11 November 2022
AS Van Wey
[FYI request #20883 email]
Tēnā koe AS Van Wey
Your Official Information Act request, reference: HNZ00005636
Thank you for your email on 17 October 2022 asking for information which has been considered
under the Of icial Information Act 1982 (the Act).
As you may be aware a new government agency, Health New Zealand (Health NZ), was
established on 1 July 2022 pursuant to the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022 (the Act). As such,
some of the functions formerly in the Minister of Health have transferred to Te Whatu Ora Health
New Zealand. As the matters you have raised now fall under the functions of Te Whatu Ora, our
agency wil respond to your request.
Please note that the Draft Health Information Security Framework (HISF) 2022 is currently open to
public consultation. This closes on 18 November 2022, therefore we are providing a response now
to the first two parts of your request, to enable you to contribute to the consultation process, if you
wish. The response to the remaining parts of your request wil be provided in due course.
Current Health Information Standards Organisation (HISO) 10029 Health Information
Security Framework.
“I request the current Health Information Standards Organisation (HISO) 10029 Health
Information Security Framework, if it is not HISO:10029(2015) which is readily available
online. HISO 10029 (2105) requires policies on communication, including policies on "how
personal health information exchanged over a network is protected from interception,
incorrect routing and/or loss" (section 8.2). Former versions use to include protection from
inter- and intra-agency interception in accordance with the Crimes Act 1961.
This standard also requires policies on investigation of security incidents (section 12). In
20121, the Ministry of Health recommend "Moving from analogue faxes to secure digital
communications" because "[a]nalogue faxes use communication protocols which are easier
to intercept than digital communication protocols: www.health.govt.nz/our-work/digital-
health/other-digital-health-initiatives/moving-analogue-faxes-secure-digital-communications.
The Health Information Standards Organisation (HISO) 10029 Health Information Security
Framework is the current Health Information Security Framework. This is publicly available from:
www.health.govt.nz/publication/hiso-100292015-health-information-security-framework.
Te Whatu Ora is currently consulting on a Draft Health Information Security Framework (HISF)
2022. This draft is a work in progress and also consists of an overview of the following domains for
the hospital segment (previously known as District Health Boards): Human Resource Security,
Asset Lifecycle Security, and Health Information Security Incident Management. The Draft HISF is
available online until Friday 18 November 2022, at
www.tewhatuora.govt.nz/whats-
happening/consultations/updating-the-health-information-security-framework/
The Interim HISF wil be made available on the Te Whatu Ora website when it is published.
Digital Communication protocols.
You requested:
Digital Communication protocol
Te Whatu Ora is not responsible for fax protocols.
The Public Switched Telephone Network
(PTSN), which supports the fax protocol is being decommissioned, and planned dates identified by
Spark can be found here:
www.spark.co.nz/shop/landline/landline-migration/. We understand that
Spark is stil in the process of decommissioning other regions not listed on its website.
How to get in contact
If you are not happy with this response, you have the right to make a complaint to the
Ombudsman. Information about how to do this is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
by phoning 0800 802 602.
As this information may be of interest to other members of the public, Health NZ may proactively
release a copy of this response on Health NZ’s website. Al requester data, including your name
and contact details, wil be removed prior to release. The released response wil be made available
on our website.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Gaynor Bradfield
Manager
Office of the Chief Data and Digital
TeWhatuOra.govt.nz
