Printed from https://fyi.org.nz/request/33081-21-adhd-and-human-rights-monitoring on December 23, 2025 06:42

21 - ADHD and Human Rights Monitoring

Elspeth Baker-Vevers made this Official Information request to Human Rights Commission

Currently waiting for a response from Human Rights Commission, they must respond promptly and normally no later than (details and exceptions).

From: Elspeth Baker-Vevers

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 am requesting the specific information listed below. I understand the Commission’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. I request release in machine-readable format where available. This request is confined to information held by the Human Rights Commission; please do not transfer for commentary.

Time period: 1 January 2015 to the date this request is received.

Scope clarification: I am not seeking internal email chains or drafts unless they are the only record of the substantive information described.

Please provide:

1. Recognition and Scope
Any documents identifying whether ADHD is recognised within the Commission’s work on:
-disability rights
-health or mental-health discrimination
-education rights
-employment rights
-policy or guidance relating to unlawful discrimination

Please include any internal definitions or categorisation frameworks showing how ADHD-related matters are classified.

2. Monitoring, Complaints, and Findings (2015–present)
Any:
-complaints or enquiries
-systemic reviews or thematic investigations
-research or monitoring reports
-submissions to Government
-published or internal findings

that refer to ADHD or identify systemic discrimination affecting people with ADHD.

If ADHD is grouped under broader categories (e.g., disability, mental health, neurodiversity), please specify which.

3. Projects, Engagement, or Resourcing
Any work programmes, projects, engagements, or resourcing since 2015 that explicitly include ADHD or neurodevelopmental disabilities within scope.

4. International Human Rights Reporting
Any material referring to ADHD or related neurodevelopmental conditions in New Zealand that has been:
-submitted by HRC to UN treaty bodies
-received from UN bodies
-referenced in UNCRPD monitoring, shadow reports, or independent submissions

5. Legislative and Rights Analysis
Any assessments or advice addressing ADHD in relation to:
-Human Rights Act 1993 (disability discrimination)
-New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (s 19 – freedom from discrimination)
-UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)

If no ADHD-specific material exists, please confirm.

Formats: Where datasets, tables, or structured information are released, please provide machine-readable formats (CSV or original spreadsheet file) with accompanying data dictionaries or definitions.

If information is not held
If the Commission 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 recording:
decisions not to collect or monitor ADHD-related information; or
decisions to categorise ADHD under another label (e.g., disability, mental health, neurodiversity).

Ngā mihi,
Elspeth Baker-Vevers

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From: Infoline

Tçnâ koe
Thank you for contacting Te Kâhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission. 
Our dedicated team are committed to addressing each enquiry or complaint
thoroughly and appreciate your understanding and patience.
Please note: The Commission does not respond to emails where we are copied
(cc’d or bcc’d) or included in bulk emails to other parties. If you are
seeking a response from us, please email us directly or contact us through
our website.
If you need immediate support
If you are in distress or need to talk to someone, free and confidential
help is available at any time:

* Call or text 1737 to speak with a trained counsellor  
* [1]Lifeline: Free call 0800 543 354 (0800 LIFELINE) or free text 4357
(HELP) 
* Visit the Mental Health Foundation’s website [2]here for more advice,
resources and wellbeing support

 
Other agencies that may be able to assist
Depending on your situation, you may wish to contact:

* [3]Citizens Advice Bureau: general advice and support
* [4]Community Law: free legal advice (the Commission cannot provide
legal advice) 
* [5]Employment NZ:  general employment issues
* [6]Office of the Ombudsman: complaints about government and public
sector agencies
* [7]Health & Disability Commissioner: complaints about a health or
disability provider
* [8]Independent Police Conduct Authority: complaints about the Police

 
About Te Kâhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission
Learn more about who we are and how we can help:

* [9]What we do
* [10]Our story and Te Tiriti o Waitangi
* [11]Our Commissioners (please note: Commissioners are not involved in
complaint handling or dispute resolution)
* [12]How the Commission helps

* [13]We answer questions and provide information to help people
understand their rights under the Human Rights Act 1993
* [14]We provide a free and confidential dispute resolution process
for discrimination complaints covered by the Act
* We do not investigate or make findings about complaints
* We can’t help with immigration matters (learn why [15]here)

* [16]What unlawful discrimination is
* [17]FAQs about discrimination and human rights
* [18]Case studies of our work
* [19]Stay connected - Subscribe to our monthly newsletter

Ngâ mihi
Te Kâhui Tika Tangata | New Zealand Human Rights Commission
p: 0800 496 877
e: [20][email address] or [21][email address]
a: P O Box 10424. Wellington 6140
w: [22]www.tikatangata.org.nz

