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Joshua Drummond
[FYI request #33190 email]
20 March 2026
Tēnā koe Joshua
OIA: GEMS-46258 – AI use in curriculum development
Thank you for your email of 9 December 2025 and subsequent clarification on 6
January 2026 to the Ministry of Education (the Ministry) requesting the following
information:
1. Al Copilot (or other AI tool) chat logs relating to curriculum development,
and
2. Al documentation of the independent checking / review process that AI-
supplied information for use in the curriculum has undergone to ensure
accuracy, reliability, and safety, and
3. Documentation of how research or other material derived from or filtered
through AI has been utilised in the draft curriculum — including via
copy+pasting, paraphrasing, or other methods.
Please provide the information requested during the timeframe of 1 month,
from September 28, 2025, to October 28, 2025, for the Phase 2 (Years 4–6)
Social Sciences Learning Area.
Your request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).
After careful consideration, I am refusing your request under section 18(f) of the Act,
as the information requested cannot be made available without substantial collation
or research. The greater public interest is in the effective and efficient administration
of the public service.
To provide your request, the Ministry would need to divert personnel from their core
duties for a significant period of time to complete this task. The diversion of these
Wel ington – National Office, PO Box 1666, Wellington 6140
Phone: +64 4 463 8000
education.govt.nz
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resources would impair the Ministry’s ability to continue standard operations and
would be an inefficient use of the Ministry’s resources.
As required under sections 18A and 18B of the Act, I have considered whether
inviting you to refine further, fixing a charge would enable your request to be
answered. However, I do not consider that any of these mechanisms would
sufficiently mitigate the administrative burden associated with collating and assessing
the information requested, which would have a significant impact on the Ministry’s
ability to carry out its core functions.
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 t
o [email address] or to Office of the Ombudsman,
PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143.
Nāku noa, nā
Claire Eden
General Manager, Business Operations
Te Poutāhū | Curriculum Centre
education.govt.nz
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OIA: GEMS-46258
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