133 Molesworth Street
PO Box 5013
Wellington 6140
New Zealand
T+64 4 496 2000
2 September 2024
Erika Whittome
By email: [FYI request #25904 email]
Ref:
H2024049712
Tēnā koe Erika
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 – Manatū Hauora (the Ministry) on 20 August 2024 for information regarding the Health
Practitioners Competence Assurance Act (HPCA Act). Your request was a follow up to
information provided to you in a series of previous responses you have received from the
Ministry. You requested:
“Please send this request to the Minister of Health. According to the Health Practitioners
Competence Assurance Act.
Section 85: The chairperson and each deputy chairperson are appointed by the Minister
by notice in the Gazette, after consultation by the Minister with any persons that the
Minister thinks fi Section122B mentions annual reports. So this information exists according to the act. Kindly supply the information which the
Minister is accountable for.”
To clarify, the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal (HPDT) is not an ‘authority’ under the
HPCA Act. Therefore section 134 of the HPCA Act does not apply and the HPDT is not required
to publish an annual report. Also, section 122B of the HPCA Act applies only to responsible
authorities (RAs), such as the Medical Council of New Zealand or the Psychologists Board. It
does not apply to the HPDT. The same applies for section 124, which authorises the Minister to
audit RAs.
Although the Minister appoints members of the Tribunal, there are no subsequent reporting
requirements specified in the HPCA Act.
Therefore, this part of your request is refused under section 18(g)(i) of the Act as the information
requested is not held by the Ministry and there are no grounds for believing it is held by another
agency subject to the Act.
If you are interested in reviewing the RAs’ Annual Reports, which only intermittently include very
basic information regarding HPDT decisions, then you will need to refer to their websites as we
do not hold copies of those reports.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request with us, including this decision, please feel
free to contact the OIA Services Team on: [email address].
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.
Please note that this response, with your personal details removed, may be published on the
Manatū Hauora website at:
www.health.govt.nz/about-ministry/information-releases/responses-
official-information-act-requests. Nāku noa, nā
Ruihua Gu
Group Manager, Quality Assurance and Safety Regulation and Monitoring | Te Pou Whakamaru
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