[23]Facebook [24]YouTube [25]LinkedIn

We can access confidential services for interpreting and translating in
more than 180 languages through [26]Language Assistance Services[27] and
[28]NZ Relay Service[29] for those with hearing or speech
impairments. This message may contain information that is confidential or
legally privileged.
If you have received this email in error please contact the sender
immediately. You do not have permission to use or disclose this
information if the email is not addressed to you.
Please consider the environment before printing this email.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.lifeline.org.nz/services/lif...
2. https://www.mentalhealth.org.nz/get-help...
3. https://www.cab.org.nz/
4. https://communitylaw.org.nz/
5. https://www.employment.govt.nz/resolving...
6. https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/what...
7. https://www.hdc.org.nz/making-a-complaint/
8. https://www.ipca.govt.nz/
9. https://tikatangata.org.nz/about-us/what...
10. https://tikatangata.org.nz/about-us/our-...
11. https://tikatangata.org.nz/about-us/our-...
12. https://tikatangata.org.nz/about-us/how-...
13. https://tikatangata.org.nz/about-us/how-...
14. https://tikatangata.org.nz/about-us/how-...
15. https://tikatangata.org.nz/resources-and...
16. https://tikatangata.org.nz/human-rights-...
17. https://tikatangata.org.nz/resources-and...
18. https://tikatangata.org.nz/our-work/case...
19. https://tikatangata.org.nz/newsletter-si...
20. mailto:[email address]
21. mailto:[email address]
22. http://www.tikatangata.org.nz/
23. https://www.facebook.com/nzhumanrightsco...
24. https://www.youtube.com/user/nzhumanrights
25. https://nz.linkedin.com/company/new-zeal...
26. https://www.mbie.govt.nz/cross-governmen...
27. http://connectingnow.com.au/
28. https://www.nzrelay.co.nz/index
29. http://connectingnow.com.au/

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From: OIA Inbox

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Kia ora Elspeth,

 

Thank you for your information request, which was received by the Human
Rights Commission via FYI.org on Monday 1 December 2025.

 

Extension of time

 

As noted in my previous email, due to the large time frame and amount of
information requested, it will take us a significant amount of time for us
to collate, review, consult with third parties, and make potential
redactions to this information.  We will therefore need to extend our
response time from 20 January 2026 to 20 February 2026. 

 

Refinement

 

I note that you have made requests under the following areas:

 1. Recognition and scope 
 2. Monitoring, complaints. The Commission does not make findings. 
 3. Projects, engagement or Resourcing
 4. International human rights reporting
 5. Legislative and rights Analysis

 

We will search for key documents, but might not be able to give you an
exhaustive list of everything requested back to 2015. However, we will do
our best.

 

In terms of the information requested under point 4. relating to
international human rights reporting, this is all publicly available. You
can search the United Nations treaty body data base for all submissions,
including from the Human Rights Commission, as well as UN treaty body
concluding observations and findings. I have included links to some of the
most relevant documents below:

 

Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities 

o CRPD [1]Concluding observations:
o Submissions from the [2]New Zealand Independent Monitoring
Mechanism of which the Commission is a part where we talk about
learning disabilities (but not specifically ADHD)

 

Convention Against Torture 

o Human Rights [3]Commission report 
o CAT [4]Concluding observations 2023
o CAT [5]Concluding observations 2015

 

Please let us know if you have any further questions.

Ngā mihi,

Eleanor 

 

 

OIA Inbox ​​​​
[6][IMG] Te Kāhui Tika Tangata | New Zealand Human Rights Commission
[7]e: [email address] | freephone: 0800 496 877  |  [8]w: www.tikatangata.org.nz
[9][IMG] [10][IMG] [11][IMG] Sign up for our [12]newsletter
[13]​​We can access confidential services for interpreting and translating in more than 180
languages through [14]Language Assistance Services[15] and [16]NZ Relay Service[17] for those
with hearing or speech impairments.
​This message may contain information that is confidential or legally privileged. If you have
received this email in error please contact the sender immediately. You do not have permission
to use or disclose this information if the email is not addressed to you.
​Please consider the environment before printing this email

 

References

Visible links
1. https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15...
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15...
2. https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15...
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15...
3. https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15...
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15...
4. https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15...
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15...
5. https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15...
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15...
6. https://www.tikatangata.org.nz/
7. http://[email address]/
8. http://www.tikatangata.org.nz/
9. https://www.facebook.com/nzhumanrightsco...
10. https://www.youtube.com/user/nzhumanrights
11. https://nz.linkedin.com/company/new-zeal...
12. https://tikatangata.org.nz/newsletter-si...
13. https://connectingnow.com.au/
14. https://www.mbie.govt.nz/cross-governmen...
15. https://connectingnow.com.au/
16. https://www.nzrelay.co.nz/index
17. https://connectingnow.com.au/

Link to this

From: Elspeth Baker-Vevers

Kia ora Eleanor,

Thank you for your email and for outlining how the Commission intends to approach this request.

I acknowledge and accept the extension of time to 20 February 2026.

Thank you also for clarifying how the Commission will approach each of the five areas I identified. I appreciate the explanation regarding complaints and findings, and I understand the Commission’s role in monitoring and reporting rather than making determinations.

In relation to point 4 (international human rights reporting), I note your comment that much of this material is publicly available via UN treaty body databases. To clarify, I am not seeking a compilation of publicly available UN documents per se, but rather confirmation of whether the Commission holds any ADHD-related material within its own records (for example, submissions, monitoring reports, correspondence, or internal references prepared for or used in international reporting processes). Where no ADHD-specific material is held, confirmation of that absence is itself helpful for my purposes.

I am comfortable with the approach you’ve outlined of searching for key documents rather than attempting an exhaustive retrieval back to 2015, and I appreciate the effort involved in collating and reviewing material across this time period.

Please let me know if any further clarification would be helpful at this stage.

Ngā mihi,
Elspeth

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Things to do with this request

Anyone:
Human Rights Commission only: