20 January 2026
Ref: OIA-2526-031
Elspeth Baker-Vevers
[FYI request #33053 email]
Tēnā koe Elspeth
Thank you for your email of 1 December 2025 to the Social Investment Agency (SIA) requesting
information on ADHD under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act). I have responded to your
questions below in turn.
A. Request for Unpublished 2024 ADHD Analysis The New Zealand Clinical Principles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Unpublished.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as unpublished).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
Please find attached the May 2024 document titled
Initial Insights: ADHD in Aotearoa New
Zealand – Using the IDI to understand outcomes and prevalence.
You can find the ADHD code module which was used for this analysis here
: Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) - Code Module - Stats NZ Integrated Data Commons
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
We are proactively releasing the first Social Investment Fund Ministerial group meeting pack,
which considered ADHD as a priority cohort. We are therefore refusing part B of your request
under section 18(d) of the Act on the basis that the information requested will soon be publicly
available. We will write to you again to let you know once the information in published.
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).
I am refusing part C of your request because we have responded to the specific ADHD work that
does exist.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request or this response, or if you require any further
assistance, please contac
t [Social Investment Agency request email]
As part of our commitment to transparency, we proactively release our responses to information
requests where possible. This response, with your personal details removed, may be published on
our website shortly.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision.
Information about how to make a complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
freephone 0800 802 602.
Yours sincerely
Luana Scowcroft
Manager – Engagement, Ministerials, and Communications