The Official Information Act 1982 is designed to make government activities more open and transparent to the public. It has the following very important roles:
Waka Kotahi is committed to the principles of openness and public engagement and endeavours to make information available unless there is a good reason to withhold it. The OIA sets out a number of reasons for which information may be withheld. These reasons include preservation of personal privacy and protection of information which has been received in confidence. Where there is good reason for withholding it, information may still be released if there are overriding considerations which mean it is in the public interest to release particular information.
Waka Kotahi receives a large number of requests for information under the Official Information Act (OIA).
Visit the Ministry of Justice website for the Directory of Official Information(external link)
Before making a request we encourage you to check out our sources of information below as you may find the information you need is already publicly available on our website:
Requests should include your name, your postal address or preferred email address, and specific details of the information you want.
You can email:
official.correspondence@nzta.govt.nz
or
post your request to:
Official Correspondence Unit
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency
PO Box 6995,
Wellington 6141
We will acknowledge your request, usually within 24 hours and respond no later than 20 working days after we receive it. Sometimes for large requests or those requiring consultation we will seek an extension, the Act allows for a time limit extension. If so, we will let you know and give you a specific due date.
We may seek further information from you if we feel your request is not clear, or we may seek to refine your request if the scope is very broad.
As part of broader Waka Kotahi policy, all responses are considered for publication on our website. If your response is to be published, we will advise you as part of our response to your request.
We will endeavour to respond to your request in your preferred manner. We will respond by restating your request and answering every question asked. Any supporting documentation supplied will usually be an attachment in the fully searchable PDF format. However, supporting documentation can be provided in any format, such as excel spreadsheet, electronic or printed form.
In some cases, we may need to arrange for you to hear or view the information, provide you with an oral briefing, release a summary of the information or provide an excerpt or particular passage from the document.
Some documents may be provided to you with certain information deleted (‘redacted’).
If we are not able to supply all the information requested or satisfy your request in full, we will inform you in our response by referring you to the specific section of the Act and explain the reason why. For more information please refer to sections 6, 9 and 18 of the Official Information Act.
Official Information Act (external link)
If you have not received a response by the due date or are not satisfied with your response you can complain to an Ombudsman by post: PO Box 10152 Wellington 6143. Or by email to:
info@ombudsman.parliament.nz
Whilst we do our best to assist with requests for CCTV footage this is usually only held for 3-7 days depending on the system and location and also where footage is located within the timeframe requested. Due to the quality of the cameras, distance from the road and direction the camera is facing, some footage may still not be fit for purpose as the cameras are not designed to identify individual vehicles or people.
