5 September 2025
Jessie Smith
[FYI request #31940 email]
Tēnā koe Jessie
Your request for official information, references: HNZ00095486 / HNZ00095562
Thank you for your emails on 8 August 2025 and 11 August 2025, asking Health New Zealand | Te
Whatu Ora for the following under the Official Information Act 1982 (the OIA):
“[On 8 August 2025]
1. What was the recruitment process followed when appointing the previously
disestablished Chief of Staff Commissioning to the Group Manager Regional System
Integration position at Te Manawa Taki?
2. What is her experience in this area?
3. Why was the role not advertised and made available to disestablished staff members in
accordance with HNZ’s policies and employment obligations?
[And on 11 August 2025]
4. This person does not reside in the region even though it’s a requirement of the role.
What are the costs of her travel and accommodation when she travels from Wellington to
the regional office?”
Response
For clarity, I wil address each question in turn.
1. What was the recruitment process followed when appointing the previously
disestablished Chief of Staff Commissioning to the Group Manager Regional System
Integration position at Te Manawa Taki
The role of Group Manager, Regional System Integration Te Manawa Taki (the Group Manager)
has not been permanently vacated.
The current Group Manager has been seconded into the role until the end of January 2026 as an
interim measure. The secondee is also covering some of the responsibilities of two other senior
manager vacancies. The approach and process undertaken to backfill this role was in line with
Health NZ HR guidance and policy.
Under section 64 of the Public Service Act 2020, secondments within and between public service
entities (of which Health NZ is one) are not subject to the usual requirements around notifying
vacancies and reviewing appointments. The secondee was selected due to their availability and
suitability to provide a short-term backfill with minimal disruption, given their familiarity with the
region, role, and context.
2. What is her experience in this area?
Over the last 25 years, the secondee has held five senior executive roles in the health sector and
four general management roles across four dif erent DHB planning and funding teams. They have
proven experience in public health and service delivery functions and have externally occupied
senior management roles with the Ministry of Health, leading infrastructure planning and the public
health COVID response and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) Transition
Unit contributing to the recent health reforms.
3. Why was the role not advertised and made available to disestablished staff members in
accordance with HNZ’s policies and employment obligations?
I refer you to our response to item one of your request.
4. This person does not reside in the region even though it’s a requirement of the role.
What are the costs of her travel and accommodation when she travels from Wellington to
the regional office?”
As noted in our response to item one. The Group Manager role has a secondee in place as an
interim measure, as such the secondee is not required to reside in this region. Most of this work is
being delivered virtually.
There was one face-to-face meeting attended in Waikato at a cost of $264.98, this did not require
accommodation. The authority to approve this cost is in line with HNZ policy and the delegations
held by the Regional Director.
How to get in touch
If you have any questions, you can contact us at
[email address].
If you are not happy with this response, you have the right to make a complaint to the
Ombudsman. Information about how to do this is available a
t www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
by phoning 0800 802 602.
As this information may be of interest to other members of the public, Health NZ may proactively
release a copy of this response on our website. Al requester data, including your name and
contact details, wil be removed prior to release.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Sasha Wood
Head of Government Services
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora
TeWhatuOra.govt.nz
Health NZ, PO Box 793,
Wel ington 6140, New Zealand
