26 August 2025
Tēnā koe Lola Fisher
Official Information Act request
Thank you for your email of 16 June 2025 that was transferred from the office of
the Minister for Youth to the Ministry of Social Development (the Ministry), within
which the Ministry of Youth Development (MYD) is a business unit. You have
requested information about youth funding and strategy implementation, including
evaluations.
I have considered your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).
Please find my decision on each part of your request set out separately below.
Question 1: Youth Development Funding (2019–2025) Please provide, by
calendar year: Total funding allocated to youth development initiatives
Breakdown by multi-year grants, one-off contracts, and outcome-based
funding Number of applications received and approved in each category
Average grant size and duration.
In order to provide all information in scope of this question, the Ministry would
need to search through multiple manually stored records. Providing this
information across a seven-year period would have an unreasonable impact on
other business operations. Therefore some information is refused under section
18(f) of the Act, as substantial manual collation would be required to collate this
information. If held, this information would only be contained within individual
files, which would each require manual review to respond to your request. The
greater public interest is in the effective and efficient administration of the public
service.
I have considered whether the Ministry would be able to respond to your request
given extra time, or the ability to charge for the information requested. I have
concluded that, in either case, the Ministry’s ability to undertake its work would
still be prejudiced.
To be helpful, we have provided the following documents:
The total funding allocated to youth development initiatives per year can be found
in the Ministry of Social Development Annual Reports or the Vote Social
Development Estimates, both of which are published annually:
• 2024/25:
refer
page
327
‘Delivering
Youth
Development’:
www.budget.govt.nz/budget/pdfs/estimates/v9/est25-v9-socdev.pdf
The Aurora Centre, 56 The Terrace, PO Box 1556, Wellington
– Telephone 04-916 3300 – Facsimile 04-918 0099
• 2023/24:
refer
page
139
‘Delivering
Youth
Development
www.msd.govt.nz/documents/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-
resources/corporate/annual-report/2024/msd-annual-report-2024.pdf
• 2022/2023:
refer
page
132
‘Delivering
Youth
Development’
www.msd.govt.nz/documents/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-
resources/corporate/annual-report/2023/msd-annual-report-2023.pdf
• 2021/2022:
refer
page
217
‘Delivering
Youth
Development’
www.msd.govt.nz/documents/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-
resources/corporate/annual-report/2022/annual-report-2021-2022.pdf
• 2020/2021:
refer
page
71
‘Delivering
Youth
Development’
annualreport2021.msd.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/documents/Performance-
financial-statements-and-appendices.pdf
• 2019/2020:
refer
page
237
‘Delivering
Youth
Development’
www.msd.govt.nz/documents/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-
resources/corporate/annual-report/2019-2020/msd-2019-20-annual-
report.pdf
• 2018/2019: refer page 152 ‘Increasing Youth Development Opportunities’
www.msd.govt.nz/documents/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-
resources/corporate/annual-report/2019/annual-report-2018-19.pdf
The following tables are publicly available on the MYD website, which display
funding allocated to youth development organisations from 2021/2022:
•
www.myd.govt.nz/documents/funding/2023-procurement/final-myd-
funding-table.pdf
•
www.myd.govt.nz/documents/funding/f22-funding/myd-funding.pdf •
www.myd.govt.nz/documents/funding/2023-procurement/final-akonga-
youth-development-community-fund-table.pdf
•
www.myd.govt.nz/documents/funding/f26-funding/2025-2026-youth-
enterprise-providers.pdf.
Please see
Appendix One which provides a table that documents the total number
of applications received to MYD’s Open Tender funding rounds from 2018 to 16
June 2025. Please note some of this information was collated prior to 2023 and it
may be an incomplete record of all Open Tender procurements undertaken over
the requested time period.
Question 2: Funding Policies. Please provide copies of relevant policies or
guidelines specifying: Eligibility criteria for youth-led organisations Whether
administrative, infrastructure, or wellbeing costs are eligible for support.
MYD will spend $14.599 million in 2025/26 on a wide range of youth development
and youth enterprise initiatives. MYD funds organisations that employ a youth
development approach which supports the wellbeing of young people (aged 12 to
24 years) in Aotearoa New Zealand.
MYD adheres to the 'Government Rules of Sourcing' when purchasing
outcomes/contracting with providers. Please visit the New Zealand Government
Procurement website for more information
: www.procurement.govt.nz/.
Funding opportunities are made publicly available via the MYD website and the
Government Electronic Tender Service (known as GETS). As the different funding
stream opportunities are published, they include the eligibility criteria for
interested parties.
There are no policies or guidelines specifically related to “eligibility criteria for
youth-led organisations, whether administrative, infrastructure, or wellbeing costs
are eligible for support”, therefore this part of your request is refused under section
18(e) of the Act as this document does not exist or, despite reasonable efforts to
locate it, cannot be found.
Question 3: Reviews and Risk Assessments. Please provide internal reviews
or reports from 2019–2025 that assess: The adequacy of funding for youth-
led initiatives The impact of funding on outcomes for youth-led organisations
Any identified risks such as burnout, underpayment, or lack of support
infrastructure.
This part of your request is refused under section 18(e) of the Act as this document
does not exist or, despite reasonable efforts to locate it, cannot be found.
