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18/12/2025
Phillip Fry
[FYI request #32602 email]
Tēnā koe Phillip
OIA: 1354236, 1354237, 1354239, 1354242, 1354246– Student Monitoring, Assessment and
Reporting Tool (SMART)
Thank you for your emails of 20 October 2025 to the Ministry of Education (the Ministry) requesting
information about the Student Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting Tool (SMART).
I have set out the details of each request below, followed by the Ministry’s response. Your requests
have been considered under the Of icial Information Act 1982 (the Act).
OIA 1354236:
1. Please provide a copy of the business case or procurement plan used to justify the
selection of Janison Solution Pty Ltd to deliver the new Student Monitoring,
Assessment and Reporting Tool (SMART).
I am releasing to you in part the
Procurement Plan: Standardised Tool for Assessment and
Aromatawai as
Appendix A. I am withholding some information under the following
sections of the Act:
• 9(2)(a) – to protect the privacy of natural persons
• 9(2)(g)(i) – to maintain the effective conduct of public affairs through the free and
frank expression of opinions by or between or to Ministers of the Crown or officials
in the course of their duty. This provision has been applied to the risk register.
• 9(2)(j) – to enable the Ministry to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage,
negotiations
I am refusing your request for a copy of the business case under section 18(d) of the Act,
as
The Single Stage Business Case: Standardised tool for assessment and aromatawai is
soon to be publicly available. We recognise the public interest in the process to procure an
assessment tool, and we are preparing the information for proactive release.
Wellington National Office, 1 The Terrace, Levels 5 to 14, Wellington 6011
PO Box 1666, Wel ington 6140, DX SR51201 Phone: +64 4 463 8000
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Once released, this information wil be available on the Ministry’s website and we will
provide you with a link.
Some information wil be withheld from the published documents under sections 9(2)(a) and
9(2)(j) of the Act (as above) and the following sections of the Act:
• 9(2)(b)(ii) – as disclosure would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial
position of the person who supplied it
• 9(2)(f)(iv) – to maintain the constitutional conventions for the time being which
protect the confidentiality of advice tendered by Ministers of the Crown and officials.
This provision has been applied to budget sensitive information.
• 9(2)(k) – to prevent the disclosure or use of official information for improper gain or
improper advantage.
It should be noted that the business case looks to procure a tool. SMART is the product
that is currently being procured as a result.
2. Please provide copies of any requests for proposals (RFP), tender documents, or
expressions of interest issued for this procurement.
The Ministry issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) on the Government Electronic Tender
Service (GETS) website on 7 March 2025. The RFP closed on 8 April 2025 and is no
longer available.
The RFP noted that the Ministry required a new ‘Standardised Tool for Assessment and
Aromatawai’ that wil deliver a long-term solution to support all schools and kura to
effectively enact twice-yearly assessment of learners and is aligned to Years 3 to 10 of the
new National Curriculum (The New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa).
Through the ‘Teaching the Basics Bril iantly’ policy, the Government has commit ed to lifting
student outcomes in reading, writing, maths, pānui, tuhituhi and pāngarau, and has set an
ambitious target of 80 percent of Year 8 students at, or above, the expected curriculum
level for their age in reading, writing and maths by December 2030 (Government Target 7).
A copy of the RFP and tender documents issued on the GETS website is included as
Appendix B. These documents are as follows:
• RFP For Standardised Assessment and Aromatawai Tool
• Appendix 1 – Glossary
• Appendix 2 – Detailed Requirements
• Appendix 3 – Sample Test Items
• Appendix 4 – Services (ICT) Agreement Cloud RFP
• Appendix 5 – RFI Supplier List
• Response 1 – Notice to Respond and Video Submission Form
OIA: 1354236, 1354237, 1354239, 1354242, 1354246
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• Response 2 – RFP Response Form
• Response 3 – Functional Requirements Conformance Workbook
• Response 4 – Non-Functional Requirements Conformance Workbook
• Response 5 – Pricing Schedule.
