H202115127 Response.pdf

133 Molesworth
Street
PO Box 5013
Wellington 6140
New Zealand
T+64 4 496 2000
18 November 2021
M Murphy
By email:  [FYI request #17311 email]
Ref:
H202115127
Tēnā koe M Murphy
Response to your request for official information
Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) to the Ministry of
Health (the Ministry) on 23 October 2021 for:
information on how movement across Alert Level boundaries - gained via this
exemption - but partially utilised for personal reasons (to take leave or holiday days
outside of their Alert Level of residence) is being managed by the Ministry of Health.
a) If this has not been identified as a risk factor by the Ministry of Health please advise.
b) If it has been, please provide all advice or communication from Ministry of Health
about appropriate management to the organisations listed in Section 53.
Exemptions under section 53 of the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Alert Level
Requirements) Order (No 12) 2021 (the Order), are for business or work reasons and not
personal travel. Please note that business travel applications are generally assessed by the
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) through their Business Travel
Register. Enforcement is a matter for the  Police, who monitor movement across Alert Level
boundaries and take action against people shown to have travelled for reasons not
consistent with their approval.
2. My request is for internal documentation, policies and procedures and parameters
around level of discretion allowed to decision makers. There have been documented
discrepancies published in the media (ie. high profile New Zealanders receiving
exemptions for personal travel while requests for the same purpose by others have not
been granted). I want to understand what measures are in place to ensure fairness
and equity.
Is your response that no Policies and Procedures exist outside the publicly available
guidance you have directed me to?
If so, is decision makers discretion then absolute?
One document was found in scope of your request. An excerpt of Travel Exemptions Within
and Across Alert Levels is attached to this letter as Document 1, provided under section
16(e) of the Act.
Al  applications for a personal travel exemption to cross an Alert Level boundary are
assessed against the criteria set out in Section 54 of the Order. Each application is decided

on its individual circumstances, and therefore, assessed on a case-by-case basis. That will
lead to varying outcomes for applicants, depending on whether their circumstances match
the criteria, not whether they are “high profile”.

Information regarding travel across the boundary for business reasons is held by MBIE.
Please contact MBIE (www.mbie.govt.nz/about/contact-us/) about any business-related
travel exemptions across the alert level boundary.

3. I would like to receive the information I have requested on this point. I believe
transparency and equity in relation to this point is highly relevant and find it hard to
believe that this would not be able to be extracted reasonably easily.
"Please provide a breakdown (broad and in brief) of reasons for approval for the 3947
approved exemptions for travel across an Alert Level boundary. (as of Ministry of
Health website update 8am 22 October 2021)."

As at 8am 12 November 2021, 6,791 applications for personal travel exemptions (across a
regional Alert Level boundary) had been approved. The below table provides reasons and
the number of exemptions. Please note that others applying under these categories wil  have
been declined, because their circumstances did not match the criteria.

Reason for exemption
Number of
exemptions
approved
Attendance at a tangihanga/funeral for an immediate whānau or family
3,054
member
Farewelling a terminally ill close whānau or family member
1,491
Another reason to travel
490
Providing care or support to a vulnerable person (and no-one else can do so)
366
Providing care and support for someone else's mental wellbeing
332
To get personal mental wellbeing support
331
To help or take over caring for a child (not as part of a shared caregiving
194
arrangement)
Attendance at the tangihanga/funeral of an extended whānau or family
130
member
To accompany tūpāpaku or a deceased person
130

3a. Please elaborate on your reply to this question (in "" below). Under what
circumstances is employment information relevant to an application for personal
exemptions?
Is there any preferential treatment beyond what an ordinary citizen could expect given
to requests for personal exemptions to employees of New Zealand Public Service
Departments or State services organisations outside the core public service (ie. NZ
Defence Force, NZ Police etc.)

There is no preferential treatment given to requests for personal travel exemptions to
employees of Public Service or State Service organisations.

Under section 28(3) of the Act, you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review any
decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be contacted by email at:
[email address] or by calling 0800 802 602.

Page 2 of 3

Please note that this response, with your personal details removed, may be published on the
Ministry website at: www.health.govt.nz/about-ministry/information-releases/responses-
official-information-act-requests.

Nāku noa, nā

Shona Meyrick
GM COVID-19 Border and Managed Isolation
COVID-19 Health System Response
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Document 1
ACT 1982
INFORMATION
RELEASED UNDER THE OFFICIAL

Document 1
1982
ACT
INFORMATION
OFFICIAL
THE
UNDER
RELEASED