Question 4: Funding Model Decision-Making. Please provide documentation
that explains: Why one-off funding is used instead of multi-year models
Restrictions on infrastructure and wellbeing funding Whether youth
organisations are assessed differently to other applicants.
The majority of MYD’s funds are allocated through multi-year contracts with
service providers. Grants are used on a case-by-case basis. When applicants apply
for funding through different funds, the criteria and what is in scope of the funding
is clear. You may also be interested in the Minister for Youth’s response to Written
Parliamentary Question 29006 (2025):
questions.parliament.nz/written-
questions/question/WQ_29006_2025.
Question 5: Youth Consultant Engagement. For youth aged 12–24 engaged
as consultants, advisors, or contractors between 2018 and 2025, please
provide: Number engaged per year, Payment rates and total remuneration,
Contract types used (e.g., fixed-term, project-based) Safeguarding or
wellbeing policies used Any internal evaluations of youth consultant
programmes, specifically of The Hive A copy of any standard contracts or
engagement templates.
MYD has engaged a range of young people within the time period requested and
this information is not centrally recorded / stored. Your request for this information
is very broad, and substantial manual collation would be required to locate and
prepare all documents within scope of your request. As such, I refuse your request
under section 18(f) of the Act. The greater public interest is in the effective and
efficient administration of the public service.
I have considered whether the Ministry would be able to respond to your request
given extra time, or the ability to charge for the information requested. I have
concluded that, in either case, the Ministry’s ability to undertake its work would
still be prejudiced.
To be helpful, MYD notes it has a Youth Advisory Group which was established in
2022. MYD publishes the names of its Youth Advisory Group members on its
website, and you can view the 2024/25 members her
e: www.myd.govt.nz/young-
people/youth-voice.html. Up until 2021, MYD administered a Partnership Fund
Board that included young people. MYD’s Youth Advisory Group members and
Partnership Fund Board members are/were paid in accordance with the Cabinet
Fees Framework, which can be viewed her
e: www.dpmc.govt.nz/publications/co-
22-2-revised-fees-framework-members-appointed-bodies-which-crown-has-
interest#revised-fees-framework-for-members-appointed-to-bodies-in-which-
the-crown-has-an-interest.
Question 6. Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy. Please provide: Any
documents, briefings, or evaluations showing how the Strategy supported
(or failed to support) youth-led or youth-engaged initiatives How the
Strategy influenced youth funding or engagement decisions Evidence of
outcomes, implementation challenges, or resource gaps for youth-led mahi
under this Strategy.
This part of your request is very broad, and substantial manual collation would be
required to locate and prepare all documents within scope of your request. As
such, I refuse your request under section 18(f) of the Act. The greater public
interest is in the effective and efficient administration of the public service.
I have considered whether the Ministry would be able to respond to your request
given extra time, or the ability to charge for the information requested. I have
concluded that, in either case, the Ministry’s ability to undertake its work would
still be prejudiced.
Question 7: Monitoring and Evaluation. Please provide: Any monitoring,
audit, or evaluation reports about the delivery of youth engagement
programmes or youth-led funding outcomes.
On 14 July 2025, the Ministry contacted you seeking a refinement to this part of
your request as without refinement it would likely be refused as it would require
substantial manual collation to locate and compile all information in scope. To date,
we have not received a response from you.
As such, I refuse your request under section 18(f) of the Act. The greater public
interest is in the effective and efficient administration of the public service.
I have considered whether the Ministry would be able to respond to your request
given extra time, or the ability to charge for the information requested. I have
concluded that, in either case, the Ministry’s ability to undertake its work would
still be prejudiced.
I will be publishing this decision letter, with your personal details deleted, on the
Ministry’s website in due course.
If you wish to discuss this response with us, please feel free to contact
[email address]. If you are not satisfied with my decision on your
request, you have the right to seek an investigation and review by the
Ombudsman. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or 0800 802 602.
Ngā mihi nui
pp.
Anna Graham
General Manager Ministerial and Executive Services
Appendix One: The total number of applications received to MYD’s Open Tender
funding rounds from 2018 to 16 June 2025.
MYD Funding Round
Total #
Total Successful Providers
Applications
(By financial year)
Received
F19: Youth Development Programmes and
292
77
Services, Youth Development Opportunity for
Young People, Youth Enterprise Programmes and
Services, and Youth Enterprise Opportunity for
Young People
F20 (Youth Development)
280
71
F20 (Youth Enterprise and Entrepreneurship)
170
18
23 (note – an additional five
providers were selected
Ākonga Youth Development Community Fund
89
through selective
(2021)
procurement, prior to the
open tender).
F23: Youth Development Opportunities, Youth
191
79
Enterprise Programmes, [Youth Development]
Full-Time Equivalent Youth Worker/Practitioner
Pilot
Ākonga Youth Development Community Fund
254
31
(2024)
F26: Youth Enterprise
63
1
Introduction to Enterprise Fund
F26: Youth Enterprise
52
10
Building Entrepreneurial Capital Fund
F26 Youth Enterprise
19
1
Developing Youth-Led Businesses Fund
F26 Youth Development Contributory Fund
117
Final number not known –
contract negations underway
at the time that your request
was received.
F26 Youth Development Place-Based Fund
180
Final number not known –
contract negations underway
at the time that your request
was received.
*Some of this information was collated prior to 2023 and it may be an incomplete record of all Open Tender
procurements undertaken over the requested time period.
