Thank you for contacting the Office of Hon Erica Stanford, Minister of
Education, Minister of Immigration, Lead Coordination Minister for the
Government's Response to the Royal Commission's Report into Historical
Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions, and
Member of Parliament for East Coast Bays.

We appreciate you reaching out – the Minister considers all correspondence
to be important, and all messages are carefully read and considered.
Please do note it is not always possible to provide a personal response to
every email received. Personal views, feedback and suggestions are
gratefully received and will be passed on to the Minister and/or relevant
Agencies.

Please note the following to help us direct your correspondence:

* If you are seeking ministerial intervention for an immigration case,
please contact Associate Minister of Immigration, Hon Chris Penk, at
[email address] Minister Stanford is unable to comment on
individual cases.
* Emails relating to education matters that are operational in
nature will be transferred to the Ministry of Education (or other
agency).  Minister Stanford is unable to comment on individual cases.
You can contact the Ministry directly at:
[email address]
* For assistance related to historical abuse in state care, please
contact the Survivor Experiences Team at
[email address].
* If you have invited Minister Stanford to an event, or requested a
meeting, a member of staff may contact you for more information.
* Official Information or Privacy Act requests will be managed under the
relevant Acts, which may include transfer to another Agency.
* If you are a journalist, your request will be referred to the Press
Secretary.
* If you are a constituent of East Coast Bays, your email will be shared
with the Electorate Office.

Thank you again for writing to Minister Stanford.
Kind regards,
Office of Hon Erica Stanford
Reception: +64 4 817 6805 | Ministerial Email:
[1][Erica Stanford request email] |
Web: beehive.govt.nz  | Post: Freepost Parliament, Private Bag 18 041,
Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Erica Stanford request email]

OIA ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

 

 

Dear Phillip,

 

Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) request,
received on 19/12/2025, in which you requested the following information:

 

Under the Official Information Act 1982, I respectfully request the
following information:

 

All briefings, aide-memoires, reports, or advice received by you or your
office from the Ministry of Education, or any other agency or advisor,
regarding the procurement of Janison Solution Pty Ltd for the SMART
assessment tool.

Any communications (emails, notes, or meeting minutes) between your office
and Ministry officials, third parties, or stakeholders in relation to the
SMART procurement, between 27 November 2023 and 19 December 2025.

 

Any documentation relating to questions raised in Parliament or Select
Committees on this procurement, including preparatory notes or talking
points.

 

Your request will be answered within the provisions of the Official
Information Act.

 

 

Kind regards,

Office of Hon Erica Stanford

 

Office of Hon Erica Stanford

 

MP for East Coast Bays

Minister of Education

Minister of Immigration

Lead Coordination Minister for the Government’s Response to the Royal
Commission’s Report into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care
of Faith-based Institutions

 
Website: [1]www.Beehive,govt.nz

Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand

 

Disclaimer: The information in this email (including attachments) is
confidential and may be legally privileged. If an addressing or
transmission error has misdirected this email, please notify the author
by replying to this email and destroy the message. If you are not the
intended recipient, any use, disclosure, copying or distribution is
prohibited and may be unlawful.

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Phillip Fry <[FOI #33329 email]>
Sent: Friday, 19 December 2025 12:31 pm
To: Erica Stanford (MIN) <[email address]>
Subject: ESOIA849 | Official Information request - Briefings received

 

Dear Erica Stanford,

 

Tēnā koe Minister Stanford,

 

Under the Official Information Act 1982, I respectfully request the
following information:

 

All briefings, aide-memoires, reports, or advice received by you or your
office from the Ministry of Education, or any other agency or advisor,
regarding the procurement of Janison Solution Pty Ltd for the SMART
assessment tool.

 

Any communications (emails, notes, or meeting minutes) between your office
and Ministry officials, third parties, or stakeholders in relation to the
SMART procurement, between 1 June 2023 and 31 October 2024.

