WELLINGTON
The Customhouse, 1 Hinemoa Street, Wellington
PO Box 2218, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
www.customs.govt.nz
19 January 2026
Ref: OIA 25-804
Ms Jenny Smith
By email:
[FYI request #32707 email]
Tēnā koe Ms Smith
Response to your request under the Official Information Act 1982
Thank you for your email received by the New Zealand Customs Service (Customs) on 31 October
2025, in which you requested the following information under the Official Information Act 1982 (1982):
“1. Please provide a copy of the current training materials and any SOPs relating to the Officer
Safety and Tactics (OST) course.
2. What is the current number of OST trainers and what are their relevant qualifications?
3. How many OST courses have been carried out in each of the last ten years?
4. In each of the last ten years, how many injuries have been reported by officers participating
in OST courses?
5. How many recorded incidents of physical violence against Officers have occurred in each
of the last ten years?
6. On how many recorded occasions has an Officer successfully applied a technique
demonstrated during the OST course?
This request is made under the Official Information Act 1982.
On 28 November 2025, Customs extended the timeframe for a decision on your request by 20
working days under section 15A(1)(b) of the Act, as the consultations necessary to make a decision
on your request were such that a proper response to the request could not be reasonably be made
within the original timeframe.
I have provided Customs’ response to each part of your request below.
Customs’ Officer Safety Training (OST) is designed to equip frontline Customs officers with the skil s
and knowledge to successfully undertake their duties in protecting New Zealand’s borders and
keeping themselves and others safe.
Question One
Please provide a copy of the current training materials and any SOPs relating to the Officer
Safety and Tactics (OST) course.
Please find attached the document titled
‘OIA 25-804 Appendix One – training materials and SOPs’,
which contains the material identified as in scope for question one. Table One below is a list of the
current training materials for the Officer Safety and Tactics OST course. We are releasing these
documents to you, with some information withheld under the following sections of the Act.
• section 9(2)(a) – to protect the privacy of natural persons
• section 6(d) – to protect the safety of any person or persons
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E: [email address]
W: www.customs.govt.nz
Table One: Documents in scope – partially withheld
Document title
Decision
New Zealand Customs Service, Officer Safety & Tactics, Theory
Partially withheld under
• section 9(2)(a)
• section 6(d)
New Zealand Customs Service, Programme Outline, Officer Safety Release in full
Tactics, Level 1 (Practical – course overview)
New Zealand Customs Service, Programme Outline, Officer Safety Release in full
Tactics, Level 2 (Practical – course overview)
Tactical Communications eLearning module
Partially withheld under
• section 9(2)(a)
• section 6(d)
SOP Health and Safety Training Framework (OSH PRO 016)
Partially withheld under
section 6(d)
The following documents listed in Table Two below are in scope of your request and are refused in
full under section 6(d) of the Act, to protect the safety of any person.
Table Two: Documents in scope – refused in full
Document title
Decision
New Zealand Customs Service, Assessment Level 1, Officer Safety Refused in full
Tactics
New Zealand Customs Service, Assessment Level 2, Officer Safety Refused in full
Tactics
In addition to the documents listed above, Customs has identified visual practical course content in
scope of your request, including video demonstrations. This information is also refused under section
6(d) of the Act, to protect the safety of any person.
Question Two
2. What is the current number of OST trainers and what are their relevant qualifications?
As of 13 November 2025, Customs currently employs 15 staff in the role of OST instructor located
across the country.
Trainee OST instructors must successfully complete the Physical Competency Test, run by the New
Zealand Police. Once that requirement is met, trainee OST instructors must then complete and pass
the Defensive Tactics instructor course, delivered by Customs Senior OST Instructors. Trainee OST
instructors are then required to co-instruct courses with a Senior OST Instructor for 12 months before
becoming a qualified OST instructor.
Question Three
3. How many OST courses have been carried out in each of the last ten years?
Please see Table Three below which provides the number of Customs OST courses delivered in the
last 10 years, broken down by year.
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Table Three: Customs OST courses delivered from 1 January 2015 to 6
November 2025
Year
Number of courses held
2015
18
2016
23
2017
77
2018
112
2019
78
2020
60
2021
65
2022
97
2023
84
2024
89
2025 (as at 6 November 2025)
113
Total
816
Questions Four and Five
“4. In each of the last ten years, how many injuries have been reported by officers
participating in OST courses?
5. How many recorded incidents of physical violence against Officers have occurred in each
of the last ten years?”
Please see Table Four below which provides the number of injuries from OST training broken down
by year, from 1 January 2015 to 6 November 2025.
Please note, al injuries sustained during OST activities, ranging from minor injuries to injuries
occurring during physical exercises are required to be reported through the Customs Health and
Safety Kiosk and are included in the below figures. Injuries reported during OST often relate to minor
muscle strains and sprains and a very small number of reported injuries have involved significant
strains.
Table Four: Number of injuries from OST training from 1
January 2015 to 6 November 2025
Year
Injuries reported from OST
training activities
2015
3
2016
5
2017
10
2018
26
2019
31
3
2020
19
2021
15
2022
22
2023
16
2024
15
2025 (as at 6 November 2025)
35
Please see Table Five below which provides the number of Health and Safety reported incidents of
physical violence towards Customs officers in the last 10 years, broken down by year, from 1 January
2015 to 6 November 2025.
Table Five: Number of Health and Safety reported incidents of
physical violence towards Customs officers from 1 January
2015 to 6 November 2025
Year
Health and Safety reported
incidents of physical violence
2015
1
2016
2
2017
2
2018
2
2019
0
2020
0
2021
0
2022
0
2023
0
2024
1
2025 (as at 6 November 2025)
0
Question Six
6. On how many recorded occasions has an Officer successfully applied a technique
demonstrated during the OST course?
Customs does not maintain a centralised system for recording occasions where an Officer has
successfully applied a technique demonstrated during the OST course. Accordingly, your request for
this information is refused under section 18(e) of the Act, as the information does not exist.
It is important to note that Customs officers have the authority to use reasonable force under the
Search and Surveil ance Act 2012; however, OST training and the Tactical Options Framework are
designed to prevent situations from reaching that point. The framework prioritises officer presence
and tactical communication to support early de‑escalation at the border, reducing the likelihood of
physical violence and reinforcing force as a last‑resort measure.
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You have the right, by way of complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman under section 28(3) of the
Act, to seek an investigation and review of this decision. Information about how to make a complaint
is available online at:
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or you can phone 0800 802 602.
If you have any queries in regard to this response, please contact the Correspondence, Reviews and
Ministerial Servicing Team:
[email address].
Please note that Customs proactively releases responses to Official Information Act requests on our
website. As such, we may publish this response on our website after we have sent it to you. Your
name and contact details wil be removed.
Yours sincerely
O Francis
Osmitta Francis
Acting Chief People Officer
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