16 September 2025
Letty Smith
[FYI request #32111 email] Tēnā koe Letty Smith
Official Information Act request
Thank you for your email dated 24 August 2025 in which you requested
information about any rules the Ministry of Social Development (the Ministry) may
have regarding the use of desk fans. You also asked for the number of sites the
Ministry has and how many staff are normally located at each of them.
I have considered your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).
Please find my decision on each part your request set out separately below.
1. The Ministry’s rules regarding the use of desk fans at its sites
The Ministry has no formal policies or rules that prohibit or restrict the use of small
personal desk fans in the workplace. Although that is the case, the Ministry’s
Workplace Services team will provide advice to sites on an as-needed basis, based
on the specific circumstances of the site and the people who use it. This advice is
tailored to ensure that personal fan use is:
• safe and not causing undue fire risk.
• not impeding the effective operation of building heating, ventilation, and
air conditioning (HVAC) systems.
• energy efficient.
As the Ministry has no formal policies or rules regarding fan use, I am refusing this
part of your request under section 18(g) of the Act. The information you requested
is not held by the Ministry and I have no grounds to believe that it is either held
by, or more closely connected to, the functions of another department, Minister of
the Crown or organisation.
2. Please also set out how many sites associated with your organisation,
and how many employees normally located at those locations
I refer you to
Appendix 1.
The Aurora Centre, 56 The Terrace, PO Box 1556, Wellington
– Telephone 04-916 3300 – Facsimile 04-918 0099
I note that some cities/towns/suburbs have multiple sites associated in the data.
In some cases, such as the Ministry’s National Office in Wellington, each floor of a
multistorey building has been recorded as a separate site. In other cases, the data
reflects that there are multiple Ministry sites within a single city/town/suburb.
I will publish 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
[MSD request email]. 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 a
t www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or 0800 802 602.
Ngā mihi nui
pp.
Anna Graham
General Manager Ministerial and Executive Services
