I read the thread and the attachments. My view is as follows:

1. The department (Ministry of Education) has seemingly acted legally by extending the request in order to carry out consultations (s 15A(b). It is not clear what those consultations were and with whom they were undertaken. However, such consultations should only have taken place in order to make a decision. I can think of two potential reasons: asking a subject matter expert if the Novopay system can output the data as you had requested it; and deciding on the best strategic response to all the requests for information received about Novopay, including yours.

Giving the benefit of the doubt, they may have been so overwhelmed, that they could not give you an answer within 20 working days.

2. "the Novopay system does not collate payment errors in the way you have requested."

Their answer may belie the fact that the information (data) is held, but it is just not held in a manner that would meet the particular way in which you have worded your request.

That said, it is not clear whether this is true. The Ministry appears to be saying on one hand, that the data is not *collated* in the way in which you have represented it to be in your request (the practical reason). On the other hand, they are saying the data is not *held* (the statutory reason).

3. Clarification as to whether the data is held or not would be proper.

If the information is held, then the next question is whether the reporting function has the functionality to export/output the data in a way which breaks down the data down according to your particular needs.

4. Following on from point #3, I would try and identify the data analyst who is responsible for queryign and administering the database. You want to have a preliminary conversation with them so they can tell you what data is held and what types of output are appropriate.

a) in preparation for that conversation, you should be very clear on the data you want. Isolate the names of the data fields you are seeking, e.g. $ overpayment, $ underpayment, pay period, reason, occupational grouping, etc.

b) put those into an example in an Excel spreadsheet of what you are seeking. This will allow the analyst to see what your ideal outcome looks like.

b) ask to see the list of field names along with an example may be helpful to know what is and is not collated. You may have to ask for this under the OIA, but you may do so orally in your conversation.

You should also view the data that they have published to the Novopay section on their website (from 1 Feb 2013), as that would give you some idea of the type of data collected and stored in the database.

4. "I have never come across any payroll system, ever, that would collate this information."

This is self-contradictory. You are saying that you have never come across another system that collates the information you are seeking. Which begs the question why do you think the Novopay system would collate the information you have requested (!).

5. I am not aware of any statutory basis in the OIA on which you may request an internal review of your decision. It would be up to the Ministry's discretion as to whether it undertook a review or not.

I do not think a review is necessary, and such a review would expend more of the Ministry's time investigating their handling of your request, thus delaying the provision of information you seek. A far better approach is to clarify with the Ministry what data is held (as explained above) and submit a new request once you are clear on that matter.

However if you are seeking a review, then the appropriate step is to seek a review by making a complaint to the Ombudsman (s. 28(1) and (2)).

6. The Ministry could have been more helpful in explaining what data is collated. However, I suspect that they are trying to satisfy your request (and others) by publishing data to the dedicated Novopay section of their website (as per the hyperlink in their response).

Regards

Luke