10 April 2026
Tēnā koe Dyanna Smith
Official Information Act request
Thank you for your email of 27 December 2025, requesting the number of young
people assisted into education, training or other programmes from 2018 to 2025.
I have considered your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).
Please find my decision on your request set out below.
The Ministry of Youth Development (MYD), a business unit within the Ministry of
Social Development (MSD), funds a wide range of community-based early
intervention and prevention programmes around the country that help young
people develop and apply knowledge, skills, and experience so they can participate
confidently in their communities. Some MYD-funded programmes may assist
young people to re-engage in education, training, or employment. Information
relating to individual participation and the type of education, training and
employment-related activity is held by MYD-funded providers.
Appendix One
provides the number of young people supported through MYD funded programmes
between 2018 and 2025.
Appendix Two provides the number of MSD Youth Service clients receiving Youth
Payment or Young Parent Payment and young people not in education,
employment or training that the Ministry has assisted into education as at the end
of June 2018 to June 2025.
The part of your request that asks for the information to be broken down by the
type of education, training, and for the information to be provided by calendar year
is refused under section 18(f) of the Act as substantial manual collation would be
required to collate this information. Where held, this information would only be
contained within individual client files, which would each require manual review to
respond to your request. The greater public interest is in the effective and efficient
administration of the public service.
The Ministry also provides other programmes that include young people, among
these include Community Participation services and Employment Services in
School. In order to provide you with all other programmes that young people have
been engaged in with the Ministry, this would divert personnel from their core
duties and require the allocation of extra time in order to complete this task. The
diversion of these resources would impair the Ministry’s ability to continue
standard operations and would be an inefficient use of the Ministry’s resources. As
such, this part of your request is refused under section 18(f) of the Act, as it
requires substantial collation. The greater public interest is in the effective and
efficient administration of the public service.
The Aurora Centre, 56 The Terrace, PO Box 1556, Wellington
– Telephone 04-916 3300 – Facsimile 04-918 0099
I have considered whether the Ministry would be able to respond to your requests
given extra time, or the ability to charge for the information requested. I have
concluded that, in either case, the Ministry’s ability to undertake its work would
still be prejudiced.
Please get in touch with us if you are interested in Community Participation
services and Employment Services in School and we will consider your request.
I will be publishing this decision letter, with your personal details deleted, on MSD’s
website in due course.
If you wish to discuss this response with us, please feel free to contact
[MSD request email]. If you are not satisfied with my decision on your request, you have the right to
seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman. Information about how to
make a complaint is available a
t www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or 0800 802 602.
Ngā mihi nui
pp.
Anna Graham
General Manager
Ministerial and Executive Services
Appendix One: The number of young people supported through Ministry of Youth Development-funded programmes between
2018 and 2025.
Number of young By age group
Financial Year
people supported 12-14
15-17
18-20
21-24
Age not provided
2018/19
116,555
29,603
59,436
15,177
3,600
8,739
2019/20
35,133
7,204
18,821
5,018
2,100
1,990
2020/21
49,181
12,143
28,596
6,055
1,805
582
2021/22
58,096
23,435
26,319
4,449
1,628
2,265
2022/23
67,035
21,192
26,909
8,417
1,899
8,618
2023/24
63,386
15,443
24,885
4,427
1,348
17,283
2024/25
69,899
17,550
26,029
5,040
1,332
19,948
• MYD defines young people as individuals aged 12–24 years.
• Year-to-year fluctuations reflect how MYD responds to community needs and/or changing priorities and the different providers and programmes that are
funded.
The Aurora Centre, 56 The Terrace, PO Box 1556, Wellington
– Telephone 04-916 3300 – Facsimile 04-918 0099
