It creates a regime by which any person can request and receive information held by local authorities and council-controlled organisations.

The request regime mirrors that of the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA), with similar (though more limited) withholding grounds.

A significant difference is that requests under LGOIMA can be made by "any person", rather than New Zealand citizens or residents.

[4] Local authorities can exclude the public from part of a meeting only after a resolution and for specified reasons.

[7] In November 2022 the government introduced legislation to add "national security" withholding grounds to the Act.