133 Molesworth Street
PO Box 5013
Wellington 6140
New Zealand
T+64 4 496 2000
27 May 2025
John Armstrong
By email: [FYI request #30900 email]
Ref:
H2025066398
Tēnā koe John
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 5 May 2025. You requested:
“My recent OIA to Pharmac confirms that Pharmac were the holder of the Pfizer Contract
since 1 July 2023,
A search on the fyi.org,nz website shows 117 requests to the Ministry of Health since 1
July 2023 til date.
1/ Why were all the requests for the contract refused by the Ministry of Health, instead of
being legally required to be transferred (as per Sec14 of the Official Information Act 1982)
to the known holder of the information being requested being Pharmac?
The Ministry was part of the Al -of-Government response to COVID-19 which also included,
Pharmac and The Treasury. Although Pharmac now holds responsibility for negotiations with
Pfizer and for their contracts, the original negotiator was the Ministry of Health. All three
agencies hold a copy of the contract and are therefore jointly responsible for any request for
information about the contract and for withholding the contract information under the Act.
The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
Trade (MFAT), and Pharmac engaged with international partners and pharmaceutical
companies to gain information on vaccine research, manufacturing and supply to secure
vaccines to New Zealand. Medsafe provided a regulatory advisory role to the Taskforce while
also working with international colleagues to agree on international standards to assess
vaccines for efficacy and safety and ensuring an efficient regulatory assessment process.
Information regarding the COVID-19 Vaccine Strategy – Purchasing Strategy and funding
envelope can be found online here:
https://covid19.govt.nz/assets/Proactive-
Releases/proactive-release-2020-october/HR28-2021-0139-COVID-19-Vaccine-Strategy-
Purchasing-Strategy-and-funding-en....pdf.
2/ Please supply any documentation, directives, meeting minutes, emails or any other
relevant documentation supporting the Ministry of Health's decision to A/ refuse the
contract (although not the holder of this information) and B/ reason for not transferring the
request/s to Pharmac for their consideration. Information required for the period 1 July
2023 til date.
I can advise that from July 2022 to the present date, the Ministry received 58 official information
requests for copies of the COVID-19 contract. The original decision to withhold was informed by
legal advice, advice from the subject matter experts, and in consultation with the contracted
party.
Many of the requests received after 1 July 2023 related to the original contract. As the
information was also held by the Ministry and as the decision was to withhold, in order to
expedite responses, the Ministry replied to requests directly. The Ministry also worked
cooperatively with the Of ice of the Ombudsman as it investigated complaints about the
Ministry’s withholding of the contracts. Please note that any correspondence between the
Ministry and the Office of the Ombudsman in relation to complaints is not information for the
purposes of the Act and therefore not in scope of your request.
Releasing communications that discuss the rationale for withholding information relating to the
COVID-19 contracts does not serve the public interest as this could undermine the very
protections that justified the decision to withhold in the first place. The correspondence you seek
is likely to contain sensitive interagency discussions, risk assessment, and legal review.
Therefore, this part of your request is withheld under the following sections of the Act:
• 9(2)(h) to maintain legal professional privilege.
• 9(2)(ba)(i) to protect information that is subject to an obligation of confidence and making
it available would likely prejudice the supply of similar information, or information from
the same source.
I trust this information fulfils your request. 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
Ministry website at:
www.health.govt.nz/about-ministry/information-releases/responses-official-
information-act-requests.
Nāku noa, nā
Elisabeth Brunt
Group Manager, Government Services
Government and Executive Services | Te Pou Whakatere Kāwanatanga
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