Tēnā koe Elspeth

 

Thank you for your official information request dated 29 November 2025
about ADHD information held in the IDI. Your request is being considered
under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).

We will respond to your request as soon as reasonably practicable and no
later than 20 working days after the day we received it. Based on this,
you can expect a response by 19 January 2026.

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Ngā mihi, Fau

 

 

Office of the Government Statistician & Chief Executive

Stats NZ | Tatauranga Aotearoa | [1]stats.govt.nz

 

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-----Original Message-----
From: Elspeth Baker-Vevers
<[FOI #33051 email]>
Sent: Saturday, 29 November 2025 12:03 am
To: Office of the GS&CE-External <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - 3 - ADHD Identification Pathways
and Data Availability

 

Kia ora,

 

I’m making this Official Information Act request as part of ADHDInquiryNZ,
a grassroots, unfunded, and non-partisan volunteer initiative supporting a
public petition calling for a Parliamentary inquiry into systemic harm to
people with ADHD in Aotearoa. This request focuses on information held by
your agency to help identify how ADHD is currently recognised within
existing systems. The information gathered from this and related requests
will help identify patterns across agencies and contribute to evidence
provided to the Petitions Committee when the petition period closes. I
appreciate the time involved in OIA responses.

 

Please treat this as a request for official information under the OIA. I
understand Stats NZ’s obligation to assist under s 13 and that a decision
should be made within 20 working days of receipt (or transfer within 10
working days). If any part of this request requires clarification, please
let me know no later than 5 working days from receipt. If an extension
under s 15A is needed, please state the reason and duration. This request
is confined to information held by Stats NZ; please do not transfer for
commentary.

 

Timeframe

This request covers the period 1 January 2015 to the date this request is
received.

 

Format

Where datasets, tables, or modelling outputs are provided, please supply
them in machine-readable format (CSV or original spreadsheet file), along
with any data dictionaries or field definitions.

 

Scope clarification to reduce unnecessary work I am not seeking internal
email chains or drafts unless they are the only record of the substantive
material described.

If any part of this request is likely to be refused under s 18(f) due to
substantial collation, please identify that part early so I may refine it.

 

Please provide:

 

1. Current Identification Capacity for ADHD in IDI Please outline which
diagnosis codes, pharmaceutical indicators, education flags,
benefit/ACC/justice variables, disability support datasets, or other IDI
variables currently exist that would enable accredited researchers to
identify ADHD or probable ADHD cohorts.

 

If ADHD cannot presently be identified in this way, please confirm this
and note any known limitations.

 

2. Research Activity and System Awareness The 2025 University of Otago
study demonstrated that ADHD cohorts can be identified in IDI datasets and
linked to cross-sector outcomes.

 

Please provide:

 

a. Any records (2015–present) showing whether ADHD specific analyses using
the IDI have been:

-proposed

-approved

-undertaken

-commissioned or requested by an agency

-carried out by external researchers (e.g., Otago, AUT, or other
accredited IDI researchers)

 

b. Any records discussing Stats NZ awareness of, or engagement with, the
2025 Otago research.

 

If no such documents are held, please confirm this.

 

3. Pipeline, Prioritisation, and Approval Please provide any documents or
advice outlining:

-how agency commissioned IDI research topics (including neurodevelopmental
research) are approved or prioritised -criteria or thresholds governing
feasibility assessments -the process for agencies to request or fund
commissioned IDI analyses

 

4. Classification and Metadata

If ADHD is not represented as a standalone category within underlying
datasets, please confirm how related information is coded (e.g., mental
health, neurodevelopmental, behavioural, disability, pharmaceutical).

 

Please also provide:

-metadata references

-the relevant IDI Data Dictionary links or extracts showing where ADHD
related fields, codes, or pharmaceutical indicators appear (or do not
appear)

 

If any Māori data governance, Māori statistical standards, or Māori equity
considerations were applied when determining how ADHD related information
is categorised or represented in classification systems, please provide
the relevant documents.

 

5. Rainbow+/Takatāpui populations

a. Please provide any analysis, metadata, or available information
regarding whether ADHD related outcomes can be examined for
Rainbow+/Takatāpui populations in the IDI, or confirm if such data are not
collected or not linkable for this purpose.

 

b. How, if at all, did the 2013 Census changes relating to sex and gender
categories affect the ability to analyse any overlaps between ADHD (or
other neurodevelopmental conditions) and Rainbow+/Takatāpui populations in
the IDI or in census-linked datasets?

 

c. Please describe whether internal Stats NZ teams responsible for
Rainbow+/Takatāpui populations, disability statistics, and health
statistics collaborate to understand intersectional data needs or gaps
relevant to ADHD and other neurodevelopmental conditions.

 

6. Feasibility or Costing Information

Any indicative costing guidance, pricing schedules, or feasibility notes
relating to commissioning an equivalent IDI analysis focused on ADHD or
other neurodevelopmental conditions.

 

If Stats NZ does not produce such costing guidance, please confirm.

 

7. Gaps / Non-collection

If Stats NZ does not hold some or all of the information requested, this
absence also helps clarify how ADHD is currently tracked and managed
across systems.

 

Please confirm if any information is not held, and include any records
that document:

-decisions not to collect ADHD related variables -data limitations
affecting ADHD visibility -constraints on classification or linkage

 

Ngā mihi,

Elspeth Baker-Vevers

 

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