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 be used to identify patterns across agencies and will contribute to the 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 the agency’s obligation to assist under s 13 and that a decision should be made within 20 working days (and any transfer should occur 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. I request release in machine-readable format where available. This request is confined to information held by the Ministry of Health; please do not transfer for commentary.

Please provide the following information, with specific reference to the Ministry’s memorandum ‘Aide-Mémoire: ADHD Actions, Dependencies and Milestones (H2024050133)’:

1. Funding for ADHD Data Survey
a. Has funding been approved or allocated for the ADHD data survey referenced in the Aide-Mémoire?
b. If yes, please provide the amount, the funding source within Vote Health, and the financial year(s) in which it is allocated.
c. If funding has not been approved, please provide all correspondence, budget bids, or internal discussion documents relating to efforts to secure funding.

2. Progress on Data Survey (Design 2025 – Collection 2026 – Reporting 2027)
a. Has the 2025 design phase commenced, and if so, who is leading or contracting this work?
b. What milestones have been achieved to date?
c. Is the timeline for 2026 collection and mid-2027 data release still current?

3. Cross-Agency Neurodiversity Group Stocktake
a. Has the cross-agency neurodiversity group’s stocktake of ADHD-related supports and screening tools been completed?
b. If yes, please release the stocktake report or summary findings.
c. If not, please provide the expected completion date and the lead agency responsible.

4. ADHD Collaborative Network
a. Have any agencies considered providing funding or secretariat support to reinstate the ADHD Collaborative Network, given that coordination became unsustainable for ADHD NZ in 2023 due to lack of resourcing?
b. Are there any current plans to establish or fund an alternative ADHD-specific coordination mechanism?

5. Monitoring and Accountability
a. Please provide any progress reports, briefings, updates, or minutes tracking implementation of the six actions agreed at the 2024 Parliamentary Hui.
b. Please identify the mechanisms or governance structures in place to monitor delivery across agencies.

6. Next ADHD Parliamentary Hui
a. Please confirm whether a further ADHD Parliamentary Hui is scheduled.
b. If so, please provide the planned or proposed date, the hosting agency, the invited organisations, and any agenda or draft-agenda documents.

Format expectations
Where datasets are released, please provide them in machine-readable format (CSV or original spreadsheet file) with accompanying data dictionaries or field definitions.

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

Please confirm if the information is not held, and include any documents or correspondence that record a decision not to collect or monitor ADHD related information. If applicable, please also indicate how related matters are categorised (for example, under mental health or disability).

Ngā mihi,
Elspeth Baker-Vevers