Dear Ministry for the Environment,

Tēnā koe,

Under the Official Information Act 1982, I request the following information held by the Ministry for the Environment.

1. Governance and Executive-Level Reporting

Copies of all reports, briefings, minutes, presentations, or discussion papers provided to any of the following since 1 January 2023:
• the Chief Executive,
• any Deputy Chief Executive,
• the Executive Leadership Team, and/or
• the Audit & Risk Committee,

that relate to or reference:
• staff wellbeing, stress, morale, or culture,
• bullying, harassment, or psychological harm,
• psychosocial or mental-health risk management,
• health, safety, and wellbeing performance, or
• retention and turnover concerns linked to workplace culture.

Please include any attachments, appendices, or summary dashboards referenced in those materials.

⸻

2. Risk Registers and Organisational Health Reporting

Copies of all risk-register entries, hazard logs, or risk-review summaries maintained or discussed at the executive or governance level that reference:
• staff wellbeing or psychological safety,
• workplace culture or leadership risk, or
• psychosocial hazards or stress-related risks,
during the same period.

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3. Escalations and External Engagement

Copies of any emails, briefings, or memoranda exchanged between:
• the Chief Executive,
• any Deputy Chief Executive, or
• members of the Audit & Risk Committee,

that discuss or reference:
• escalations or concerns about bullying, psychological harm, or wellbeing issues,
• engagement or correspondence with WorkSafe NZ, the Public Service Commission, or any other external agency about psychosocial or wellbeing matters, or
• any decision-making relating to staff safety, culture, or mental-health risk.

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4. Assurance Frameworks and Reviews

Copies of any frameworks, internal audits, self-assessments, or guidance documents that describe how the Ministry provides governance oversight of psychosocial risk, wellbeing, or staff safety, including:
• any changes, reviews, or updates made since 1 January 2023, and
• any documentation evidencing how senior leaders monitor or report on organisational culture or psychological safety.

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5. Internal Surveys and Analysis

Copies of any staff-survey results, pulse checks, or analysis shared with the Executive Leadership Team or Audit & Risk Committee since 1 January 2023 that include findings or metrics relating to:
• stress, burnout, morale, or psychological safety; or
• staff confidence in raising issues or accessing safe channels for support.

6. Critical Health and Safety Events

Copies of all incident reports, notifications, or summaries received or recorded by the Ministry since 1 January 2023 that relate to:
• serious harm, attempted self-harm, or suicide involving a current or former employee;
• critical wellbeing or psychological safety incidents; or
• acute mental-health events that required medical, emergency, or external intervention.

Please include:
• any internal incident report forms (including Vault or equivalent system entries),
• notifications or reports made to WorkSafe NZ, the Public Service Commission, or other agencies, and
• any debriefs, reviews, or follow-up actions taken by leadership, HR, or health and safety teams.

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7. Governance and Reporting

Copies of any briefings, emails, or reports provided to:
• the Chief Executive,
• any Deputy Chief Executive, or
• the Audit & Risk Committee,

that discuss or reference any of the incidents above.

⸻

8. Review or Remediation Actions

Copies of any reviews, investigations, or lessons-learned reports undertaken by or for the Ministry in response to any such incidents since January 2023.

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If any information is withheld in whole or in part, please provide a schedule of withheld documents, listing the document title, author, date, and the specific section of the Act relied upon for each withholding.

Given the significant public interest in ensuring that government agencies maintain safe, psychologically healthy workplaces in line with the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, I submit that the balance of public interest under section 9(1) clearly favours disclosure.

Yours faithfully,

PR