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 the Social Investment Agency (formerly the Social Wellbeing Agency). The information gathered from this and related requests will help identify how ADHD is currently recognised across government systems and will contribute to the evidence provided to the Petitions Committee when the petition period closes. I appreciate the time involved in preparing OIA responses.

Please treat this as a request for official information under the OIA. I understand the agency’s duty to assist under section 13 and that a decision should be made within 20 working days (transfers 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 section 15A is needed, please state the reason and duration.

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, I request they be supplied in machine readable format (CSV or original spreadsheet file) along with any data dictionaries or field definitions. A machine readable format is requested to minimise collation and preserve original structure.

Scope clarification to reduce unnecessary work:
To streamline this request, I am not seeking internal email chains, drafts, or personal information about individuals unless they are the only holders of the substantive information described.
If any part of this request is likely to be refused under section 18(f) due to substantial collation, please identify that specific part early so I can refine it.

A. Request for Unpublished 2024 ADHD Analysis
The New Zealand Clinical Principles Framework for ADHD (Updated September 2025) cites the following:

Social Investment Agency. 2024. Initial Insights: ADHD in Aotearoa New Zealand. Unpublished.

I am requesting:

A1. The full document titled:
Initial Insights: ADHD in Aotearoa New Zealand
(Social Investment Agency, 2024, cited as unpublished).

A2. Any accompanying material, including but not limited to:
-underlying data, tables, or modelling
-methodological notes
-analytical appendices
-any version history (draft, internal note, briefing)
-internal documentation describing the purpose or intended status of this analysis
-any correspondence transmitting or discussing this analysis with the Ministry of Health or any other agency

A3. If the document cannot be located, please provide:
-the search steps taken
-relevant document registers or file lists checked
-any information explaining how the Ministry of Health came to cite this analysis
-confirmation of whether the analysis existed as a standalone document or formed part of a broader piece of work

B. Broader ADHD Related Analysis, Modelling, and Feasibility Work (2015–present)

B1. Any analysis, feasibility work, modelling, or investment-case development since 2015 that includes, mentions, or refers to ADHD.

B2. Any data, insights, evaluations, or outcome modelling linking ADHD with:
-education
-employment
-benefit or income support
-justice or corrections
-family/whānau
-Health

This includes any work drawing on the IDI or other linked datasets.

B3. Any documentation identifying barriers or limitations to including ADHD in:
-social investment models
-outcome frameworks
-wellbeing analyses
-integrated datasets
-risk or cohort modelling

C. Classification, Inclusion, and Documentation if No ADHD Specific Work Exists

If no ADHD specific analysis or modelling exists, please confirm this and provide:

C1. How ADHD is categorised within SIA datasets or modelling frameworks, for example:
-neurodevelopmental conditions
-learning support
-behavioural conditions
-mental health
-disability
-other grouped cohorts

C2. Any documents or correspondence recording a decision not to collect, monitor, or analyse ADHD-related information.

C3. Any guidance, internal notes, or data standards showing how ADHD-related variables are coded, grouped, or excluded within the social investment system.

C4. Any documents, advice, work programmes, planning material, or internal discussions that consider ADHD as a potential future cohort for social investment modelling, outcome analysis, or investment under the Social Investment Fund or its predecessor functions.

If your agency does not hold some or all of the information requested, that absence also helps clarify how ADHD is currently tracked and managed across the social investment system. Identifying such gaps is part of building the evidence base for an informed, coordinated response.

Please confirm if the information is not held by your agency, and include any existing documents or correspondence that record a decision not to collect, analyse, or monitor ADHD-related information. If applicable, please also indicate how related matters are categorised (for example, under neurodiversity, mental health, behavioural conditions, disability, or other groupings used within SIA’s analytical or modelling work).

Ngā mihi,
Elspeth Baker-Vevers

Kia ora Joanne,

Thank you for confirming that you hold the 2024 Initial Insights: ADHD in Aotearoa New Zealand document and the associated ADHD coding module.

It is also helpful to know that the Social Investment Agency previously identified and proposed children with ADHD as a priority cohort for investment under the Social Investment Fund. The documentation relating to this proposal work, including any records of Ministerial decisions or decision outcomes, would be very useful.

Regarding parts B and C, the purpose of keeping these broader is to help confirm where ADHD-related analysis exists and where it does not, as the gaps are just as important as any completed work. I’m not expecting large volumes of material; clarity on inclusion, exclusion, and classification is the intent. Parts B and C are intended to capture any ADHD-related work beyond the 2024 analysis and cohort proposal, including confirmation where no such work exists.

I would be grateful if you could continue with the broader search. To reduce workload, I’m open to either narrowing the timeframe to the past five years, or to you indicating upfront which parts of B or C your agency already knows it does not hold information for, and I can refine those sections accordingly. An extension under section 15A is fine if needed for parts B and C.

In the meantime, if the 2024 Initial Insights document, the ADHD coding module, and the cohort proposal material are ready to release earlier, I would appreciate those being released without awaiting completion of the broader search, to avoid undue delay.

If possible, please also consider proactively publishing the 2024 Initial Insights document and the cohort proposal material once released.

Ngā mihi nui,
Elspeth