report to express existing concepts in plainerlanguage. . Introduce three new withhoIding grounds for protecting; or to introduce new protections for certain types of information. Sensitive commercial information relating to ?nancial position - information provided for the purpose of an investigation or inquiry - sensitive cultural information (there is currently limited provision for this in the but not the CIA). . Where third party information comes under the scope of a request, require that the thir party be given advance notice. Requests and resources . Better de?ne the term ?due particularity?. No work progressed . Extend the ?substantial collation and research? refusal grounds to recognise that other elements of processing a request consultation) can present unreasonable burden on agencies. . Clarify the de?nition of ?vexatious requests?. Processing requests - Clarify: No speci?c response The Of?cial information Amendment Act 2015 clari?ed that partial transfers are - that one extension can be taken above the standard 20-day timeframe. - that partial transfers of requests are permitted. permitted. - the process for handling ?urgent' requests. . . ?v Complaints and remedies A F, 7 . . Align the two distinct review processes that the CIA provides for (the Ombudsman N0 5980"?: response No work progressed conducts reviews according to the OIA or the Ombudsman Act. depending on the type of information) . Introduce an additional grounds for complaint to the Ombudsman for unsatisfactory agency - process (eg. late responses) . Allow an individual whose case has resulted in Ombudsman recommendations to bring proceedings against the agency Proactive release - Place a duty on agencies subject to the OINLGOIMA to take all reasonably practicable steps to proactively make of?cial information available (although accounting for things like their resources). No speci?c response - in 2017, the Cabinet Manual was amended to include an expectation that 'Cabfnet material (Cabinet and Cabinet committee papers and minutes) on signi?cant policy decisions will be released proactively once decisions have been token?. 830 published proactive release principles and guidance to help agencies develop their own policies and procedures. Advice on a possible non-statutory process for strengthening proactive release expectations is currently being developed. 69 Oversight and guidance (7 . The function of providing oversight for of?cial information legislation 0 blished i by statute and can?ied out by a statutory of?ce holder. ?32. considered that the overs'ght provided by the Of?ce of the is suf?cient SSC, and the Of?ce of the Ombudsman, have continued to strengthen their oversight roles. SSC established a work programme to improve public sector OIA practice in 2016. .In 2016 the Secretary for Jusb?ce delegated to the State Services Commissioner the Ministry of Justice's responsibility for providing advice or assistance to departments and organisations about the A review of the charging framework was begun by the Ministry of Justice. A review of the charging'framework is now planned for 2018. Establish a new charging framework that is cohesive, consistent and principled. @5340 5 A . Enhance guidance. particularly by: publishing Ombudsman cases routinely replacing the Ombudsman's 'Practice Guidelines' with new guidelines that use case examples, and clarify principles and presumptions - producing of a full commentary analysing Ombudsman decisions. ??gmed expre .- - -rthe Ombudsmen's work to progress recommendations 1? - -ance. The Of?ce of the Ombudsman has been reviewing and updating its of?cial information legislation guides. which include case studies and succinct and accessible explanations of key principles and concepts. It also regularly publishes notes on CIA and Ombudsman Act cases on its website. Justice is not aware whether work has been progressed on a full commentary on Ombudsman decisions. The SSC has also published a suite of guidance for agencies as part of its work programme to improve agency OIA practices. Scope of the Acts . Extend coverage to include courts administration. The District Courts Act 2016 and the Senior Courts Act 2016 established a scheme for determining what information was to be classi?ed and ?court infonnation', and what was to be 'Ministry of Justice' information. information about the administration of the courts, such as expenditure, resources and statistics is now deemed Ministry of Justice inform ation, and therefore subject to the OM. - - Extending coverage to include Of?cers of Padiament (the Ombudsman, Auditor General and the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment), Parliamentary Counsel Of?ce, Of?ce of the Clerk, Parliamentary Service and Speaker of the House. 4 A CU Disagreed considere Parliamenia/ry proc developing rules aroun se of informa satisfactory, and better ac ed balance information and the proper tu arliament. 9% No work progressed . An'ange a working party to resolve inconsistencies between schedules in the OIA and LGOIMA, and to ensure all agencies which need to be covered by the scope of the Acts are listed. No speci?c response work progressed Compatibility with other legislation a Resolve inexplicable differences between the CIA and LGOIMA, and clarify their relationship with each other and with other legislation. - Consider combining the CIA and No speci?c response regarding alignmerw Disagreed that the-two Acts be combined. A A No work progressed - Produce guidance for agencies on the interaction between of?cial information legislation and the Government release and reuse policy. No speci?c response No work progressed OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT . SYSTEM-WIDE PROGRESS in 2016, following the release of the Chief Ombudsman?s report Nora Game of Hide and Seek, a major work programme KEV Sta?StiCS was established to improve agencies? compliance with the letter and spirit of the Of?cial Information Act (OIA). The There has been an increase in the REQUESTS 0? TIME programme is driven by the State Services Commission and owned by State service Chief Executives recognising that it volume of 0m requests for each of takes an all-of-system commitment to lift performance in this area. the three periods measured. Despite an increased workload, agencies have improved the time AVERAGE AGENCY 93.016 95.3% taken to respond. For the most recent half-year period from July to December 2017, agencies received a total of 21,323 requests. Period System performance has lifted signi?cantly since 2015. While - i - me areas, we?re seeing an increase in engagement from agencies across the State se result has been an improvement right from the worst perform - - . through U4. . - - . orming agencies. We are continuing to support agencies to lift their performance, - - . - 3 ing ahead . - proactive release of official information. 