29/10/2024 
K Jack 
[FYI request #28585 email] 
 
Tēnā koe K Jack 
OIA: 1337081 – Information regarding University Advisory Group (UAG) 
Thank you for your email of 30 September 2024 to the Ministry of Education requesting the 
following information:  
1.  A full overview and breakdown of all costs associated with the University Advisory Group 
(UAG), including member fees and remuneration, administrative/secretariat costs, hosting, 
etc. 
 
2.  Al  communications (email, text, phone, etc.) between the Ministry and the chair of the UAG 
Sir Peter Gluckman 
 
3.  Any and all communications to or from the Ministry regarding the UAG’s initial report 
 
4.  A copy of all submissions received by the UAG during phases one and two of consultation. 
 
Your request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act). 
The Ministry needs to extend the timeframe for responding to parts two and three of your request, 
pursuant to sections 15A(1)(a) and 15A(1)(b) of the Act, as: 
•  the request is for a large quantity of information and meeting the original time limit would 
unreasonably interfere with the operations of the Ministry; and  
•  the consultations necessary to make a decision on the request are such that a proper 
response cannot reasonably be made within the original time limit.  
You can now expect to receive a response to your request on or before 10 December 2024, which 
is an extension of 30 working days. 
To part one I confirm that the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Tertiary Education Commission 
(TEC) have jointly budgeted $400,000 for the direct costs of the University Advisory Group (UAG). 
This includes panel member fees, travel costs, and any additional support or analysis required by 
the UAG but does not include the cost of MoE and TEC secretariat support. As of 26 September 
8 Gilmer Terrace, Levels Ground floor, 1, 2, and 6-14, Wellington 
PO Box 1666, Wellington 6140 Phone: +64 4 463 8000  

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2024, the Ministry and the Tertiary Education Commission had spent $177,691.25 on the UAG, 
consisting of: 
•  $127,800 in panel member fees (information on panel member fee levels can be found 
here: https://assets.education.govt.nz/public/Documents/our-work/information-
releases/responses-to-Official-Information-Act-requests/1333318-Appendix-A.pdf (pg 5), 
•  $25,911 on travel costs, including flights, other transport, and accommodation, 
•  $22,727.25 coordination and communications support from Koi Tū, an independent think 
tank at the University of Auckland, 
•  $660 on probity checks, 
•  $593 on catering. 
These figures exclude the cost of Ministry of Education and Tertiary Education Commission staff 
time in supporting the UAG. 
To part four of your request, I can advise there were 170 submissions from the first phase of 
consultation and 85 from the second. These submissions informed the UAG’s interim report, that 
we sent to the Minister on 3 October 2024, and which is currently under active consideration by 
Ministers, and wil  be released alongside the interim report (likely November 2024), and as such I 
am withholding the copies of these submissions under section 9(2)(f)(iv) of the Act to maintain the 
constitutional conventions for the time being which protect the confidentiality of advice tendered by 
Ministers of the Crown and officials.  
You have the right to ask an Ombudsman to investigate our decision to extend the timeframe for 
responding to this request, in accordance with section 28 of the Act. You can do this by writing to 
[email address] or Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143. 
Nāku noa, nā 
 
Cindy McDonald 
Principal Advisor Official and Parliamentary Information 
Government, Executive and Ministerial Services 
 

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