John Luke
[FYI request #18167 email]
8 February 2022
Tēnā koe John Luke
On 12 January 2022
, you emailed the Ministry of Social Development (the
Ministry) requesting, under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act), the
following information:
•
The current term of appointments for all the Benefits Review
Committee members and are you intend to call for public expression of
interest of any role this year?
•
Besides, Benefits Review Committee, would that be any Ministerial
appointments roles that you intend to call for public expression of
interest this year 2022?
I will address each of your questions in turn.
•
The current term of appointments for all the Benefits Review
Committee members and are you intend to call for public expression of
interest of any role this year?
The Ministry has interpreted your request for Benefit Review Committee
(BRC) members to mean all Community Representatives. Please see
Table
One below which shows the current term of appointments for all Community
Representative members of the BRC.
The BRC consists of three members, two Ministry staff members and one
Community Representative. The BRC reviews decisions made by the Ministry
in relation to benefit entitlements.
Community Representatives are Ministerial appointees who provide a
community perspective for the decision-making process of the BRC. Once
appointed, Community Representatives hold office as the Minister sees fit
under clause 3(2) Schedule 7 of the Social Security Act 2018.
Recruitment of BRC Community Representatives will be dependent on
whether any of the Community Representatives resign from their roles or if
the Ministry believes that more Community Representatives are required.
Community Representatives are appointed for a fixed term of five years.
They can re-apply after the end of their tenure but are not rolled over
automatically.
The Ministry accepts nominations at any time so that a pool of community
representatives is available as and when vacancies arise. Nomination
databases are common for many government agencies, and appointment
information can be found on their respective websites.
Note the Ministry will advertise for Community Representatives through each
regional office if and when the need exists to ensure that there is sufficient
cover of BRC Community Representatives panellists for BRC hearings.
Regions will be provided with the list of their BRC Community
Representatives whose tenures end during the course of 2022 to look at
recruiting more Community Representatives.
Due to the inability to predict the timing of vacancies, your request for this
information is refused under 18(e) of the Act as this information does not
exist.
•
Besides, Benefits Review Committee, would that be any Ministerial
appointments roles that you intend to call for public expression of
interest this year 2022?
The Ministry has recently sought expressions of interest for a number of
appointments to the Social Security Appeal Authority (SSAA). The SSAA is
the body that reviews cases after they have progressed through the BRC.
The Ministry does not currently intend to call for further expressions of
interest in the near future for the SSAA. During the process of running
appointments for the SSAA, the Ministry seeks the involvement of the
Ministry of Justice as much as possible. The Ministry of Justice comments on
candidates and the necessary skills and experience required for the role.
Please also note that in addition to appointments to the Social Security
Appeal Authority, the Minister also makes appointments to the Student
Allowance Appeal Authority, the Social Workers Complaints and Disciplinary
Tribunal and three Crown entities (the Children's Commissioner, the New
Zealand Artificial Limb Service and the Social Workers Registration Board).
When the Ministry seeks to fill a vacancy in a Ministerial appointment role,
the role will be publicly advertised where appropriate. When an existing
member is not reappointed to the role and a new appointment is required,
the Children’s Commissioner and the Social Workers Registration Board will
publicly advertise the vacancy. The New Zealand Artificial Limb Service,
however, will not usually publicly advertise vacancies, as appointments are
made based on the nominations of bodies/individuals as specified in its
legislation.
Page 2 of 6
Due to the inability to predict the timing of vacancies, your request for this
information is refused under 18(e) of the Act as this information does not
exist.
The principles and purposes of the Official Information Act 1982 under which
you made your request are:
• to create greater openness and transparency about the plans, work
and activities of the Government,
• to increase the ability of the public to participate in the making and
administration of our laws and policies and
• to lead to greater accountability in the conduct of public affairs.
If you wish to discuss this response with us, please feel free to contact
[MSD request email].
If you are not satisfied with this response regarding appointments to the BRC
or other Ministerial roles, you have the right to seek an investigation and
review by the Ombudsman. Information about how to make a complaint is
available a
t www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or 0800 802 602.
Ngā mihi nui
Diane Anderson
Manager
Client Advocacy and Review
Page 3 of 6
Table One: Appointment terms of all current Community
Representatives for the Benefit Review Committee.
Number of
Date
Date
Region
Community
Appointed
Tenure
Representatives
Ends
Auckland Services
1
8/08/2017
8/08/2022
Auckland Services
1
8/08/2017*
8/08/2022
Auckland Services
2
18/07/2018
18/07/2023
Auckland Services
2
7/08/2019
6/08/2024
Auckland Services
2
7/08/2019*
6/08/2024
Bay of Plenty
1
8/08/2017
8/08/2022
Bay of Plenty
4
5/11/2018
4/11/2023
Bay of Plenty
5
6/07/2021
5/07/2026
Bay of Plenty
1
6/07/2021*
5/07/2026
Canterbury
1
8/08/2017*
8/08/2022
Canterbury
1
8/08/2017*
8/08/2022
Canterbury
3
2/09/2019*
1/09/2024
Canterbury
2
6/07/2021
5/07/2026
Central
1 28/05/2018*
28/05/2023
Central
1
8/08/2017
8/08/2022
Central
1
8/08/2017*
8/08/2022
Central
1 28/05/2018*
28/05/2023
Central
1
21/08/2018
21/08/2023
Central
1
6/07/2021
5/07/2026
East Coast
1
7/10/2019
6/10/2024
East Coast
1 13/06/2021*
12/06/2026
Page 4 of 6
East Coast
3
13/06/2021
12/06/2026
East Coast
1 13/06/2021*
12/06/2026
Nelson
1
8/08/2017
8/08/2022
Nelson
2
13/06/2017
13/06/2022
Nelson
1
18/07/2018
18/07/2023
Nelson
2
2/09/2019*
2/09/2024
Nelson
1
1/09/2019
30/08/2024
Northland
1
8/08/2017*
8/08/2022
Northland
2
21/08/2018
21/08/2023
Northland
1 21/08/2018*
21/08/2023
Southern
1
8/08/2017*
8/08/2022
Southern
4
8/08/2017
8/08/2022
Southern
1
8/08/2017*
8/08/2022
Southern
3
21/08/2018
21/08/2023
Southern
1 21/08/2018*
21/08/2023
Southern
1
2/09/2019
2/09/2024
Taranaki, King Country &
Whanganui
1
7/07/2016
7/07/2021
Taranaki, King Country &
Whanganui
1
9/02/2017
9/02/2022
Taranaki, King Country &
Whanganui
1 21/08/2018*
21/08/2023
Taranaki, King Country &
Whanganui
1
2/11/2021
1/11/2026
Taranaki, King Country &
Whanganui
1
2/11/2021*
2/11/2026
Waikato
2
8/08/2017
8/08/2022
Page 5 of 6
Waikato
1
6/07/2017*
6/07/2022
Waikato
1
6/07/2017*
6/07/2022
Waikato
3
7/10/2019
6/10/2024
Wellington
1 24/05/2019*
23/05/2024
Wellington
2
18/07/2018
18/07/2023
Wellington
1
7/10/2019
6/10/2024
Notes for Table One:
• Where appointment dates have an * this indicates a reappointment.
• The date the tenure ends does not necessarily indicate when
expressions of interest will be sought, as it depends on a number of
factors including whether a representative is reappointed to their role,
or whether they may resign from their role before the end of the
tenure.
Page 6 of 6
