1 October 2025
Chris McCashin
[FYI request #32375 email]
Tēnā koe Chris,
Your request for official information, reference: HNZ00099367
Thank you for your email on 24 September 2025, asking Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora for
the following under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act):
All records, reports, or datasets containing numbers or codes related to child cancer cases
in New Zealand, from the earliest available records to the present.
This request includes but is not limited to:
Incidence rates
Prevalence data
Cancer types (e.g., leukemia, brain tumors) Age ranges (e.g., 0-14, 0-19) Any relevant
codes or classifications used (e.g., ICD-10)
Response
Your requests for all information are very broad, and substantial manual collation would be
required to locate and prepare information within scope of your request. There is also no
requirement under the Act for agencies to create new information, or compile information they do
not hold. Therefore, your request is refused under section 18(f) of the OIA, as substantial manual
research and collation would be required to bring together all relevant documents, and section
18(g) of the OIA, as the information requested is not held by the agency.
I have considered whether fixing a charge for the supply of the information or extending the
timeframe for response would enable Health NZ to respond. I do not consider that either option
would remove the impact that supplying the information would have on our other operations.
However, you may find the following resources helpful in locating the information you are seeking,
or in refining your request to target specific information more effectively.
Since 2013, child cancer is currently reported on in the cancer web tool:
https://www.tewhatuora.govt.nz/for-health-professionals/data-and-statistics/cancer/data-web-tool
The tool includes details about the most common cancer registrations and deaths, and historical
cancer datasets from 1948 to 2022.
An historical summary of cancer statistics can also be found at
https://www.health.govt.nz/publications/cancer-historical-summary-1948-2017
Prior to 1948, when the Department of Health took over responsibility for reporting Health statistics,
death numbers were reported by Statistics NZ, and can be found in some of their historic
yearbooks. These publications may not have electronic versions though. Further information on
how to request information from Statistics NZ is available at https://www.stats.govt.nz/about-
us/official-information-act-requests/
How to get in touch
If you have any questions, you can contact us at [Health New Zealand request email].
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 at 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. All requester data, including your name and
contact details, will be removed prior to release.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Danielle Coe
Manager (OIAs) – Government Services
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora
TeWhatuOra.govt.nz
PO Box 793, Wellington 6140
