How to request information

• Use the online request form here.
• Phone our Customer Service Centre 03 685 9010
• Ask in person at one of our Offices in Fairlie or Twizel.

Post your request to:

Information requests
LGOIMA Officer
Mackenzie District Council
53 Main Street, Fairlie 7925

Please be as specific as you can be in making your request; it helps us to find the information quickly for you. Make sure you include either a postal or email address so we can provide you with a response.

How long will it take to process my request?

We will acknowledge your request within five working days and you will receive a decision within 20 working days. We will release the information as soon as possible after making a decision. You can use the calculator from the Office of the Ombudsmen to determine when the 20 working days expire.

However, if your request is complex, involves a large amount of research and collation, or requires us to consult with other parties, and we cannot provide you with the information within 20 days, we may extend the time limit. We will let you know if need to do this.

If the information you want is held by another organisation covered by the Act, we may transfer your request to that agency. If we transfer your request, we will let you know within 10 working days of receiving your request.

Publication on the website

Information released, which may be of interest to the general public, will be published on the Council's website - LGOIMA requests and responses. When publishing the requests we will withhold the names of individual requestors to protect their privacy.

Urgent requests

You may ask that your request be treated as urgent. If you do, you must give  reasons explaining the need for urgency.

Withholding information

We may withhold information for specific reasons. If we do, we will explain the reason why.

The specific reasons enabling us to withhold information are set out in sections 6 and 7 of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act. The most common reasons to withhold information are to:

• protect peoples’ privacy
• maintain legal privilege
• enable the Council to carry on its commercial activities

What will it cost?

Generally, there will be no charge for your request. Occasionally however, if a request is for a significant amount of information, or requires substantial collation and research, we may consider imposing a charge.

Under the policy you are entitled to

• The first hour of time free
• Twenty pages of free photocopying,
• We can recover any other actual costs (e.g. reproducing a photograph)
• Time in excess of the first hour is charged at $38/half hour
• Additional copying is charged at 20 cents per page

If we are going to charge you, we will advise you of the cost of processing your request before we begin working on it. You can then decide if you want to continue, withdraw or refine your request. We may ask you to pay some or all of this cost in advance.

In line with current Government Guidelines, MDC also reserves the right to aggregate requests from the same source on a common subject over intervals of eight-weeks for the purposes of assessing substantial collation and research.

Review of decisions

If you are unhappy with a decision to withhold information, to charge a fee, to extend the time frame on a request or have concerns about how we have dealt with your request,  you are able to have the decision reviewed by the Office of the Ombudsmen.

Need more information?

If you have any questions regarding official information requests email us at lgoima@mackenzie.govt.nz.

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