Signed 29 November 2024.pdf

29 November 2024

James
By email:   [FYI request #28863 email]

Tēnā koe James
Re:
Information request
Our ref:
E24HDC01437
Thank you for your email of 22 October 2024 requesting:
“Under the OIA please provide the following:
1.  Total  number  of  employees  at  the  HDC.  Salary  bands  of  employees
earning upwards of 100k. (20k bands is fine)
2.  Number  of  staff  in  HDC's  cultural  team  year  by  year  since  being
established.
3.  Total  department budget  for  HDC's  cultural team  year by  year  since
being established.
4.  Cost of contractors and number used by the HDC if any, in the years
202,2021,2022,2023,2024.
5.  Number of contractors used and cost if any by the cultural team since
2022.
6.  Number of direct reports to Ikimoke Tamaki -Takarei, Director Mâori
for the years 2022, 2023,2024.
7.  Number  of  complaints  made  to,  handled  or  directed  to  the  cultural
team in 2022, 2023, 2024.
8.  Number  of  resolutions/closed  cases  by  the  cultural  team  in
2022,2023,2024.
9.  Number of complaints handled by the cultural team, that came from
people who were of an Asian/Indian, or Pasifika ethnicity.
10. Details of any workshops, hui, events, offsites if any conducted by or
facilitated by the HDC.
11. This should include but not be limited to location, dates, costs, number
of attendees and agenda/purpose etc.
12. All, any internal strategy documents specifically relating to "developing
internal cultural knowledge and competence of te reo".
13. Number of employees at HDC that are fluent in te reo for the years
2022,2023,2024.
14. Number of complaints received by the HDC that are from people who
are fluent in te reo.
  Auckland Office: P O Box 1791 Auckland 1140; Wel ington Office (new address): PO Box 245, Wel ington 6140
Freephone: 0800 11 22 33; Email: [Health and Disability Commissioner request email]; Website: www.hdc.org.nz

2

15. Costs of catering if any, for the HDC for the years 2022,2023,2024 to
date.
16. Koha if any, given by the HDC for the years 2022,2023,2024 - this should
include value, recipient and date given.”
We have numbered your requests for ease of reference. We considered your request
under the Official Information Act 1982.
Please see the information below.
Question 1
Please refer to page 76 of our annual report:
https://www.hdc.org.nz/media/snsao2k2/hdc_annualreport_20241125_v18_web.pdf
Question 2
May 2022
1.5 (Director Māori, 0.5 EA)
2023
3.5 (Director Māori, 0.5 EA,
2 x Senior Advisor Māori)
2024
3 (Director Māori, 2 x Senior
Advisor Māori)

Question 3

Māori Directorate budget
  Financial year
    2024/25      2023/24     2022/23
Sum in dollars
       421,502         505,560         487,590

Question 4
Financial
Number of
Cost of
year
contractors
contractors
2020-2021
4
$ 35,890
2021-2022
16
$334,594
2022-2023
16
$224,950
2023-2024
9
$130,446

Question 5
Number  of  contractors  for  Māori
Financial year
Directorate team
2020-2021
   0

2021-2022
   0

2022-2023
   2

2023-2024
   0

3

The total cost of contractors for the Māori directorate was $14,926.

Question 6
Total number of direct reports to the Director Māori by year is as fol ows:
2022 – No direct reports
2023 – Two direct reports
2024 – Two direct reports

