Thank you for your email to the Ministry of Education.  
This is an auto generated response confirming your email has been received.
Please do not respond to this message.  
  
We will respond to your email as soon as possible.
Tēnā koe mō tō īmēra mai ki te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga.     
  
He urupare aunoa tēnei hei whakaatu kua tae mai tō īmēra
ki a mātou. Kaua noa e whakautu i tēnei karere.  
  
Mea ake nei ka urupare tonu atu mātou ki tō īmēra. 

  

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DISCLAIMER:
This email and any attachments may contain information that is
confidential and subject to legal privilege. If you are not the intended
recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution or duplication of this
email and attachments is prohibited. If you have received this email in
error please notify the author immediately and erase all copies of the
email and attachments. The Ministry of Education accepts no
responsibility for changes made to this message or attachments after
transmission from the Ministry.

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[UNCLASSIFIED]

Kia ora

Thank you for the information request below. The Ministry will consider and respond to your request in accordance with the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).

Under section 15(1) of the Act, we are required to make and inform you of our decision on your request as soon as reasonably practicable and in any case not later than 20 working days after the day on which your request is received. You can therefore expect to receive our decision on your request on or before 27th of January 2026. If more than 20 working days are needed due to the potential workload and/or consultations involved in answering your request, we will notify you accordingly.

Please note, the days between 25 December – 15 January (inclusive) are not considered to be “working days” for the purposes of calculating the 20 working day timeframe for providing a response under the Act.

In the interim, if you have any questions about your request, please email [email address].

Ngâ mihi

Enquiries National Team | Te Tâhuhu o te Mâtauranga | Ministry of Education | MC education.govt.nz

We shape an education system that delivers equitable and excellent outcomes He mea târai e mâtou te mâtauranga kia rangatira ai, kia mana taurite ai ôna huanga

-----Original Message-----
From: Erika Whittome <[FOI #33164 email]>
Sent: Monday, 8 December 2025 6:53 am
To: Enquiries National <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - Total No. of education workers terminated due to mandates excluding teachers

[You don't often get email from [FOI #33164 email]. Learn why this is important at https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]

Dear Ministry of Education,

Another OIA response shared the number of teachers terminated during vaccine mandate2 in 2021 to ~4 April 2022. https://fyi.org.nz/request/19702/respons...

Please provide total number of education workers excluding teachers who were terminated due to vaccine mandates. For example teacher aids, caretakers, admin, enrolment admin, career counsellors, lab technicians etc.

Yours faithfully,

Erika Whittome

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

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #33164 email]

Is [Ministry of Education request email] the wrong address for Official Information requests to Ministry of Education? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

________________________________

DISCLAIMER:
This email and any attachments may contain information that is confidential and subject to legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution or duplication of this email and attachments is prohibited. If you have received this email in error please notify the author immediately and erase all copies of the email and attachments. The Ministry of Education accepts no responsibility for changes made to this message or attachments after transmission from the Ministry.

hide quoted sections

[IN-CONFIDENCE - RELEASE EXTERNAL]

Tēnā koe Erika

Thank you for your email of ​8 December 2025​ to the Ministry of
Education (the Ministry) requesting the following information:

Another OIA response shared the number of teachers terminated during
vaccine mandate in 2021 to ~4 April
2022. [1]https://fyi.org.nz/request/19702/respons...

Please provide total number of education workers excluding teachers who
were terminated due to vaccine mandates.  For example teacher aids,
caretakers, admin, enrolment admin, career counsellors, lab technicians
etc. 

Your request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982
(the Act).  

I am refusing your request for this information under section 18(g) of the
Act, as the Ministry does not hold the information requested, and we have
no grounds for believing it is either held by, or more closely connected
to the functions of, another department or organisation subject to the
Act. 

This information has previously been requested under the Act. Our response
to that request provides additional information around how payroll details
are recorded, in line with the response quoted in your request, and is
publicly available
here: [2]https://web-assets.education.govt.nz/s3f...

I can confirm that, for the period the ‘vaccine mandate’ was in place, the
numbers quoted in the above response remain accurate,
being school employees who left their positions for COVID‐19‐related reasons in
the broad sense. However, please note that, due to the live nature of the
dataset, these numbers may change if re-run on a different date. 

Thank you again for your email. You have the right to ask an Ombudsman to
review my decision on your request, in accordance with section 28 of the
Act. You can do this by writing to [3][email address] or to
Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143. 

Nāku noa, nā,

Official and Parliamentary Information | Ministry of Education | ED

[4]education.govt.nz

He mea tārai e mātou te mātauranga kia rangatira ai, kia mana taurite ai
ōna huanga
We shape an education system that delivers equitable and excellent
outcomes
[5][IMG]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

DISCLAIMER:
This email and any attachments may contain information that is
confidential and subject to legal privilege. If you are not the intended
recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution or duplication of this
email and attachments is prohibited. If you have received this email in
error please notify the author immediately and erase all copies of the
email and attachments. The Ministry of Education accepts no
responsibility for changes made to this message or attachments after
transmission from the Ministry.

