Dear Elspeth

We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible and in any event no later than 20 working days after the day your request was received. If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will notify you of an extension of that timeframe.

Please note, the three weeks between Christmas Day and 15 January the following year don't count as working days. This means that any Official Information Act request submitted from now may take a bit longer.

If you have any queries, please feel free to contact Ministerial Services at [email address]. If any additional factors come to light which are relevant to your request, please do not hesitate to contact us so that these can be taken into account.

Our letter notifying you of our decision on your request will confirm if we intend to publish the letter (with your personal details removed) and any related documents on the Te Kawa Mataaho Commission’s website.

Enquiries Team
imera: [email address]

Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission
http://www.publicservice.govt.nz/ | http://www.govt.nz/

-----Original Message-----
From: Elspeth Baker-Vevers <[FOI #33091 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 2 December 2025 12:25 am
To: Enquiries <[PSC request email]>
Subject: OIA 2025-0191-Official Information request - 19 - ADHD and Inclusion in the Public Service

COMMISSION

This email was sent from someone outside of Te Kawa Mataaho. Please take extra care.

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 help identify any 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 of receipt (and that any transfer must 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. This request is confined to information held by Te Kawa Mataaho; please do not transfer for commentary.

This request relates to the Public Service Commission’s system-wide leadership, workforce policy, and public-sector capability functions, not to internal HR information for individual agencies.

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 s 18(f) due to substantial collation, please identify that specific part early so I can refine it.

Please provide:
1. Any public service workforce, inclusion, diversity, or wellbeing strategies since 2015 that reference ADHD.

2. Any internal or system-wide guidance, expectations, or policy on workplace accommodations or support for public servants with ADHD.

3. Any guidance, frameworks, expectations, or advice issued to public service agencies regarding reasonable accommodation or workplace adjustments for disabled or neurodivergent staff, including ADHD.

4. Any data, staff surveys, or diversity reporting since 2015 that include ADHD as a reported or coded category.

5. ADHD-specific workforce initiatives, and any broader neurodiversity workforce initiatives where ADHD is discussed or relevant in the public sector.

6. Any internal or public-facing communications, campaigns, or awareness materials since 2015 that include ADHD within the public service. If none exist, please confirm this.

7. Any evaluation, monitoring, performance, or workforce capability reports since 2015 that measure ADHD prevalence, outcomes, recruitment, retention, or rehabilitation results within the public service workforce. If none exist, please confirm this.

8. Any data standards, coding categories, or classification guidance used in the Public Service Workforce Data or related reporting that relate to ADHD, neurodiversity, disability, or mental health.

9. If any Mâori data governance or Mâori equity considerations were applied when deciding whether to collect, categorise, or monitor ADHD-related information, please provide the relevant documents.

10. Cross-Agency Rainbow+ Inclusion: Please provide any documents, guidance, work programmes, or network materials (including from the Cross-Agency Rainbow+/Takatâpui Network) that reference ADHD, including any broader disability or neurodiversity inclusion material where ADHD is specifically referenced, within Rainbow+/Takatâpui workforce or public service inclusion work.

If the Cross-Agency Rainbow+/Takatâpui Network (supported by Te Kawa Mataaho) has not considered ADHD or has not referenced ADHD within any broader disability or neurodiversity work, please confirm this.

11. If ADHD is not explicitly included in any of the above, please confirm and state under which broader category it would be reported (for example: neurodiversity, disability, mental health, or other).

If information is not held
If your agency does not hold some or all of the information requested, that absence also helps clarify how ADHD is currently recognised within the public service 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, monitor, or report ADHD-related information. If applicable, please also indicate how related matters are categorised (for example, under neurodiversity, mental health, disability, or workforce wellbeing).

Ngâ mihi,
Elspeth Baker-Vevers

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This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

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[FOI #33091 email]

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