I am refusing your request for the expressions of interest under section 18(e) of the Act, as
this information does not exist. The documentation attached as
Appendix B includes a list
of those that responded to the Ministry’s Request for Information.
3. Please provide copies of al evaluation criteria, scoring matrices, and evaluation
reports used to assess suppliers.
The evaluation criteria and scoring matrices scale are included in the RFP documentation
in
Appendix B.
I am withholding the evaluation report under sections 9(2)(b)(ii) and 9(2)(j) of the Act, as
above, as procurement activities are incomplete.
4. Please provide a copy of the contract signed between the Ministry and Janison,
including any schedules, deliverables, or pricing structures.
I am withholding this information under section 9(2)(b)(i ) of the Act, as above.
5. Please provide details of any New Zealand-based companies or other international
suppliers that submitted proposals but were not selected.
I am withholding this information under section 9(2)(j) of the Act, as above, as the
procurement process is ongoing. In mitigation of the public interest, we note that a list of
applicants wil be published on GETS once the overall procurement process is complete.
OIA 1354237 – Please provide any cost-benefit analyses comparing SMART with
maintaining or upgrading e-asTTle, PAT, PACT and similar pieces of summative
assessment used in New Zealand primary schools.
The Single Stage Business Case: Standardised tool for assessment and aromatawai follows the
Treasury Better Business Case process. An options assessment is included within the economic
case, along with appendices that provide additional detail. As mentioned above, it is important to
note that the business case looks to procure a tool. SMART is the product that is currently being
procured as a result.
As noted above, per section 18(d) of the Act,
The Single Stage Business Case: Standardised tool
for assessment and aromatawai is soon to be publicly available.
OIA 1354239 - Please provide copies of all briefings, aide memoires, or advice received from
the Ministry of Education regarding the procurement of Janison for the SMART tool.
OIA: 1354236, 1354237, 1354239, 1354242, 1354246
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The decision to engage Janison is operational and made by the Ministry. No briefings,
aides-memoire or advice from the Ministry were provided to Ministers.
This request is therefore refused under section 18(e) of the Act, as above.
OIA 1354242 - What is the total projected cost (broken down by financial year) of
developing, implementing, and maintaining SMART from 2024–2030?
We anticipate that the whole-of-life cost wil be in line with that presented in the
The Single Stage
Business Case: Standardised tool for assessment and aromatawai. The procurement phase is yet
to be finalised, so we are unable to provide any additional information at this stage.
As noted above, per section 18(d) of the Act,
The Single Stage Business Case: Standardised tool
for assessment and aromatawai is soon to be publicly available.
I am refusing the total projected cost (broken down by financial year) of developing, implementing
and maintaining SMART from 2024–2030 under section 18(g) of the Act, as the information is not
yet held by the Ministry, and I have no grounds for believing that it is either held by, or more closely
related to the functions of, another department or organisation subject to the Act.
OIA 1354246 - Please provide details of where and how student assessment data in the
SMART tool wil be stored, including whether any data wil be stored or processed outside
New Zealand.
Al SMART data wil be stored securely in New Zealand, with backups for disaster resilience and
recovery stored in Australia.
As required under section 9(1) of the Act, I have considered the public interest in releasing the
information withheld under sections 9(2)(a), 9(2)(b)(ii), 9(2)(f)(iv), 9(2)(j) and 9(2)(k) of the Act. I do
not consider that the public interest considerations favouring the release of this information are
sufficient to outweigh the need to withhold it at this time.
Please note, we may publish this response on our website after five working days. Your name and
contact details wil be removed.
Thank you again for your email. You have the right to ask an Ombudsman to review my decision
on your request, in accordance with section 28 of the Act. You can do this by writing to
[email address] or to Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143.
Nāku noa, nā
Aditi Cook
Chief Procurement Officer
Te Pou Rangatōpū | Corporate
OIA: 1354236, 1354237, 1354239, 1354242, 1354246
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