 

Any documentation relating to questions raised in Parliament or Select
Committees on this procurement, including preparatory notes or talking
points.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Phillip Fry

 

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

 

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

 

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

[2][FOI #33329 email]

 

Is [3][Erica Stanford request email] the wrong address for Official
Information requests to Erica Stanford? If so, please contact us using
this form:

[4]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://fyi....

 

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

[5]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://fyi....

 

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.

 

 

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

References

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1. http://www.beehive,govt.nz/
2. mailto:[FOI #33329 email]
3. mailto:[Erica Stanford request email]
4. https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/fyi.o...
5. https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/fyi.o...

hide quoted sections

Dear Phillip,

 

Thank you for your email and subsequent clarification on 19 December,
requesting the following information:

 

1)           All briefings, aide-memoires, reports, or advice received by
you or your office from the Ministry of Education, or any other agency or
advisor, regarding the procurement of Janison Solution Pty Ltd for the
SMART assessment tool.

2)           Any communications (emails, notes, or meeting minutes)
between your office and Ministry officials, third parties, or stakeholders
in relation to the SMART procurement, between 27 November 2023 and 19
December 2025.

3)           Any documentation relating to questions raised in Parliament
or Select Committees on this procurement, including preparatory notes or
talking points.

 

Papers such as reports and briefings regarding the procurement for the
Student Monitoring Assessment and Reporting Tool (SMART) are prepared for
me by the Ministry of Education (The Ministry). The Ministry also holds
all communications in relation to this process between the Ministry and my
office. Therefore, Part 1 of your request, and part 2 of your request
(communications between my office and Ministry Officials), has been
transferred to the Ministry under section 14(b)(ii) of the Act. You can
expect to receive a response directly from the Ministry on these parts of
your request.

 

Office of Hon Erica Stanford

 

MP for East Coast Bays

Minister of Education

Minister of Immigration

Lead Coordination Minister for the Government’s Response to the Royal
Commission’s Report into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care
of Faith-based Institutions

 

 
Website: [1]www.Beehive,govt.nz

Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand

 

Disclaimer: The information in this email (including attachments) is
confidential and may be legally privileged. If an addressing or
transmission error has misdirected this email, please notify the author
by replying to this email and destroy the message. If you are not the
intended recipient, any use, disclosure, copying or distribution is
prohibited and may be unlawful.

 

 

From: Erica Stanford (MIN) <[email address]>
Sent: Friday, 19 December 2025 12:51 pm
To: Phillip Fry <[FOI #33329 email]>
Cc: Erica Stanford (MIN) <[email address]>
Subject: RE: ESOIA849 | Official Information request - Briefings received

 

OIA ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

 

 

Dear Phillip,

 

Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) request,
received on 19/12/2025, in which you requested the following information:

 

Under the Official Information Act 1982, I respectfully request the
following information:

 

All briefings, aide-memoires, reports, or advice received by you or your
office from the Ministry of Education, or any other agency or advisor,
regarding the procurement of Janison Solution Pty Ltd for the SMART
assessment tool.

Any communications (emails, notes, or meeting minutes) between your office
and Ministry officials, third parties, or stakeholders in relation to the
SMART procurement, between 27 November 2023 and 19 December 2025.

 

Any documentation relating to questions raised in Parliament or Select
Committees on this procurement, including preparatory notes or talking
points.

 

Your request will be answered within the provisions of the Official
Information Act.

 

 

Kind regards,

Office of Hon Erica Stanford

 

Office of Hon Erica Stanford

 

MP for East Coast Bays

Minister of Education

Minister of Immigration

Lead Coordination Minister for the Government’s Response to the Royal
Commission’s Report into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care
of Faith-based Institutions

 
Website: [2]www.Beehive,govt.nz

Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand

 

Disclaimer: The information in this email (including attachments) is
confidential and may be legally privileged. If an addressing or
transmission error has misdirected this email, please notify the author
by replying to this email and destroy the message. If you are not the
intended recipient, any use, disclosure, copying or distribution is
prohibited and may be unlawful.

