Before Making a Request
Nelson City Council is committed to promoting openness and transparency in all its dealings, and makes a large amount of information available through its website.
Please ensure you check the website and the related information section to see if the information you need has already been published, before making a request.
If you are unable to find the information, be as specific as you can when making your request. This will help us find the information faster.
You can ask us to treat your request as urgent. If you do, you must give reasons explaining the need for urgency.
How to make a request
- Use the Request Information Form
- By email LGOIMA@ncc.govt.nz
- By phone 03 546 0200
- In person, by visiting our Customer Service Centre in Civic House, 110 Trafalgar Street, Nelson
Request timeframe
You will receive an acknowledgement of your request including a Service Request number you can use if you have any questions in relation to your request as it is being processed.
Council must advise you of its decision in relation to your request within 20 working days - you can use the calculator from the Office of the Ombudsman to determine when the 20 working days expire (please note that regional anniversaries are not included in the calculation and need to be factored in separately).
However, we may need to apply a time extension if your request involves a large amount of research and collation, or requires us to consult with other parties, and we cannot make a decision within the original 20 working days. We will let you know if we need to do this.
If your request is a very large one, we may work with you to refine it so that we are less likely to need to apply a time extension or charges.
Your request could be transferred
If all or some of the information you want is held by another organisation covered by the Local Government Official Information and Meeting Act, we may transfer your request to that agency as they will be best placed to respond. If we are going to transfer all or some of your request, we will let you know within 10 working days of receiving your request.
Potential costs when making a request
Usually, there will be no charge for your request. However, if a request is for a significant amount of information, or requires substantial collation and research, we may consider imposing a charge.
You are entitled to:
- The first hour of time free
- Twenty pages of free photocopying
- Time in excess of one 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 will ask you to pay some or all of this cost in advance.
Information Council can withhold
Council may withhold some or all of the information you have requested – it can only do so under specific reasons provided by the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (sections 6, 7, 8 and 17).
If we do withhold some or all information, we will explain the reason why. The most common reasons to withhold information are to:
- Protect peoples’ privacy
- Maintain legal privilege
- Maintain an obligation of confidence
- Enable the Council to carry on its commercial activities or negotiations
How to get a decision reviewed
If you are unhappy with Council’s decision on your request or have concerns about how we have dealt with it, you are able to have the decision reviewed by the Office of the Ombudsman.
