20 January 2026
Elspeth Baker-Vevers
[FYI request #33091 email]
Dear Elspeth
Official Information Request – Extension Notification
Our ref: OIA 2025-0191
I refer to your official information request dated 2 December 2025 for:
“…
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 wil be used to help identify any patterns across agencies and wil 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 col ation 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:
Level 10, Te Iho | 1 Lambton Quay | PO Box 329
Wellington 6140 | New Zealand
Phone +64 4 495 6600
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 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.
10. Cross-Agency Rainbow+ Inclusion: Please provide any documents, guidance, work programmes,
or network materials (including from the Cross-Agency Rainbow+/Takatāpui Network) that
reference ADHD, including any broader disability or neurodiversity inclusion material where ADHD
is specifically referenced, within Rainbow+/Takatāpui workforce or public service inclusion work.
If the Cross-Agency Rainbow+/Takatāpui 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 al 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).”
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The Official Information Act 1982 requires that we advise you of our decision on your request no
later than 20 working days after the day that we received your request. Unfortunately, it will not
be possible to meet that time limit and we are, therefore, writing to notify you of an extension of
the time to make our decision, to
18 February 2026.
We will keep you updated on the progress of our response to your request.
This extension is necessary because consultations needed to make a decision on your request
are such that a proper response cannot reasonably be made within the original time limit.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request with us, including this decision, please feel free
to contact Ministerial and Executive Services team at:
[email address]. 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
Nicky Dirks
Manager – Ministerial and Executive Services
Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission
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Document Outline
