20 July 2021
Ministerial and Secretariat Services
45 Pipitea St
Thorndon
Lional Jones
PO Box 805, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
[FYI request #15622 email]
Phone -64 4 495 7200
dia.govt.nz
Dear Lional Jones
Official Information Act request (OIA 2021-0720)
I refer to your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request transferred to the Department of
Internal Affairs (the Department) on 11 June 2021. Your request sought the following
information:
From the start of October 2017 to today’s date, how many separate investigations were
carried out involving staff either employed in Minister’s offices or supporting Minister’s
offices, and break down into:
A) Complaints made against Ministers versus complaints made against either staff in
Minister’s offices, or supporting Minister’s offices
B) Number of staff that resigned during or after an investigation involving them
C) Number of staff that were otherwise dismissed or left employment or were redeployed
during or after an investigation involving them
D) Number of complaints that resulted in a payment at the conclusion (regardless of
outcome) of an investigation
E) As at today’s date, the number of open or ongoing investigations involving staff either
employed in Minister’s offices or supporting Minister’s offices
For the purpose of this OIA “staff supporting Minister’s offices” shall be defined as staff
employed by Parliamentary or Ministerial Services.
Background
There are three types of staff who work in Ministers’ offices:
• DIA-employed staff who are assigned to work in a particular Minister’s office. These
include: Chiefs of Staff, Senior Private Secretaries, Senior / Press Secretaries, Senior /
Ministerial Advisors, and Private Secretaries - Executive Support / Administration.
• Roving staff, also employed by DIA, although not assigned to a particular Minister’s
office. They provide backfill cover for positions and additional resource where there
are fluctuating needs.
• Portfolio Private Secretaries who are seconded to Ministers’ offices by government
agencies to facilitate the management of Ministers’ portfolio responsibilities.
