25 February 2025
45 Pipitea Street, Thorndon, Wel ington 6011
PO Box 805, Wel ington
Phone: 04 495 7200
Harwood Wilson, via FYI.org.nz
Email: [email address]
[FYI request #30030 email]
Website: dia.govt.nz
Tēnā koe Harwood,
Your Official Information Act 1982 request, reference OIA 2425-0755
I am responding to your email of 10 February 2025 to the Department of Internal Affairs (the
Department) requesting the fol owing under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act):
Please provide the fol owing information on Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ)
•
Does the DIA Audit FENZ to ensure compliance against it's legal obligations? if so,
how often? and are all obligations audited at the same period?
•
Have there been any breaches discovered? if so please provide information on
each occurrence including date investigated, details of breach and action taken
since 2017.
Response to your request
The Department does not conduct audits of Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fire and
Emergency) to ensure compliance against its legal obligations. Consequently, we have not
discovered any breaches through audit activity.
As a Crown entity, Fire and Emergency operates at arm’s length from the Government and is
responsible for ensuring compliance with its legal obligations through internal audit
processes and oversight by its Board.
Therefore, I am refusing your request for information under section 18(g) of the Act, as the
Department does not hold the information you requested, and we are not aware that any
other agency would hold it, or whose functions would be more closely connected to it.
You may be interested to know that the Department monitors Fire and Emergency and
administers the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017 (the FENZ Act). As part of this
role, the Department advises the Minister of Internal Affairs on matters such as:
• Fire and Emergency’s financial and non-financial performance;
• Fire and Emergency’s accountability documents and annual letter of expectations; and
• funding and legislative matters, including the FENZ Act and associated regulations.
Audit New Zealand conducts annual audits of Fire and Emergency’s financial and non-
financial performance, with results published in Fire and Emergency’s annual reports. These
reports are available on Fire and Emergency’s website at: www.fireandemergency.nz/about-
us/key-documents/.
Additional y, the Office of the Auditor-General may include Fire and Emergency in wider
sector audits.
Accessing the Ombudsman
You have the right to seek an investigation and review of my decision by the Office of the
Ombudsman. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
Proactive release
We intend to publish our response to your request on our website at:
www.dia.govt.nz/Official-Information-Act-Requests-2. This letter, with your personal details
removed, will be published in its entirety. Publishing responses increases the availability of
information to the public and is consistent with the Act’s purpose of enabling more effective
participation in the making and administration of laws and policies and promoting the
accountability of Ministers and officials.
Nāku noa, nā
Jeremy Cauchi
Director, Ministerial and Monitoring