93.7% 97.3% Progress made against priority areas identi?ed in Not a '6 2015/16 . 2015,17 . who? 17 LEADERSHIP AND CULTURE time as Peter Hughes became the State Services Commissioner, and were determined that we would set the - - . - - lr publicly and release statistics to be able to demonstrate those departmens and Ministers that weren't ?3 made a demonstrable di?erence' [Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier) Commissioner and the Chief Ombudsman, supported by Chief Executives, has been critical in driving up system . . .- Chief Executives, Ministers, and leaders . became routinely demanstrate a commitment to tone, we delays 0 their agency meeting its OIA obligations and foster a culture of about Strong coordin adership from the - performance. Comm to? rave OIA -. ORGANISATION, STRUCTURE, STAFFING, AND CAPABILITY . A A Appropriate, flexible structures have been "We used Capability rtoke 0 cu established within the agency to deal with OIA requests e-l-n We've developed and published a self . -.- -. ttoolkitfo -. approach ensures that we respo. w- elp them understand their current capability and identify areas for improvement. This ?t-for-purpose ds of indivu - - -. We?re working with agencies that have established good practices to develop case studies that way they go about managing OIA requests. The practice in an agency aligns with its policies and procedures 2017. In response to agency demand, we have also ru . workshops . -p - as proactive release and how to use the Capability Toolkit?in addition to more general training on the 01A. Uptake has been high, whic - '1crease in th- - - ,-agement on OIA across the State service. pouacs, PROCEDURES, - AND nesounces - - The agency creates or adopted - The most common forms of CIA training a fie-job (approximately 75%) and coaching or mentoring (approximately 50%) 3:53:53: We surveyed 85 agencies in 2017 and found that there?s a strong de ance from SSC on the CIA. We?ve published a series of tools and guidance for agencies on the SSC website, with practical advice on effective implementation of the 've release. We?re planning to publish further guidance based on the needs identi?ed by promote good dECISIon-makmg agencies - including on ials' names, and the charging guidelines. PERFORMANCE MONITORING &5 AND LEARNING There are meaningful and apprOpriate Over 40,000 requests are received by agencies each year and 95.3% of them are now responded to on time rf res ond'n to - ogr In 2016 the Chief Ombudsman and the State Services Commi55ioner agreed to work together on performance monitoring and reporting. Since January 2017, SSC has published operational plans, and key performance a half year set of CIA statistics for the 110 agenCIes which make up the State serwces. Chief Executives are using these statistics to drive performance in their agendas. . . Guidance has also been prowded to agencies on what OIA requests should be logged, monitored, and reported on ?and a range of suggested OIA performance measures for measures are actively monitored . . internal and public reporting. r-l COWMIESION (?21 AIINISTRY CH: . . . . . Human-5: i approaches legislative reform to the OffICIal Information Act 1982 age JUSTICE Tu/mote 711n- (AttaChment C) PROACTIVE RELEASE OF CABINET MATERIAL AND KEY ADVICE (ATTACHMENT D) The proposal to proactively release Cabinet material and key advice supports the Government's ambition to grow an open, trusted, modern democracy that allows all New Zealanders to thrive. This page sets out key information about the proactive release policy, including several options in yellow for how it can be carried out. THE PROPOSAL Why do we need this policy? Definitions Guidance Trust in government is vital for There are two kinds of information covered by this policy. There will be some material (in part or in full) that democracies. There is demand may not be appropriate for proactive release under from the PUhth. 1. Cabinet Material: The Cabinet Manual already includes a general expectation this policy due to around timing. commentators, and academics that Cabinet material on significant policy decisions should be released content, or other matters. Material that wouldn?t for greater openness and proactively once decisions have been made. be released under the CIA will not be released transparency. 50 what?s the proposed change? Most Cabinet decisions could be under this This Is an opportunity to: described as significant, but not all will be poiig decisions. This is an We will develop Guidance to assist decision-makers - increase public t0 0" the Cabinet Manual by including all Cabinet with this. A non-exhaustive list of examples of what understanding of material (Cabinet and Cabinet Committee papers and minutes) where would not be released is provided below: democratic processes and decisions are taken WE. howto participate in legally papers Government decision- 2. Key advice papers: Key advice papers are only those that are addressed to the .- maklng Minister taking the item to Cabinet, from their department and seek agreement APH appomtment papers - build our reputation of from the Minister to recommendations that have subsequently been decided by international leadership by Cabinet. Key advice does not include papers that only contain noting papers that are commercially sensitive setting another example of recommendations, second opinion advice, or background information. it does Openness and transparency not include all OlAs received, or advice provided to the Minister from sources papers that are to ongoing Treaty - strengthen the public other than the'iead department. settlement negotiations accountability of decision 0 So what's the proposed change? This is a new proposal - there is no makers and advisers current expectation that key advice papers should be proactively papers that contain information about released. privileged national security matters i. WHAT IT MEANS lN PRACA . . tn .. :e::estsrece - . . ke unemorethanthev What volume of informatio . In 2016/17 there were about 1,200 non-APH Cabinet papers and 1,700 Cabinet min undertaking work to understand the volume of 'key advice? papers in - changes should be made to ensure that appropriate protections apply to proactive release. In . a risk assessment based on the criteria in the Guidance before making official information available. in al material. Although the proactive release policy will mean that a greater volume of material is being principles and processes that are already well understood. proactive release und the interim, there are Similar Judgement is al risk?for xa - #3 used when reieasin- . . . col-1r gonna) .