New Zealand Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Trade
Manatū Aorere
1 October 2021
195 Lambton Quay
Private Bag 18−901
Wellington 6160
New Zealand
Beryl Beauchamp
T +64 4 439 8000
[FYI request #16634 email]
F +64 4 472 9596
OIA 27682
Tēnā koe Beryl Beauchamp
I refer to your email of 5 September 2021 in which you request the following under the Official
Information Act 1982 (OIA):
How many fluent Bahasa Indonesia and/or Bahasa Melayu speakers are currently
employed by MFAT (excluding any locally engaged staff)?
How many fluent Mandarin Chinese speakers are currently employed by MFAT (excluding
any locally engaged staff)?
How many fluent Hindi speakers are currently employed by MFAT (excluding any locally
engaged staff)?
How many fluent Japanese speakers are currently employed by MFAT (excluding any
locally engaged staff)?
How many fluent German speakers are currently employed by MFAT (excluding any
locally engaged staff)?
How many fluent French speakers are currently employed by MFAT (excluding any locally
engaged staff)?
How many fluent Bengali speakers are currently employed by MFAT (excluding any locally
engaged staff)?
How many Javanese speakers currently employed by MFAT (excluding any locally
engaged staff)?
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (the Ministry) staff are able to record information in the
Ministry’s Human Resources Information System (HRIS) about languages they can speak and
the level they assess their proficiency to be in that language. Please note, levels of proficiency
may not equate to fluency.
The voluntary data relevant to the languages referred to in your request is set out in the table
attached as Annex 1. The Ministry is not able to advice on the actual number of staff employed
who are fluent in the Bengali or Javanese languages; no staff member has voluntarily disclosed
a proficiency in either of these languages.
A new HRIS is being progressively implemented to replace the current system. This new HRIS
will have significantly increased technical functionality that will automate the recording of
languages in which Ministry staff have received language training, along with languages that
e [MFAT request email]
w www.mfat.govt.nz
Page 2 of 3
are able to be spoken or read by staff, and their levels of proficiency. This will provide a more
complete record of language capability across the Ministry.
Please note that we may publish this letter (with your personal details redacted) on the
Ministry’s website.
If you have any questions about this decision, you can contact us by email at:
[email address]. You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the
Ombudsman of this decision by contacting www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone
0800 802 602.
Nāku noa, nā
Julie-Anne Lee
for Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Page 3 of 3
Annex 1: Information volunteered about language proficiency in Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
The following table provides a record of staff who have volunteered information on speaking proficiency in the following languages:
Speaking proficiency
Bahasa
Bahasa
French
German
Hindi
Japanese
Mandarin
Total
Indonesian Malaysian
0 Survival proficiency
6
14 2 1 2 6
31
0+ Exceeds survival proficiency
2
1
5
2
1
11
1 Elementary proficiency
3
2
17
12
5 3
42
1+ Exceeds elementary proficiency
1
16 3 2 4 4
30
2 Limited working proficiency
3
31 11 2 9 13
69
2+ Exceeds limited working proficiency
2
18 3 1 7 7
38
3 Professional working proficiency
1
14 7 1 9 9
41
3+ Exceeds professional working proficiency
3 1
3 8
15
4 Full professional proficiency
1
12 4 2 4 6
29
4+ Exceeds full professional proficiency
2 2 1 1
6
Native proficiency
1 3 3
4
11
Total
19
3
133
50
14
44
60
323
