IN-CONFIDENCE

Tçnâ koe John Luke,

Thank you for your email received 18 December 2025, under the Official Information Act 1982. Your request has been forwarded to the appropriate officials at National Office to respond.

The information you have requested may contain the names and contact details of our staff. Please let us know by 24 December 2025 whether you require these names and contact details. We will need to consult our staff before deciding whether we can release this information, and this will take a bit more time. If we do not hear from you, we will assume that you do not require staff names and contact details.
Please note that over the holiday period, there are three weeks that are not classified as working days. In accordance with Section 2 of the Official Information Act 1982, this period is 25 December 2025 to 15 January 2026 (inclusive). As such, OIA requests received on or after 27 November 2025 may take longer than you might expect. For more information on the latest date you can expect a response, please find the OIA Calculator on the Ombudsman website here: http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/agenc....
Ngâ manaakitanga,

Official Information Team | Ministerial and Executive Services
Ministry of Social Development

Our Purpose:
We help New Zealanders to be safe, strong and independent
Ko ta mâtou he whakamana tangata kia tû haumaru, kia tû kaha, kia tû motuhake

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IN-CONFIDENCE

Kia ora John Luke,

I am writing to you regarding your request for information below. This
letter is to advise you that the Ministry requires more time to respond to
this request. In accordance with section 15(1) and 15A of the Official
Information Act, the Ministry’s decision will be with you no later than 13
March 2026.

 

Dear Ministry of Social Development,

 

I noted-Benefits Review Committee

[1]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

 

May I kindly request the current list of members of the Benefits Review
Committee as at 18 December 2025, for the following areas:

 

Auckland

Bay of Plenty

Canterbury

Central

East Coast

Nelson

Northland

Southern

Taranaki

Waikato

Wellington

 

For each member, could you please provide:

 

Full name

 

Date of appointment

 

Current expiry date of appointment

 

A brief biography, if available

 

Additionally, I note the statement that “nominations are welcome at any
time so that a pool of community representatives is available.”

Could you please advise:

 

How many nominations are currently held in the nomination pool; and

 

The dates on which those nominations were lodged with your office.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

john luke

 

 

The reason for the extension is that consultations necessary to make a
decision on the request are such that a proper response to the request
cannot reasonably be made within the original time limit.

 

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
[2]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or 0800 802 602.

 

If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request with us, including this
decision, please feel free to contact [3][MSD request email]

 

I will respond to you sooner if I am able to.

 

Ngâ mihi,

 

Official Information Team | Ministerial and Executive Services

Ministry of Social Development

 

Our Purpose:
We help New Zealanders to be safe, strong and independent
Manaaki Tangata, Manaaki Whânau

 

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 Social Development accepts no
responsibility for changes made to this message or attachments after
transmission from the Ministry.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-ou...
2. http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
3. mailto:[MSD request email]