References

Visible links
1. https://fyi.org.nz/request/19702/respons...
2. https://web-assets.education.govt.nz/s3f...
3. mailto:[email address]
4. http://www.education.govt.nz/
5. https://www.education.govt.nz/

hide quoted sections

Thank you for your email to the Ministry of Education.  
This is an auto generated response confirming your email has been received.
Please do not respond to this message.  
The Ministry of Education is closed for the holiday period between the
25^th of December and 4^th of January.
  
We will respond to your email as soon as possible on our return.   
Happy Holidays!
Tēnā koe mō tō īmēra mai ki te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga.  
  
He urupare aunoa tēnei hei whakaatu kua tae mai tō īmēra
ki a mātou. Kaua noa e whakautu i tēnei karere.  
  
Mea ake nei ka urupare tonu atu mātou ki tō īmēra. 

  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

DISCLAIMER:
This email and any attachments may contain information that is
confidential and subject to legal privilege. If you are not the intended
recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution or duplication of this
email and attachments is prohibited. If you have received this email in
error please notify the author immediately and erase all copies of the
email and attachments. The Ministry of Education accepts no
responsibility for changes made to this message or attachments after
transmission from the Ministry.

hide quoted sections

[IN-CONFIDENCE - RELEASE EXTERNAL]

Tēnā koe Erika

 

As per our below email, the information you have requested is not held by
the Ministry of Education (the Ministry). Your request was therefore
refused under section 18(g) of the Act as below.

 

We linked a previous response below,
[1]https://web-assets.education.govt.nz/s3f...,
which provided you the following information based on the information the
Ministry does hold, as explained in the letter:

 

        Since November 2021, when the payroll category was created, 459
teachers and 570 non-teachers have left their roles for ‘Covid’ related
reasons.

 

Nāku noa, nā,

Official and Parliamentary Information | Ministry of Education | ED

[2]education.govt.nz

He mea tārai e mātou te mātauranga kia rangatira ai, kia mana taurite ai
ōna huanga
We shape an education system that delivers equitable and excellent
outcomes
[3][IMG]

 

-----Original Message-----

From: Erika Whittome <[4][FOI #33164 email]>

Sent: Thursday, 25 December 2025 9:30 pm

To: Enquiries National <[5][email address]>

Subject: Re: OIA: GEMS-46206 – Non-teaching staff terminated during
vaccine mandate

 

Dear Enquiries National,

 

You have provided the number of teachers,  not other education  workers.
Kindly supply the info under the Act

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Erika Whittome

 

-----Original Message-----

 

[IN-CONFIDENCE - RELEASE EXTERNAL]

 

Tēnā koe Erika

 

Thank you for your email of ​8 December 2025​ to the Ministry of 
Education (the Ministry) requesting the following information:

 

Another OIA response shared the number of teachers terminated during 
vaccine mandate in 2021 to ~4 April  2022.
[1][6]https://fyi.org.nz/request/19702/respons...

 

Please provide total number of education workers excluding teachers who 
were terminated due to vaccine mandates.  For example teacher aids, 
caretakers, admin, enrolment admin, career counsellors, lab technicians 
etc.

 

Your request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982 
(the Act).

 

I am refusing your request for this information under section 18(g) of
the  Act, as the Ministry does not hold the information requested, and we
have  no grounds for believing it is either held by, or more closely
connected  to the functions of, another department or organisation subject
to the  Act.

 

This information has previously been requested under the Act. Our
response  to that request provides additional information around how
payroll details  are recorded, in line with the response quoted in your
request, and is  publicly available

here:
[2][7]https://web-assets.education.govt.nz/s3f....

 

I can confirm that, for the period the ‘vaccine mandate’ was in place,
the  numbers quoted in the above response remain accurate,  being school
employees who left their positions for COVID‐19‐related reasons in  the
broad sense. However, please note that, due to the live nature of the 
dataset, these numbers may change if re-run on a different date.

 

Thank you again for your email. You have the right to ask an Ombudsman to 
review my decision on your request, in accordance with section 28 of the 
Act. You can do this by writing to [3][email address] or to  Office of the
Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143.

 

Nāku noa, nā,

 

Official and Parliamentary Information | Ministry of Education | ED

 

[4]education.govt.nz

 

He mea tārai e mātou te mātauranga kia rangatira ai, kia mana taurite ai 
ōna huanga  We shape an education system that delivers equitable and
excellent  outcomes  [5][IMG]

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[8][FOI #33164 email]

 

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

[9]https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

 

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

 

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

DISCLAIMER:
This email and any attachments may contain information that is
confidential and subject to legal privilege. If you are not the intended
recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution or duplication of this
email and attachments is prohibited. If you have received this email in
error please notify the author immediately and erase all copies of the
email and attachments. The Ministry of Education accepts no
responsibility for changes made to this message or attachments after
transmission from the Ministry.

References

Visible links
1. https://web-assets.education.govt.nz/s3f...
2. http://www.education.govt.nz/
3. https://www.education.govt.nz/
4. mailto:[FOI #33164 email]
5. mailto:[email address]
6. https://fyi.org.nz/request/19702/respons...
7. https://web-assets.education.govt.nz/s3f...
8. mailto:[FOI #33164 email]
9. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

hide quoted sections