link to page 1
19 December 2025
DOIA-REQ-0023073
Flow In
[FYI request #31591 email] Tēnā koe Flow In
Thank you for your email of 27 October 2025 to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
(MBIE) requesting, under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act), the following information:
I would indeed like the payments made to
International Organization for Migration (IOM)
and the World Intelectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
This follows on from your previous request, which we responded to on 3 October 2025 for the following
information:
Can you please provide me with a list of all payments made by the Ministry of Business, Innovation
& Employment and its subsidiaries to the UN and its subsidiaries over the last 10 years. This can be
in summary format.
On 24 November 2025 we emailed to advise you that we were extending the due date for response under
section 15A(1)(b) of the Act with the new due date being 22 December 2025.
Our response
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is the leading intergovernmental organisation within the
United Nation (UN) system, dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration. IOM provides a range
of assistance for resettlement and relocation of refugees, including pre-departure activities, health
assessments and screening and the assistance for movements in-country and across borders. IOM works
closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners, to help ensure the orderly
and humane management of migration, to promote international cooperation on migration issues, to assist
in the search for practical solutions to migration problems and to provide humanitarian assistance to
migrants in need, including refugees and internally displaced people.
New Zealand, through MBIE, pays an annual assessed contribution as a Member State of IOM to the
Administrative Part of IOM’s budget. New Zealand’s contribution is set by the IOM assessment scale, which
has been fully equated to the UN assessment sc
ale1. The scaling takes into account the smaller number of
IOM member states compared to the larger UN membership.
1 Assessments - Committee on Contributions - UN General Assembly, Next session - Committee on Contributions -
UN General Assembly
link to page 2
MBIE also receives offshore refugee resettlement assistance from IO
M2, including medical assessments and
screening as well as travel services and support. The payments made to IOM over the requested period also
include the annual fixed costs covering regular assistance delivered in the regions as well as the variable
costs for requested assistance. We have also included the gains and losses through currency exchange rates.
Separate from refugee resettlement assistance, MBIE has worked with IOM on several regional projects to
strengthen the protection of refugees and management of international migration, and combat issues such
as irregular migration, trafficking in persons, and related transnational crimes.
Due to the high volume of payments made to the IOM over the requested period, we are providing the list
of payments in summary format by financial year. I am refusing your request for payments prior to the 2017-
18 financial year under s18(f) of the Act as the information is not available in a readily reportable format
and cannot be made available without substantial collation or research. I do not consider that consulting
with you or fixing a charge would allow your request for this information to be fulfilled.
Table 1. Payments made by MBIE to IOM between 2017-18 and 2024-25
Total NZD ex
Financial Year
Purpose
GST
2017-18
Refugee resettlement Assistance
2,197,636.08
IOM annual member contributions for the Government of
New Zealand
208,835.95
Total
2,406,472.03
2018-19
Refugee resettlement Assistance
2,885,297.16
Costs to deliver New Zealand sponsored Bali Process event
10,348.42
IOM annual member contributions for the Government of
New Zealand
213,041.70
Total
3,108,687.28
2019-20
Refugee resettlement Assistance
2,340,669.30
Total
2,340,669.30
2020-21
Refugee resettlement Assistance
3,057,934.53
IOM annual member contributions for the Government of
New Zealand for 2 years
510,936.22
Total
3,568,870.75
2021-22
Refugee resettlement Assistance
4,202,412.30
Total
4,202,412.30
2022-23
Refugee Resettlement Assistance
10,970,017.50
IOM annual member contributions for the Government of
New Zealand
663,907.86
Total
11,633,925.36
2023-24
Refugee resettlement Assistance
10,973,801.78
Support to the Bali Process Regional Support Office
50,000.00
IOM annual member contributions for the Government of
New Zealand
460,507.69
Total
11,484,309.47
2 Table 1 includes some payments for facilitated migration services for non-refugees under “refugee resettlement
services”
2024-25
Refugee resettlement Assistance
13,023,232.80
Support to the Bali Process Regional Support Office
50,000.00
Accommodation costs for Fiji Immigration during IOM
Conference
413.17
IOM annual member contributions for the Government of
New Zealand
557,063.40
Total
13,630,709.37
Grand Total
52,376,055.86
MBIE has made payments to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) over the past 10 years
exclusively for annual membership contributions. This information is publicly available and can be accessed
a
t https://www.wipo.int/ under the respective program and budget biennium documents, which can be
found at the links below (refer to the appendices).
2014-2015, 2016-2017, 2018-2019, 2020-2021, 2022-2023, 2024-2025
I am therefore refusing this part of your request under section 18(d) of the Act, as the information is publicly
available.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request or this response, or if you require any further assistance,
please contact
[email address]. You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision. Information
about how to make a complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
Nāku noa, nā
Andrew Lockhart
Acting General Manager Refugee and Migrant Services
Immigration New Zealand