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Phillip Fry <[3][FOI #33329 email]>
Sent: Friday, 19 December 2025 12:31 pm
To: Erica Stanford (MIN) <[4][email address]>
Subject: ESOIA849 | Official Information request - Briefings received

 

Dear Erica Stanford,

 

Tēnā koe Minister Stanford,

 

Under the Official Information Act 1982, I respectfully request the
following information:

 

All briefings, aide-memoires, reports, or advice received by you or your
office from the Ministry of Education, or any other agency or advisor,
regarding the procurement of Janison Solution Pty Ltd for the SMART
assessment tool.

 

Any communications (emails, notes, or meeting minutes) between your office
and Ministry officials, third parties, or stakeholders in relation to the
SMART procurement, between 1 June 2023 and 31 October 2024.

 

Any documentation relating to questions raised in Parliament or Select
Committees on this procurement, including preparatory notes or talking
points.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Phillip Fry

 

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

 

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

 

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

[5][FOI #33329 email]

 

Is [6][Erica Stanford request email] the wrong address for Official
Information requests to Erica Stanford? If so, please contact us using
this form:

[7]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://fyi....

 

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

[8]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://fyi....

 

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.

 

 

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

References

Visible links
1. http://www.beehive,govt.nz/
2. http://www.beehive,govt.nz/
3. mailto:[FOI #33329 email]
4. mailto:[email address]
5. mailto:[FOI #33329 email]
6. mailto:[Erica Stanford request email]
7. https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/fyi.o...
8. https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/fyi.o...

hide quoted sections

[IN-CONFIDENCE - RELEASE EXTERNAL]

 Kia ora Phillip,

 

Thank you for your request to the Minister of Education.

The Minister’s office has transferred part of your request to the Ministry
of Education.

 

The Ministry will consider 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 19 February 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.

 

The Ministry may publicly release on our website the response to your
request five days after you have received it. Any personal information
will be removed.

 

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

 

Ngā mihi,

 

Enquiries National Team | Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga | Ministry of
Education | PN education.govt.nz

 

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

 

 

From: Erica Stanford (MIN) <[2][email address]>
Sent: Wednesday, 21 January 2026 3:14 pm
To: Phillip Fry <[3][FOI #33329 email]>
Cc: Erica Stanford (MIN) <[4][email address]>
Subject: RE: ESOIA849 | Official Information request - Briefings received

 

Dear Phillip,

 

Thank you for your email and subsequent clarification on 19 December,
requesting the following information:

 

1)           All briefings, aide-memoires, reports, or advice received by
you or your office from the Ministry of Education, or any other agency or
advisor, regarding the procurement of Janison Solution Pty Ltd for the
SMART assessment tool.

2)           Any communications (emails, notes, or meeting minutes)
between your office and Ministry officials, third parties, or stakeholders
in relation to the SMART procurement, between 27 November 2023 and 19
December 2025.

3)           Any documentation relating to questions raised in Parliament
or Select Committees on this procurement, including preparatory notes or
talking points.

 

Papers such as reports and briefings regarding the procurement for the
Student Monitoring Assessment and Reporting Tool (SMART) are prepared for
me by the Ministry of Education (The Ministry). The Ministry also holds
all communications in relation to this process between the Ministry and my
office. Therefore, Part 1 of your request, and part 2 of your request
(communications between my office and Ministry Officials), has been
transferred to the Ministry under section 14(b)(ii) of the Act. You can
expect to receive a response directly from the Ministry on these parts of
your request.

 

Office of Hon Erica Stanford

 

MP for East Coast Bays

Minister of Education

Minister of Immigration

Lead Coordination Minister for the Government’s Response to the Royal
Commission’s Report into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care
of Faith-based Institutions

 

 
Website: [5]www.Beehive,govt.nz

Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand

 

Disclaimer: The information in this email (including attachments) is
confidential and may be legally privileged. If an addressing or
transmission error has misdirected this email, please notify the author
by replying to this email and destroy the message. If you are not the
intended recipient, any use, disclosure, copying or distribution is
prohibited and may be unlawful.