Question 7
Complaints  are  not  ‘made  to’,  ‘handled  by’  or  ‘directed  to’  the  Māori  directorate.
While HDC tracks the number of hui-ā-whānau undertaken as part of the complaints
process, the Māori Directorate’s role in complaints is much broader than undertaking
hui-ā-whānau.  The  Māori  Directorate  works  with  our  complaints  assessment  and
investigation  teams  to  support  all  aspects  of  HDC’s  complaint  resolution  process.
Examples  of  the  support  given  include:  providing  advice  on  tikanga;  liaising  with
complainants and providers to identify concerns raised, resolution needs and possible
complaint  pathways;  providing  advice  on  recommendations;  and  facilitating  hui  ā-
whānau  (in  person  and  online)  as  part  of  the  complaints  process  to  help  support
resolution.
HDC  does  not  specifical y  track  al   activity  undertaken  by  the  Māori  Directorate.
Collating  this  information  would  require  HDC  to  go  individually  through  each
complaint  received  by  HDC  to  ascertain  whether  the  Māori  Directorate  provided
support  during  the  complaints  process.  We  therefore  refuse  this  aspect  of  your
request under section 18(f) of the Official Information Act. We do not consider that
extending the time limit under section 15A or fixing a charge under section 15 of the
Official Information will enable this aspect of your request to be granted.
HDC started tracking the number of hui-ā-whānau undertaken in 2022/23. The
number of hui-ā-whānau undertaken by the Māori Directorate each year is as
follows:

2022/23 - 26 hui-ā-whānau
2023/24 – 47 hui-ā-whānau
Further  information  about  the  role  of  the  Māori  Directorate  in  the  resolution  of
complaints can be found in HDC’s 2024 Annual Report at pages 56 -57.
Question 8
The Māori Directorate provides support during the complaints process. Complaints
are not closed or resolved by the Māori Directorate. Therefore, we refuse this aspect
of  your  request  pursuant  to  section  18(e)  of  the  Official  Information  Act,  as  the
information requested does not exist.

4

Question 9
HDC does not specifical y track complaints where the Māori Directorate has provided
support during the complaints process. Collating this information would require HDC
to go individually through each complaint received by HDC to ascertain whether the
Māori Directorate has provided support during the complaints process and what the
ethnicity  of the  complainant  was.  We  therefore  refuse this  aspect  of  your  request
under section 18(f) of the Official Information Act. We do not consider that extending
the time limit under section 15A or fixing a charge under section 15 of the Official
Information will enable this aspect of your request to be granted.

Information about the ethnicity of consumers whose care is complained about to HDC
is available on page 34 of HDC’s 2024 annual report.

Questions 10 and 11
We do not hold the information at the level of detail you request in a centralised form
that  is  easy  to  access  and  would  have  to  examine  numerous  individual  records.
Therefore,  we  refuse  this  aspect  of  your  request  pursuant  to  section  18(f)  of  the
Official  Information  Act,  as  the  information  requested  cannot  be  made  available
without substantial collation or research. We do not consider that charging you for
this or extending the time limit under sections 15 and 15A of the Official Information
Act would enable the request to be granted.
However, we can provide the following information.
For Whakawaha (Consumer Advisory Group) meetings hosted by the disability team
(note the data in the table below are total costs):

Type  of
Month
Meeting  Cost
30 Nov 2022
Zoom
$4,800
29 Mar 2023
In person  $15,949
14 Sept 2023
Zoom
$8,114
21 Mar 2024
In person  $15,921

The Whakawaha (Consumer Advisory Group) meetings are run jointly by HDC and the
Medical Council with half of the meeting costs assigned to the Medical Council.  The
amounts listed in the table represent the total cost incurred by HDC in hosting each of
the meetings. HDC has a cost recovery arrangement in place with the Medical Council
to recover its share of the meeting cost.

For the Act and Code review meetings facilitated by HDC the total cost is $20,388. The
meetings were facilitated by HDC’s strategy team with support as necessary from staff
in  HDC’s  aged  care,  disability,  legal,  and  Māori  Directorate  teams  (see  the  table
enclosed).

5

The Māori Directorate has supported the aged care team, disability team and strategy
team in all facets of their work where requested, including in the workshops, events
and hui described above. Their participation in these events has not been separately
tracked.

As  part  of  their  role  in  supporting  the  complaints  process,  the  Māori  Directorate
facilitated 26 hui ā-whānau in the 2022/23 financial year and 47 hui ā-whānau in the
2023/24 financial year. Costs relating to hui ā-whānau are not separately tracked.

