Local Government IT Support
Exodesk provides local government IT support for the staff devices, networks, identity, records access and recovery behind council services.
Our Christchurch and Dunedin teams work alongside your IT, records and operations staff, with systems, sites, support hours and supplier responsibilities agreed in writing.
Tell us about your sites, core systems and the support or records problem you need to solve
What does local government IT support cover?
Local government IT support covers the agreed devices, networks, identity, records access and recovery behind council services, plus coordination with the application suppliers and engineers who run specialist systems.
Depending on its functions and service arrangements, a local authority may support service counters, libraries, regulatory work, roading, utilities and a public website. Its systems can include rates and property applications, an electronic document and records management system (EDRMS), a geographic information system (GIS), finance and payroll, with operational technology (OT) managed by the relevant asset owner and specialist operators. Records decisions and plant operations each need their own accountable owners. IT implements agreed controls and supports retrieval and recovery, while the council keeps responsibility for statutory decisions and service priorities.
Exodesk has supported New Zealand businesses since 1989. Today, our Christchurch and Dunedin teams support businesses nationwide, with remote support, on-site attendance and travel agreed for each council.
Local government IT support across your sites
Your local government IT support agreement lists what is covered, so staff know who to call and each supplier knows where its responsibilities start.
Connectivity and continuity
Links to the main office, service centres, libraries and depots, with a second path or fallback planned where a service depends on it.
Devices and identity
Office and field devices, named accounts, multi-factor authentication where suitable, and access added and removed as roles change.
Access and recovery
Permissions, retention settings, retrieval testing, backups and recovery for the systems in scope, set to the council’s approved framework.
Ongoing support sits within our managed IT services, and can be shared with an in-house team. Network controls and segmentation are delivered through network security, and continuity planning through a business continuity plan.
Who decides and who does the work
The council decides on records, information requests and service priorities. IT carries out the agreed technical work, and specialist suppliers look after their own systems.
As your local government IT support provider, Exodesk handles the agreed devices, networks, identity and recovery, and coordinates with application suppliers when a fault involves the council management suite, EDRMS or GIS. Plant systems and controllers stay with the asset owner and OT engineers. We record escalation contacts in advance, so a fault that crosses those boundaries has a named coordinator.
A council-controlled organisation, or CCO, may share email or identity with the council. Sharing a platform can complicate separation, permissions and searches, but it does not by itself decide the scope of an information request. Agree search access and records ownership for each entity with the records and legal leads, and note that CCOs are also covered by the Public Records Act.
Records retention and disposal support
A council needs a documented retention and disposal framework that fits its legal duties and the classes of records it holds. Under the Public Records Act 2005, local-authority protected records follow a specific process involving the Chief Archivist.
Archives New Zealand separates the disposal process for local authorities from the one for public offices. Records in the classes on the current list of protected records for local authorities may not be disposed of without the Chief Archivist’s prior approval. Other records still need assessment against the council’s legal duties, business needs and authorised policy, and storage cost alone is not an adequate disposal decision. Disposal can mean destruction or transfer to a local-authority archive or another archival institution, so record the intended custody for permanent records.
The Information and Records Management Standard sets out how technology should support accountable recordkeeping. The records team determines classification, retention, holds and approvals; local government IT support implements the agreed controls. The same responsibilities apply to information held in cloud platforms or by contractors.
- Permissions and capture. Access set to the classification scheme, and records captured from approved systems.
- Migrations. Access and metadata preserved when a core platform is replaced, with checks before the old system is retired.
- Retrieval tests. Searches tested across the systems in scope, including leavers’ mailboxes.
- Retention and disposal logs. Retention configured to the approved framework, and authorised disposal actions recorded.
A searchable mailbox or a backup is not by itself a records-management process. Our data retention policy guide covers general policy design.
LGOIMA requests and searchable information
Councils must make and communicate a decision on a LGOIMA request as soon as reasonably practicable, and no later than 20 working days after the day it is received, unless a valid extension applies. Information approved for release must then be supplied without undue delay.
Day one is the first working day after receipt. A council may extend the decision deadline for a reasonable period where a request involves, or requires searching through, a large quantity of information and meeting the original deadline would unreasonably interfere with its operations, or where necessary consultations mean a proper response cannot reasonably be made within that deadline. The council must notify the requester within the original 20 working days, stating the extension period, the reasons and the right to complain to the Ombudsman. See the Ombudsman’s LGOIMA guide for local government agencies.
Local government IT support can help locate, preserve and export records from email, file shares, the EDRMS and other systems. The council decides the response, any withholding grounds and the release. For redaction, the release copy needs concealed text and relevant metadata removed and checked, because a black box drawn over text is not enough. Source records stay intact under the applicable policy.