 

 

From: Erica Stanford (MIN) <[6][email address]>
Sent: Friday, 19 December 2025 12:51 pm
To: Phillip Fry <[7][FOI #33329 email]>
Cc: Erica Stanford (MIN) <[8][email address]>
Subject: RE: ESOIA849 | Official Information request - Briefings received

 

OIA ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

 

 

Dear Phillip,

 

Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) request,
received on 19/12/2025, in which you requested the following information:

 

Under the Official Information Act 1982, I respectfully request the
following information:

 

All briefings, aide-memoires, reports, or advice received by you or your
office from the Ministry of Education, or any other agency or advisor,
regarding the procurement of Janison Solution Pty Ltd for the SMART
assessment tool.

Any communications (emails, notes, or meeting minutes) between your office
and Ministry officials, third parties, or stakeholders in relation to the
SMART procurement, between 27 November 2023 and 19 December 2025.

 

Any documentation relating to questions raised in Parliament or Select
Committees on this procurement, including preparatory notes or talking
points.

 

Your request will be answered within the provisions of the Official
Information Act.

 

 

Kind regards,

Office of Hon Erica Stanford

 

Office of Hon Erica Stanford

 

MP for East Coast Bays

Minister of Education

Minister of Immigration

Lead Coordination Minister for the Government’s Response to the Royal
Commission’s Report into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care
of Faith-based Institutions

 
Website: [9]www.Beehive,govt.nz

Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand

 

Disclaimer: The information in this email (including attachments) is
confidential and may be legally privileged. If an addressing or
transmission error has misdirected this email, please notify the author
by replying to this email and destroy the message. If you are not the
intended recipient, any use, disclosure, copying or distribution is
prohibited and may be unlawful.

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Phillip Fry <[10][FOI #33329 email]>
Sent: Friday, 19 December 2025 12:31 pm
To: Erica Stanford (MIN) <[11][email address]>
Subject: ESOIA849 | Official Information request - Briefings received

 

Dear Erica Stanford,

 

Tēnā koe Minister Stanford,

 

Under the Official Information Act 1982, I respectfully request the
following information:

 

All briefings, aide-memoires, reports, or advice received by you or your
office from the Ministry of Education, or any other agency or advisor,
regarding the procurement of Janison Solution Pty Ltd for the SMART
assessment tool.

 

Any communications (emails, notes, or meeting minutes) between your office
and Ministry officials, third parties, or stakeholders in relation to the
SMART procurement, between 1 June 2023 and 31 October 2024.

 

Any documentation relating to questions raised in Parliament or Select
Committees on this procurement, including preparatory notes or talking
points.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Phillip Fry

 

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

 

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

 

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

[12][FOI #33329 email]

 

Is [13][Erica Stanford request email] the wrong address for Official
Information requests to Erica Stanford? If so, please contact us using
this form:

[14]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://fyi....

 

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

[15]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://fyi....

 

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

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2. mailto:[email address]
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5. http://www.beehive,govt.nz/
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7. mailto:[FOI #33329 email]
8. mailto:[email address]
9. http://www.beehive,govt.nz/
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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. 

  

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

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

Dear Phillip,

I refer to your request for official information of 19 December 2025 requesting the following information:
1) All briefings, aide-memoires, reports, or advice received by you or your office from the Ministry of Education, or any other agency or advisor, regarding the procurement of Janison Solution Pty Ltd for the SMART assessment tool.
2) Any communications (emails, notes, or meeting minutes) between your office and Ministry officials, third parties, or stakeholders in relation to the SMART procurement, between 27 November 2023 and 19 December 2025.
3) Any documentation relating to questions raised in Parliament or Select Committees on this procurement, including preparatory notes or talking points.
Noting that part 1 of your request, and part of part 2 of your request were transferred to the Ministry of Education on 21 January 2026, we are preparing information to release in response to the remainder of part 2, and part 3 of your request.

