Duly: OIA and LGOIMA case management software
The hard part isn’t answering. It’s proving how you answered.
Duly is case management and assurance software for New Zealand official information requests under the Official Information Act 1982 and LGOIMA 1987, built by Belton IT Nexus.
Duly is in development and has not been released. We are working towards a first council pilot. Duly is a working name.
How a request moves through Duly
- Intake
- Collection
- Decisions
- Approvals
- Sending
- Supply tracking
- Corrections
- Evidence export
A request moves through each of these stages in one case.
Built for the people who answer requests
Councils first
The LGOIMA side is the default.
Then central government agencies
One product handles both Acts. Each case uses only its own Act’s grounds, calendar and letters.
The whole team behind a response
The officers who handle requests, and the approvers, legal reviewers and managers who sign them off.
Deadlines with the working shown
Statutory deadlines are calculated from versioned rules on each Act’s own working-day calendar, with the working shown. They are never typed in by hand.
| Rule | OIA | LGOIMA |
|---|---|---|
| Year-end period not counted | 25 December to 15 January | 20 December to 10 January |
| Anniversary days | Counted as working days | Not counted |
These differences come from the two Acts themselves. Duly’s rule content is awaiting review before release.
People stay responsible for every judgement
People make the judgements
Grounds, the public-interest balance, search completeness and sign-off are always a named person’s recorded decision.
Decisions default towards release
Duly’s decision controls start from release.
Grounds in the Act’s own words
Withholding grounds are shown as the Act’s own text, and Duly’s development checks the stored text against legislation.govt.nz every week.
A record a review can follow
Every step is recorded as it happens, in an append-only record that is never edited after the fact.
Evidence built from the record
Corrections never delete anything, and the evidence report is built from the record.
Requesters are not tracked
Duly never tracks requesters or verifies their identity.
Where Duly runs
Duly is designed to run as its own instance in your organisation’s own Azure subscription, in a region chosen with you.
It uses your Microsoft 365 access in your name (delegated), and never asks for or stores a Microsoft 365 password.
Because it is a new Azure instance, it carries its own running cost and goes through your own security review.
What is still being built
- Duly has not been released, and no price has been set.
- The connectors to records systems are in testing.
- Duly Academy, built-in OIA and LGOIMA training, is in development.
- The rule content is awaiting review.
Questions about Duly
Not yet. What is still being built sets out where Duly stands.
Not yet. No price has been set, so we do not publish one.
Yes. We can walk you through Duly using fictional cases. A member of our team runs the walkthrough with you.
No. Duly is built from public sources: the two Acts and published Ombudsman guidance. It is not legal advice, and no compliance claim is made.
No. Duly never tracks requesters or verifies their identity.
Talk to us about the first council pilot
Register your interest, or ask for a walkthrough. We can walk you through Duly using fictional cases.
Already work with us on IT for an agency or council? See technology for government and councils.
Duly is built by Belton IT Nexus. See the other software we build.
Built from public sources (the Official Information Act 1982, LGOIMA 1987 and published Ombudsman guidance). Not legal advice. No compliance claim is made.