Separating office systems from plant systems
Water and wastewater systems need a controlled boundary from corporate systems, with access suited to their safety and availability requirements. The National Cyber Security Centre notes that OT and IT face different risks and need different protections.
Our local government IT support covers the corporate side and coordination on the boundary: identity, monitoring, recovery and the connections between the two environments. Plant systems, controllers and changes to them stay with the asset owner and OT engineers.
- Boundary assurance. Validated through a documented process agreed with the asset owner, plant engineers and vendors, covering scope, safety limits, change windows, stop conditions and recovery.
- Separate access decisions. Corporate identity and device management kept separate from decisions about OT access.
- Monitoring and incidents. Boundary monitoring and an incident plan that names who acts on each side.
- Supplier roles. Remote access, maintenance and recovery responsibilities written down for each specialist supplier.
Production plant controls are not treated as ordinary office test targets.
Support hours, sites and field staff
Local government IT support hours are agreed per council: business-hours support, with after-hours cover for named systems set out in the contract.
Agree the scope
List the sites, systems, critical services and suppliers covered, with exclusions, so everyone knows where support starts and stops.
Set hours and escalation
Confirm business-hours support, any after-hours cover for named systems, how urgent faults are reported and the response targets.
Support and coordinate
Handle faults remotely where possible, attend sites where the work needs it, and coordinate with application suppliers and OT engineers.
Review and test
Test recovery, continuity arrangements and access reviews, and update the agreement as sites and systems change.
Field crews may need offline apps that sync later and support they can reach by phone. Individual logins on shared depot devices keep the audit trail meaningful. A response target says how quickly work starts, not when every fault is fixed.
What affects council IT support costs?
The cost of local government IT support depends on the sites, users, systems, service hours and recovery requirements in scope. User count alone does not describe a council’s needs.
- Recurring support. Users, devices, sites and the agreed support hours.
- Connectivity and licensing. Site links, failover and software licences, stated separately.
- Specialist work. OT engineering and records-system configuration, scoped with the relevant suppliers.
- After-hours cover. Named systems and arrangements, priced separately.
GST treatment, inclusions and exclusions are stated in the quote. When comparing providers, ask what security assurance each holds and what any certificate covers; our ISO 27001 guide explains certificate scope. Personal information duties are covered in NZ Privacy Act compliance.
Local government IT support questions
What does local government IT support cover?
Local government IT support covers the agreed staff devices, site connectivity, identity, records access and recovery behind council services. The agreement also sets out who handles application systems, operational technology and statutory decisions, so each supplier knows where its work starts.
How long does a council have to decide a LGOIMA request?
The council must make and communicate its decision promptly, normally within 20 working days after the day of receipt. Valid extensions can apply. Information approved for release must be supplied without undue delay, and the Ombudsman guidance explains how to count working days and extensions.
Can a council delete records to reduce storage costs?
Only through a lawful, documented disposal process. Check whether the records are protected and follow the local-authority requirements, including Chief Archivist approval where required. Other legal duties, retention needs and holds still matter, and the records lead should approve the process before IT executes deletion.
Does every council record follow a central government disposal authority?
No. Archives New Zealand distinguishes local-authority disposal from the public-office process. Protected council records have specific requirements. Use the current protected-records list, relevant local-authority guidance and the approved council framework rather than assuming one authority covers everything.
Can an IT provider decide what to release or destroy?
No. An IT provider can help implement approved retention controls, retrieve information and record disposal actions. The council retains responsibility for its statutory decisions and approvals, so agree that boundary with the records team, legal advisers and application suppliers before configuring automated actions.
Should operational systems share ordinary office access?
No. OT needs a controlled boundary from corporate systems and access suited to the operational risk. Plant engineers and the asset owner should approve connectivity, maintenance and assurance activities, and office devices or policies should not be assumed to apply unchanged.
How much does council IT support cost?
Cost depends on the sites, users, systems, service hours and recovery requirements in scope. Separate ordinary IT support from connectivity, licensing, specialist OT work, records-system projects and after-hours arrangements. Request clear inclusions, exclusions and GST treatment before comparing offers.
What should a council agree before buying IT support?
Agree the systems and sites covered, critical services, supplier roles, response targets, recovery requirements and exit arrangements. Confirm who owns records policy and OT operations, and who may approve technical changes. Check the procurement requirements for that council and contract.
Discuss your council IT requirements
Tell us about your sites, core systems and the support or records problem you need to solve. We will confirm what our local government IT support can cover and scope the next step. Please leave passwords and personal information out of the enquiry.
Talk to us about your council
Tell us your organisation, location, the sites involved and what is not working, and we will be in touch to arrange a time that suits.
Prefer to talk?
Christchurch
Level 1, 85 Riccarton Road
Christchurch 8011
03 343 3124
Dunedin
Level 3, Bartons Building
2 Stafford Street, Dunedin 9016
03 479 2941