16 April 2025
45 Pipitea Street, Thorndon, Wel ington 6011
PO Box 805, Wel ington
Phone: 04 495 7200
New Zealand Council of Civil Liberties
Email
: [email address]
[FYI request #30213 email]
Website: dia.govt.nz
Tēnā koe whomever this may concern,
Your Official Information Act 1982 request, reference OIA2425-0815
I am responding to your email of 25 February 2025 to the Department of Internal Affairs (the
Department) requesting the fol owing under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act):
1. Al communications to and from the IPCA relating to this report, excluding anything
relating to any specific complaint. Given that the IPCA has indicated it col aborated
with the Department on the preparation of the main body of the report, we expect
this would include emails, briefings, meeting notes, formal and informal advice, and
responses to the positions of the IPCA and its other col aboration partners and
stakeholders.
2. All internal analysis, assessment, consideration, formal and informal advice, and
recommendations or responses developed or communicated within the Department
about the issues raised in the IPCA report and the recommendations made by IPCA.
3. Al information recording Department decisions on how to proceed regarding the
recommendations made by the IPCA in its report.
4. Al communications from the Department about the report, or how to proceed
fol owing the publication of the report, to (a) the Minister of Internal Affairs, (b) the
Minister of Justice, (c) the Police, (d) Crown Law and (e) the NZ Security Intel igence
Service.
On 25 March 2025, the timeframe to respond to your request was extended by 16 working
days to 16 April 2025 under section 15A(1)(b) of the Act. This is because consultations
necessary to make a decision on your request were such that we could not respond within
the original time limit.
Decision on your request
We have identified 26 documents as being within the scope of your request.
We have reached a decision in principle on these documents under the Act. Documents being
partially released will be released with some information withheld under any one or more of
the fol owing sections of the Act:
• 9(2)(a), protect the privacy of natural persons, including that of deceased natural
persons;
• 9(2)(ba)(i), to protect information which is subject to an obligation of confidence or
which any person has been or could be compel ed to provide under the authority of
any enactment, where the making available of the information would be likely to
prejudice the supply of similar information, or information from the same source,
and it is in the public interest that such information should continue to be supplied;
• 9(2)(g), to maintain the effective conduct of public affairs through –
(i) the free and frank expression of opinions by or between or to Ministers of
the Crown or members of an organisation or officers and employees of
any public service agency or organisation in the course of their duty; or
(ii) the protection of Ministers, members of organisations, officers, and
employees from improper pressure or harassment;
• 18(c)(i), that the making available of the information requested would be contrary
to the provisions of a specified enactment; and
• 18(d), that the information is or will soon be publicly available; and
• 18(e), that the document al eged to contain the information requested does not
exist.
A complete list of the documents that fal within the scope of your request wil be provided
to you when we release information to you.
As is required by section 9(1) of the Act, considerations have been made as to whether the
grounds for withholding information from the documents to be provided with this response
are outweighed by other considerations which would render it desirable, in the public
interest, to make that information available. In this instance, it is not considered to be the
case.
Release of information
It is our intention to release documents to you by 12 May 2025. We will make every effort to
provide the documents in advance of the date indicated and wil update you as soon as
practicable if there are any issues or delays with delivery.
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.
Nāku noa, nā
Jeremy Cauchi
Director, Ministerial and Monitoring
