Te Whatu Ora Southern Official Information Act requests and responses
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How to send an Official Information Act request, and find a previous published response.
Making an Official Information Act request
Please send Official Information Act (OIA) requests to:
- by email: hnzOIA@health.govt.nz OR
- by post: Chief Executive Officer, c/- OIA Coordinator, Te Whatu Ora Southern, Private Bag 1921, Dunedin.
We will acknowledge your request when we receive it and we will action it (or notify you of an extension) within 20 working days.
Please note some requests may attract a cost due to the amount of work required to process them. You will be informed of this charge before we proceed and asked if you would like to carry on with your request.
Withholding an information request
Information will be made available unless there is a good reason to withhold it. The Official Information Act 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.
However, even where there is a good reason for withholding it, information will still be released if there are overriding considerations which mean it is in the public interest to release it.
Find a published Official Information Act response
Te Whatu Ora Southern, like other agencies across the state sector, supports the open disclosure of information to assist the public’s understanding of how we are delivering publicly-funded healthcare.
This includes the proactive publication of anonymised Official Information Act responses on our website from 10 working days after they have been released.
Te Whatu Ora Southern began publishing Official Information Act responses online from 2019. Click to see a list of OIA responses.
This list will continue to grow over time, forming a helpful reference point for commonly sought health sector data.
Before making a request under the Official Information Act, check to see whether the information you are interested in is already publicly available.
Historical records requests
Making an historic records request (deceased records): If you want to make a request for historic records (for example, for a deceased relative), then please email corporatesolicitor@southerndhb.govt.nz and please also provide copies of your current photographic ID (e.g. a drivers licence or passport), and some documentary evidence showing your connection with the deceased person (e.g. their birth and / or death certificate, family tree, any other material you have showing your family connection with that person). This will help us progress your request with Archives NZ. For records requests where it is over 100 years old since the death of the deceased person, please request those records directly from Archives NZ, as you do not need to request them via Te Whatu Ora Southern. Please be aware that Archives NZ may impose their standard charges for such requests.
Making a request for personal health information (a Privacy Act request)
If you would like to access your personal health information, please click the button below.