Kia ora WorkSafe OIA Team,

Pursuant to the Official Information Act 1982, I request the following information held by WorkSafe New Zealand relating to advanced electricity meters (“smart meters”), expressly limited to records that are retained under WorkSafe’s Disposal Authority DA626.

This request is framed with reference to DA626 (authorised 9 September 2015; extended June 2025), which confirms that certain summary records, datasets, and aggregate information are retained for accountability, monitoring, and research purposes.

This request does not seek personal information or full operational files.

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1. Retained Summary Records – Energy Safety Audits & Inspections

(DA626 – Class 6: Assessments, audits, inspections)

Please provide any retained summary records, datasets, registers, or aggregate outputs held under DA626 Class 6, from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2025, relating to:
• Energy Safety audits or inspections involving:
• installation,
• replacement,
• upgrade (e.g. 3G → 4G/5G),
• or certification
of advanced electricity meters (smart meters).

This includes (where held in summary or aggregate form only):
• counts by year;
• audit/inspection type;
• high-level outcomes (e.g. compliant / non-compliant / re-inspection required);
• any categorisation referencing meter equipment, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), or metering upgrades.

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2. Retained Summary Investigation Records – Electrical Safety Incidents

(DA626 – Class 7: Investigations)

Please provide any retained summary investigation records or aggregate datasets held under DA626 Class 7, from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2025, where:
• an advanced electricity meter was:
• identified as involved in, or
• assessed during investigation of
an electrical safety matter, including but not limited to:
• electrical faults,
• voltage irregularities,
• surges,
• equipment malfunction,
• appliance damage,
• fire or overheating risk,
• EMI or RF-related interference concerns.

This request is limited to summary-level or aggregate records only, consistent with DA626 retention obligations.

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3. Retained Summary Registers or Datasets – Equipment / Notifications

(DA626 – Classes 5 & 6 where summary records are retained)

Please provide any retained summary registers, datasets, or reporting outputs (not individual records) relating to:
• notifications,
• equipment oversight,
• certification or compliance tracking

that reference advanced electricity meters, smart meters, or AMI equipment, for the period 2018–2025, where such summaries are retained under DA626.

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4. Confirmation of Record Retention / Non-Existence (DA626-Specific)

If WorkSafe asserts that no records are held in response to any part of this request, please provide:
1. Confirmation of which DA626 class applies to the requested information;
2. Confirmation whether:
• no summary records were ever created, or
• summary records exist but fall outside the scope of this request;
3. If records were disposed of:
• the specific DA626 disposal provision relied upon,
• and the date range of disposal.

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5. Systems Searched (Summary Only)

Please provide a brief description of the systems searched to respond to this request (e.g. inspection databases, investigation registers, EGHR outputs, reporting systems), sufficient to explain how retained summary records were identified.

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Format & Withholding
• Preferred format: Excel, CSV, or PDF.
• If any information is withheld:
• please specify the exact OIA provision relied upon; and
• provide the s9(1) public interest assessment.
• Where full disclosure is not possible, summary or aggregate disclosure is requested pursuant to s16 OIA.

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Public Interest Statement

This request concerns electrical safety oversight, record retention, and regulatory accountability in relation to large-scale smart meter deployment affecting New Zealand households. Disclosure of retained summary records aligns with the purposes of both the Official Information Act 1982 and the Public Records Act 2005.

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Kind regards,
Spencer Jones