This case note relates to the Ombudsman’s investigation and review of a decision by the Ministry of Education to redact some information from its email responses to the Ombudsman’s preliminary inquiries. The Chief Ombudsman formed the opinion that sections 9(2)(h) and 9(2)(g)(i) of the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) provided good reason to withhold the information at issue. In particular, there was a real and substantial risk that if certain details of the preliminary inquiries were disclosed, government officials would in future be unwilling to engage or feel constrained in their responses and this would have a detrimental effect on the conduct of public affairs. In this case, the public interest considerations favouring disclosure were not sufficient to outweigh the interests protected by withholding information.
This case note is published under the authority of the Ombudsmen Rules 1989 opens page in this tab. It sets out an Ombudsman’s view on the facts of a particular case. It should not be taken as establishing any legal precedent that would bind an Ombudsman in future.