18 February 2026
Elspeth Baker-Vevers
[FYI request #33091 email]
Dear Elspeth
Official Information Request
Our Ref: OIA 2025-0191
I refer to your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request received on 2 December 2025 for:
1. Any public service workforce, inclusion, diversity, or wel being 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
Level 10, Te Iho | 1 Lambton Quay | PO Box 329
Wellington 6140 | New Zealand
Phone +64 4 495 6600
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).
Information publicly available - Parts one to nine
The following documents and information are covered by your request and are publicly
available at the links provided in the table below.
Item Date
Document Description
Website Address
1
1 September 2025
GUIDANCE: ‘Workforce
Guidance: Workforce diversity
diversity action plan’
action plan - Te Kawa Mataaho
Public Service Commission
2
12 December 2024
GUIDANCE: ‘Flexible Working
Guidance: Flexible Working (Work
(Work from Home)’
from Home) - Te Kawa Mataaho
Public Service Commission
3
WEBSITE: Including
INDIGO (Including Neurodiversity
Neurodiversity in Government
in Government Organisations) –
Organisations
Employee Led Networks - Te Puna
Huihuinga Kaimahi.
4
WEBSITE: The Disability Four-
The Disability Four-Point Plan |
Point Plan
Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled
People
5
GUIDE: ‘Reasonable
Reasonable accommodation: A
Accommodation – A guide to
guide to developing policies and
developing policies and
procedures to assist disabled
procedures to assist disabled
people through reasonable
people through reasonable
accommodation (workplace
accommodation (workplace
adjustments)
adjustments)’
6
GUIDE: ‘Accessibility Guide:
Accessibility Guide: Leading the
Leading the way in accessible
way in accessible information -
information’
Ministry of Social Development
7
LEAD TOOLKIT: ‘For
Lead Toolkit - For employing
employing disabled people’
disabled people - Ministry of Social
Development
8
2025
WEBSITE: Data/Workforce
Te Taunaki Public Service Census
Data/Demographics/Disability
2025 - Disability
9
2025
REPORTS:
https://www.publicservice.govt.nz
-
Te Taunaki Public Service
/data/public-service-
Census - System Report
census/summary-reports-and-
technical-information
-
Agency reports
https://www.publicservice.govt.nz
10
2025
REPORT: ‘Neurodiverse public
servants’ (prepared for ELNs)
/assets/DirectoryFile/ELN-
neurodiverse.pdf
https://www.publicservice.govt.nz
11
2025
REPORT: ‘Public servants who
identify as disabled’
/assets/DirectoryFile/ELN-
disabled.pdf
LDC :: 2020 Fel ow David Hammond
12
May 2022
REPORT: ‘Neurodiversity:
Untapped Talent – a guide for
public sector recruitment’
Neurodiversity_Untapped-
Talent.pdf
Guidance: Information standards
13
24 June 2025
GUIDANCE: ‘Information
standards and guidance’
and guidance
Guidance: Col ecting disability
14
11 February 2020
GUIDANCE: ‘Collecting
disability information on the
information on the State service
State services workforce’
workforce
Previously released with OIA
15
DISCUSSION PAPER: Disability
Measurement Discussion
response
: PSCR-2025-0189-
Paper
Information-request-regarding-the-
2025-Public-Service-Census.pdf
Accordingly, I have refused your request for the documents listed in the above table under
section 18(d) of the OIA on the grounds the information requested is or will soon be publicly
available.
Part one
The Commission does not hold any public service workforce, inclusion, diversity, or
wellbeing strategies since 2015 that specifical y reference ADHD. However, it supports
agencies to improve participation and diversity in the public service workforce, including
disabled peoples. Therefore, all workforce diversity and wellbeing guidance issued by the
Commission applies to all public servants, including those with attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The Commission also provides support for cross-agency employee-led networks (ELNs),
including those for disabled and neurodiverse public servants such as the Including
Neurodiversity in Government Organisations (INDIGO) ELN.
Part two
The Commission does not hold any internal guidance, expectations, or policy on workplace
accommodations or support specifical y for public servants with ADHD. Instead, it follows
guidance issued by the Ministry for Social Development (MSD), with further information
available at the link provided in the table above.
At a system level, in addition to the Reasonable Accommodation guidance, MSD provides
further resources on improving accessibility through the links listed above. For further
information on the support and initiatives to increase awareness that the Commission
provides, please refer to our response to part six of your request.
Part three
Alongside supporting agencies to develop their workforce diversity plans, the Disability
Four-Point Plan (the Plan)—available through the link above—forms part of the wider
system support. The Commission continues to support Whaikaha, MSD, and We Enable Us
(the cross-agency ELN for disabled people) as they work together to progress actions
identified through the Plan.
Parts four and seven
Te Taunaki Public Service Census (the 2025 Census) is a confidential survey of public
servants conducted to gather insights on experiences and demographics across
departments and departmental agencies. In 2025, the Census included a question on
neurodiversity:
Q102.
Do you consider yourself to be neurodivergent, and/or have you been diagnosed
with a neurodivergent condition? Neurodivergent conditions can include Autism/ASD,
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, dyspraxia, Tourette
Syndrome, and other conditions not listed here.
The Commission used the Census results to produce a system report, which provided
insights across the workforce. Self-reported neurodiversity data is shown on page 23 of the
system report.
Each participating agency also received its own Census summary reporting and was
required to develop an agency plan responding to its results. The Commission reviewed
these plans to ensure they addressed key issues. Each agency’s summary report includes
neurodiversity reporting, and both system and agency-level reports include information on
workplace accommodations.
More detailed reporting was prepared for employee-led networks and is available through
the link referenced in the table above.
Part five
David Hammond was awarded a Leadership Development Centre (LDC) fellowship. As part
of this fel owship, he authored
Neurodiversity: Untapped Talent – a guide for public sector
recruitment. While the guide acknowledges neurodiversity more broadly and references
ADHD in the introduction, its primary focus is on autism and dyslexia.
Part six
The Commission has supported the following:
1. ‘Neurodiversity Week’ (17-23 March 2025)
2. Run neurodiversity training for managers (19 November 2025) and employees (20
November 2025)
3. Provided a resource on supporting neurodiversity in the workplace on the
Commission’s intranet for all staff to access.
4. Supported the Commission’s Neurodiversity ELN, including with the development
and implementation of their Annual Plan (2025).
An ELN events newsletter for cross agency ELNs and their members (approximately 3,600
readers) regularly includes information from We Enable Us Disabled Public Servants and
INDIGO ELNs.
Part nine
In developing the Census questionnaire, a Te Ao Māori perspective was included and is
outlined in the Disability Measurement Discussion Paper referred to above.
Information not held - Part ten
Although the Commission provides some support to the Cross Agency Rainbow Network
(CARN), the Commission does not hold 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.
Information relating to the network’s work programme and materials is best sought from
CARN itself. CARN can be contacted via their website at the following link:
Cross Agency
Rainbow Network - Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission or via email:
[email address]. I am therefore refusing this part of your request under section 18(e) of the OIA on the
grounds the information reqeusted does not exist.
If you wish to discuss this decision with us, please feel free to contact
[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
Document Outline
- Background and Wording of the Request
- Consultation
