About the Acts#

Official information is any information held by the Government. The Official Information Act 1982 (or OIA) gives anyone who is in New Zealand the right to request official information.

Official Information Act 1982 – NZ Legislation

The Privacy Act 2020 sets out the rules for how personal information is collected, used and shared. It protects ākonga | student privacy.

Privacy Act 2020 – Privacy Commissioner

Responding to requests for a child or young person’s personal information – Privacy Commissioner

What to do if you receive an information request#

If you get a request for information that goes beyond what you normally share as part of your work managing cases, do not respond to it yourself. This applies to all requests including those made by email, letter or in person. The person making the request does not have to give a reason for the request.

When you receive the request, you should acknowledge it, tell the person you will send it to the Ministry of Education and then forward it to us.

Email: [email protected]

You should include:

• a copy of the request and the date it was received
• the person's contact details (email or phone)
• any details that help explain the situation
• your contact details.

You must send the request within 2 working days of receiving it.

Why requests must come to us#

We are legally responsible for responding to requests relating to the provision of attendance services. 

We own and have access to all information about students referred to attendance services and who are in the attendance service case management system (AS-CMS). We will use this information to answer requests.

What happens next#

We are committed to complying with the purposes, principle and requirements and will comply with all requirements of the Privacy Act and the Official Information Act. 

This includes checking the identity of the person making the request, deciding what can be shared or held back and meeting deadlines.

If we decide that the request should go to another agency, we will manage the transfer directly with the person who requested the information.

Response times#

The law says we must respond to an information request within 20 working days of receiving it. This starts when you get the request, not when you send it to us. 

We will answer the request using the information available in the AS-CMS as much as possible. If we need more information from you, we will contact you. In this situation, you should respond quickly so we can meet the deadline.