45 Pipitea Street
12 February 2021
Wel ington
Phone 0800 25 78 87
dia.govt.nz
Andrew Chen
[FYI request #13921 email]
Tēnā koe Mr Chen
Your official information request, reference OIA20/21-0368
Thank you for your email of 23 December 2020 requesting the fol owing information under
the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act):
Now that I believe enough time has passed, I'd like to resubmit my previous application
for information about the proposed CovidCard, including any reports, briefings,
documents, or correspondence prepared in relation to:
1. Planning around continued trials and deployment of the proposed CovidCard.
2. Planning around media coverage about the proposed CovidCard, and the role
of private sector individuals in promoting the card.
A previous OIA request had identified five documents that were refused at the time:
1) 8 October: Joint Health/DIA report Update on CovidCard Trials
2) 25 September: Joint Health/DIA report Update on CovidCard Trials
3) 13 May 2020: DIA Draft Communications Plan, DIA Bluetooth card interim
communications and engagement
4) A3 Draft PR and public awareness campaign for Bluetooth COVID-19 card
5) Draft talking points and draft press release, Communications plan for the next
phase of work on the CovidCard
If there are any further documents that have been produced since the previous OIA
request, I would like those to be included as wel , noting that the CovidCard project was
transferred to Ministry of Health at some point around this time.
I am releasing the five documents from your previous request with some information
withheld under the fol owing sections of the Act:
• 9(2)(a) – to protect the privacy of individuals;
• 9(2)(b)(ii) – to protect information where the making available of the information
would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who
supplied or who is the subject of the information; and
• 9(2)(f)(iv) – to maintain the constitutional conventions for the time being which
protect the confidentiality of advice tendered by officials.
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There is one further document within scope that has been produced since your previous
request. I am withholding
Interim report in response to Cabinet directive – Using the
CovidCard to improve contact tracing (30 October 2020) in ful under section 9(2)(f)(iv) of the
Act.
Officials from the Department of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Health are assessing the
results of the Ngongotahā trial and expect to provide their final report to ministers later this
month. Ministers wil then determine next steps.
As is required by section 9(1) of the Act, I have considered whether the grounds for
withholding information from the documents provided with this response are outweighed
by other considerations which would make it desirable, in the public interest, to make that
information available. In this instance, I do not consider that to be the case.
You have the right, under section 28(3) of the Act, to seek an investigation and review of this
decision by the Office of the Ombudsman. You can find more information at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz. Alternatively, you can phone 0800 802 602 or email
[email address].
Nāku noa, nā
Cath Anyan
Acting Director Ministerial, Monitoring, and Capability Group
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