OIA Request: Security and Privacy Compliance for SMART Assessment Tool
Phillip Fry made this Official Information request to Ministry of Education
The request was partially successful.
From: Phillip Fry
Dear Ministry of Education,
Under the Official Information Act 1982, I request the following technical and compliance documentation regarding the SMART tool (Janison Solution):
A copy of the Security Certification and Accreditation (C&A) report for the final solution.
The Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA), with particular reference to the data sovereignty risks and the "written authorisation" loophole in Clause 16.3(d) of the ICT Services Agreement.
All correspondence between the Ministry and the GCSB (National Cyber Security Centre) regarding the storage of student backups in Australia and the tool's compliance with NZISM standards for "IN-CONFIDENCE" data.
Please note that this request is highly time-sensitive. Given the planned rollout for early 2026, it is imperative that these safety standards are verified and transparent to the public before student data is processed.
Yours faithfully,
Phillip Fry
From: Enquiries National
Ministry of Education
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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From: Enquiries National
Ministry of Education
[IN-CONFIDENCE - RELEASE EXTERNAL]
Kia ora Phillip,
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 11 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.
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
[1][email address].
Ngâ mihi,
Enquiries National Team | Te Tâhuhu o te Mâtauranga | Ministry of
Education | JH
[2]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
[3]Te TD huhu o te MD tauranga
-----Original Message-----
From: Phillip Fry <[4][FOI #33342 email]>
Sent: Saturday, 20 December 2025 6:55 pm
To: Enquiries National <[5][email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - OIA Request: Security and Privacy
Compliance for SMART Assessment Tool
[You don't often get email from
[6][FOI #33342 email]. Learn why this is
important at [7]https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]
Dear Ministry of Education,
Under the Official Information Act 1982, I request the following technical
and compliance documentation regarding the SMART tool (Janison Solution):
A copy of the Security Certification and Accreditation (C&A) report for
the final solution.
The Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA), with particular reference to the data
sovereignty risks and the "written authorisation" loophole in Clause
16.3(d) of the ICT Services Agreement.
All correspondence between the Ministry and the GCSB (National Cyber
Security Centre) regarding the storage of student backups in Australia and
the tool's compliance with NZISM standards for "IN-CONFIDENCE" data.
Please note that this request is highly time-sensitive. Given the planned
rollout for early 2026, it is imperative that these safety standards are
verified and transparent to the public before student data is processed.
Yours faithfully,
Phillip Fry
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From: Phillip Fry
Dear Enquiries National,
To assist the Ministry and reduce scope, I wish to narrow my request.
Please treat the request as limited to the following, replacing my earlier wording:
• A copy of the most recent Security Certification and Accreditation (C&A) report or security assurance document relied upon by the Ministry for SMART.
• A copy of the Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) for SMART, including any sections addressing data sovereignty risks and the use of written authorisation under clause 16.3(d) of the ICT Services Agreement.
• Copies of any formal advice, assurance, or assessment received from the GCSB / National Cyber Security Centre relating to offshore backup storage or NZISM compliance for SMART.
This narrowed request does not seek informal correspondence, is intended to reduce scope, collation, and consultation requirements, and does not constitute a new request.
Yours sincerely,
Phillip Fry
From: Enquiries National
Ministry of Education
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.
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From: Enquiries National
Ministry of Education
[IN-CONFIDENCE - RELEASE EXTERNAL]
Tēnā koe Phillip
Please find attached extension to your request under the Official
Information Act.
Nāku noa, nā,
Official and Parliamentary Information | Ministry of Education | CM
[1]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
[2]Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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. http://www.education.govt.nz/
2. https://www.education.govt.nz/
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From: Phillip Fry
Dear Enquiries National,
The extended due date for this request was 11 March 2026. I have not yet received the Ministry’s response. Could you please confirm when the response will be provided?
Yours sincerely,
Phillip Fry
From: Enquiries National
Ministry of Education
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.
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From: Enquiries National
Ministry of Education
[IN-CONFIDENCE - RELEASE EXTERNAL]
Tçnâ koe Phillip
As you are aware, the Ministry of Education’s response to your request
under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) was due to you on 11
March 2026. Unfortunately, we could not provide the response to you by
that date. We apologise for not responding to your request within the
statutory timeframe. The Ministry is committed to meeting its obligations
under the Act, and accepts that, in this instance, these obligations were
not met.
The Ministry has been experiencing an exceptionally high volume of
requests, impacting both the Ministry’s central Official and Parliamentary
Information team and the small number of subject matter experts within the
technical team responsible for SMART.
We are currently finalising the response to your request, including some
remaining third-party consultations, and will keep you updated on
progress.
You have the right to contact an Ombudsman in relation to this, in
accordance with section 28 of the Act. You can do this by writing to
[1][email address] [2]mailto:[email address] or
to Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10-152, Wellington 6143.
Nâku noa, nâ,
Official and Parliamentary Information | Ministry of Education | ED
[3]education.govt.nz
He mea târai e mâtou te mâtauranga kia rangatira ai, kia mana taurite ai
ôna huanga
We shape an education system that delivers equitable and excellent
outcomes
[4][IMG]
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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.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.education.govt.nz/
4. https://www.education.govt.nz/
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From: Phillip Fry
Dear Enquiries National,
Thank you for the update. While I appreciate the apology, the request is now overdue under the Official Information Act.
Could you please provide a firm date by which I can expect the completed response.
If the delay relates only to third-party consultations on specific parts of the request, I would also appreciate any non-contested information being released as soon as it is available, with the remaining parts to follow.
Yours sincerely,
Phillip Fry
From: Enquiries National
Ministry of Education
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9K
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GEMS 46442 OIA Response.pdf
191K
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APPENDIX A SMART PIA Redacted.pdf
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[IN-CONFIDENCE - RELEASE EXTERNAL]
Tēnā koe Phillip
Please find attached a response to your request under the Official
Information Act. Once again, we apologise for the delay in responding to
your request.
Nāku noa, nā,
Official and Parliamentary Information | Ministry of Education | AM
[1]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
[2][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. http://www.education.govt.nz/
2. https://www.education.govt.nz/
hide quoted sections
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