In collating information in response to part 2 of your request, we have identified that a mailbox search terms for the term “SMART procurement” is unlikely to return all the documents you are requesting, because not all communications on this subject will include the term “procurement”. Please also note that searching for the term “SMART” in our mailbox returns over 300 pieces of correspondence (including many that may not be related to this project or the procurement), which would then need to be manually checked to see if they are in scope of SMART procurement, resulting in significant collation and research, meaning your request may then be refused under section 18(f) of the Act.

I therefore invite you to refine your request by including, for example, more specific search terms, or by providing names of organisations we might search for, so that we can return the information you request.

Kind regards,
Office of Hon Erica Stanford

-----Original Message-----
From: Phillip Fry <[FYI request #33329 email]>
Sent: Friday, 19 December 2025 12:32 PM
To: Erica Stanford (MIN) <[email address]>
Subject: ESOIA849 | Re: Official Information request - Briefings received

Dear Erica Stanford,

Tēnā koe Minister Stanford,

Sorry the requested dates are:

Any communications (emails, notes, or meeting minutes) between your office and Ministry officials, third parties, or stakeholders in relation to the SMART procurement, between 27 November 2023 and 19 December 2025.

Yours faithfully,

Phillip Fry

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FYI request #33329 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://fyi....

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.

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

hide quoted sections

Kia ora Phillip

 

Thank you for your email confirming you wish to withdraw your Official
Information Act request. We will close this on our end.

 

Kind regards,

Office of Hon Erica Stanford

 

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

From: Phillip Fry <[1][FOI #33329 email]>
Sent: Friday, February 6, 2026 6:07 PM
To: Erica Stanford (MIN) <[2][email address]>
Subject: RE: ESOIA849 | Re: Official Information request - Briefings
received

 

Dear Erica Stanford (MIN),

For clarity, my email of 28 January was intended to withdraw the request
in full following the transfer to the Ministry, including any remaining
parts held by the Minister’s office. This was to reduce duplication and
administrative burden, consistent with the Ministry’s earlier advice
regarding bundling.

Thank you for your assistance.

Kind regards,
Phillip Fry

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

Dear Phillip,

I refer to your request for official information of 19 December 2025
requesting the following information:
1)      All briefings, aide-memoires, reports, or advice received by you
or your office from the Ministry of Education, or any other agency or
advisor, regarding the procurement of Janison Solution Pty Ltd for the
SMART assessment tool.
2)      Any communications (emails, notes, or meeting minutes) between
your office and Ministry officials, third parties, or stakeholders in
relation to the SMART procurement, between 27 November 2023 and 19
December 2025.
3)      Any documentation relating to questions raised in Parliament or
Select Committees on this procurement, including preparatory notes or
talking points.
Noting that part 1 of your request, and part of part 2 of your request
were transferred to the Ministry of Education on 21 January 2026, we are
preparing information to release in response to the remainder of part 2,
and part 3 of your request.

In collating information in response to part 2 of your request, we have
identified that a mailbox search terms for the term “SMART procurement” is
unlikely to return all the documents you are requesting, because not all
communications on this subject will include the term “procurement”. Please
also note that searching for the term “SMART” in our mailbox returns over
300 pieces of correspondence (including many that may not be related to
this project or the procurement), which would then need to be manually
checked to see if they are in scope of SMART procurement, resulting in
significant collation and research, meaning your request may then be
refused under section 18(f) of the Act.

I therefore invite you to refine your request by including, for example,
more specific search terms, or by providing names of organisations we
might search for, so that we can return the information you request.

Kind regards,
Office of Hon Erica Stanford

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[3][FOI #33329 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[4]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://fyi....

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.

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

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #33329 email]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. mailto:[FOI #33329 email]
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hide quoted sections