Events related to the connection and col aboration hui to inform the work of the
Aged Care Commissioner:

Hosted/co-
Group
Date
Cost
hosted by Aged
Care
Commissioner
Co-hosted
Age Friendly Auckland Action Plan (in report)  Ellen Melville
Catering
Centre (no cost,
$230
council venue)
8 February 2023
Co- Hosted
CNSST (Asian Older people’s health and
10 February
No cost
wellbeing)
2023
Their venue
Co- Hosted
Toa Pasifika
1 March 2023,
Catering
Their venue
$166.75
Co- Hosted
Age Concern Auckland
2 March 2023
Catering
Their venue
$31.92
Co- Hosted
Age Concern Canterbury
14 March 2023
No cost

Co-hosted
With Alzheimer’s Wellington
24 March 2023
Split costs
Catering
$81.00
Venue
$178.25

Co- hosted
Rural Women (online)
29 March 2023
On line -no
cost
Co-hosted
With Multiple Sclerosis NZ
12 April 2023
On line -no
cost
Co-hosted
Haumaru Housing @ Ōtara
17 March 2023
Nil cost
Their venue
Co-hosted
Waikato Tainui Chambers kaumātua event
30 March 2023
Nil cost
Their venue
Co-hosted
Rauawaawa Kaumātua Charitable Trust
31 March 2023
Nil cost

Total
$687.92

6

HDC also hosted an event to launch its online video promoting the rights of health and
disability consumers -  https://www.hdc.org.nz/your-rights/videos/
The costs of the launch are as follows:
  $803.85  (AV media)
  $2,093.00 venue hire (Manaaki & Wellington Functions includes catering)
In 2022 HDC hosted an event to launch its online provider modules. The cost of the
launch was: $1,437.00

Question 12
‘Grounding  everything  we  do  in  honouring  our  responsibilities  under  Te  Tiriti  o
Waitangi ‘and ‘being a culturally safe organisation’ are all identified as priorities in our
strategic framework. Māori are a focus population for HDC. This framework can be
found on page 18 of HDC’s 2024 annual report.
HDC’s Treaty of Waitangi Policy is attached. Please note that this policy is currently
under review.
Question 13
We have interpreted this question as concerning te reo Māori. HDC does not keep a
record of numbers of staff who speak Māori. However we are aware that at least one
staff member spoke Māori fluently in 2022, four staff in 2023, and three staff in 2024.
Question 14
HDC does not assess whether or not complainants to HDC are fluent in te reo Māori,
therefore,  we  refuse  this  aspect  of  your  request  pursuant  to  section  18(e)  of  the
Official Information Act, as the information you requested does not exist.
Question 15
Year
Cost of catering
2022
$1,151
2023
$3,274
2024 to date
$3,745

Question 16
Koha is an expression of gratitude and a reciprocal process that can involve giving of
gifts, taonga (treasured items), mātauranga (knowledge), or contribution.
Koha given by HDC include the giving of a name, items of spiritual value and money.
Monetary Koha given during the period 2022 -2024  are shown in the table below. I
note that no Koha was given in 2022 or 2023.

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Date given
Item
Recipient
Value
Purpose
20 March 2024  Koha
for  Aorangi Marae  $500
Act  and  Code  Review
providing
engagement
the venue
21 March 2024  Name
-  Consumer

To recognise the
Whakawaha  Advisory Group
importance of their mahi
1 July 2024
Gift card for  Pacific  Talanoa  $1,200  Act  and  Code  Review
12  people’s  (Porirua)
engagement
time
11 July 2024
Gift card for  Pacific  Talanoa  $800
Act  and  Code  Review
8  people’s  (South
engagement
time
Auckland)
16 August 2024  Koha
for  Pacific Talanoa
$200
Act  and  Code  Review
providing
engagement
the venue

You may seek a review of this decision from the Office of the Ombudsman.
Nāku iti noa, nā

Dr Craig Goodwillie
OIA Team Leader

Enc:
Act and Code meetings November 2024 – final
HDC Treaty of Waitangi Policy (note presently under review)