15 January 2026
Elspeth Baker-Vevers
[FYI request #33068 email]
Tēnā koe Elspeth Baker-Vevers
Official Information Act request
Thank you for your email of 1 December 2025, requesting information about ADHD
held by the Ministry of Social Development (the Ministry), from January 2015 to
December 2025.
I have considered your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).
Please find my decision on each part of your request set out separately below.
You requested the following information, for the period 1 January 2015 to 1
December 2025:
1. Leadership and Oversight - Any documents identifying how ADHD is
represented, recognised, or coordinated within MSD’s employment support,
income support, disability support services, hardship or social-housing
assessments, youth development or StudyLink services. If none exist,
please confirm this. If no responsible function exists, please confirm this.
The Government has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities definition on behalf of all New Zealanders, which states
that:
“disability [is] any long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory
impairment which, in interaction with various barriers may hinder the full
and effective participation of disabled people in society on an equal basis
with others”. This is therefore inclusive of ADHD.
Work and Income
For Work and Income (including income support, hardship, StudyLink, and social
housing) and Youth Services, information relating to an ADHD diagnosis may be
provided to the Ministry by the client, their whānau or a health professional, as
part of an application for a service or support. Where the diagnosis is being used
to determine eligibility for a health or disability service or support, the diagnosis
must be confirmed by the client’s health professional.
The Aurora Centre, 56 The Terrace, PO Box 1556, Wellington
– Telephone 04-916 3300 – Facsimile 04-918 0099
Disability Support Services
To partly address this request, please find attached
Appendix: MSD Disability
Support Services, which was developed by Whaikaha, the Ministry for Disabled
People, and is now the responsibility of the Ministry’s Disability Support Services
group. The document reflects the Ministry’s current operational policy on disability
services. You will note that disability is defined broadly, and while it includes
autism spectrum disorder (page 9) it does not reference “ADHD.” Pages 17 and 18
provide a list of the definitions of disability that Cabinet has approved.
Across all Ministry services, information relating to a diagnosis of ADHD is usually
located within individual client notes. We do not collect information to this level
and therefore the information you seek cannot be reported to the level of detail
you require and accordingly, this part of your request is refused under section
18(e) of the Act as this document does not exist or, despite reasonable efforts to
locate it, cannot be found.
2. Data and Monitoring - Any reports, dashboards, metadata, or methods MSD
uses to identify or track clients with ADHD (including aggregated clinical
coding, case-note tags, or health-based eligibility indicators). If ADHD is
grouped under another category, please specify which (e.g., disability,
mental health, behavioural, neurodiversity).
The Ministry reports on primary disability impairments in grouped categories.
ADHD is most likely to be grouped under the ‘psychological or psychiatric’
category.
Therefore, the information you seek cannot be reported to the level of detail you
require and accordingly, this part of your request is refused under section 18(e) of
the Act as this document does not exist or, despite reasonable efforts to locate it,
cannot be found.
3. Funding and Programmes - Any information identifying funding allocated
or spent specifically on ADHD-related: employment support, participation
or inclusion programmes, Community provider contracts, youth or family
services. (Please exclude autism-specific or general neurodiversity
initiatives unless ADHD is explicitly named.)
The Ministry commissions a wide range of Youth Services, Disability Employment
Services and Community and Inclusion Service Services, which may support clients
with ADHD. However, the services are not explicitly targeted for people with ADHD,
and we do not collect or track data that specifies any disability category for the
people that receive these services. Rather the services are intended for any
disabled person that needs support to access employment or community
participation.
This part of your request is refused under section 18(e) of the Act as this document
does not exist or, despite reasonable efforts to locate it, cannot be found.
You may be interested to read the following advice about changes to ADHD
prescribing rules for specialist general practitioners and nurse practitioners from 1
February 2026, available on the Ministry of Health website:
www.health.govt.nz/news/changes-to-adhd-prescribing-rules-from-1-february-
2026.
4. Rights and Compliance - Any assessments, advice, or internal
communications since 2015 discussing ADHD in relation to: New Zealand’s
obligations under UNCRPD, disability discrimination risk, equitable access to
employment or social support. If none exist, please confirm this.
The Ministry does not have any assessments, advice or internal communications
since 2015 specifically discussing ADHD in relation to the above points.
This part of your request is refused under section 18(e) of the Act as this document
does not exist or, despite reasonable efforts to locate it, cannot be found.
5.
Equity - If any Māori data governance or Māori equity considerations were
applied when deciding whether to collect, categorise, or monitor ADHD-
related information, please provide the relevant documents. Please provide
any analysis or reporting MSD holds on differential outcomes for clients with
ADHD by ethnicity, gender, or Rainbow+/Takatāpui status, or confirm if
such data are not collected. Please confirm if the information is not held,
and include any existing 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 disability, mental health, behavioural conditions, or other).
This part of your request is refused under section 18(e) of the Act as this document
does not exist or, despite reasonable efforts to locate it, cannot be found.
I will be publishing this decision letter, with your personal details deleted, on the
Ministry’s website in due course.
If you wish to discuss this response with us, please feel free to contact
[MSD request email]. If you are not satisfied with my decision on your request, you have the right to
seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman. Information about how to
make a complaint is available
at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or 0800 802 602.
Ngā mihi nui
PP.
Anna Graham
General Manager
Ministerial and Executive Services
