IR-01-25-1068
29 January 2026
AC
[FYI request #33450 email]
Tēnā koe AC
Request for information
Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request of 7 January 2026. You
asked for information regarding whether Police staff need to declare membership of
Freemasons or any Masonic body.
1. Whether the New Zealand Police currently require, or have ever required,
sworn officers or Police employees to declare membership of the Freemasons or
any Masonic body.
2. Whether membership of the Freemasons is restricted, discouraged, or
prohibited for any categories of Police roles, including but not limited to
investigative, intel igence, professional standards, or senior leadership positions.
3. Whether the New Zealand Police hold any aggregated or anonymised data
relating to the number of Police personnel who have declared membership of the
Freemasons, and if so, that data.
4. Whether Freemasonry has been referenced in any internal reviews, integrity
investigations, or complaint assessments, other than in an incidental or purely
personal capacity.
5. Whether the New Zealand Police consider membership of the Freemasons to
constitute a conflict of interest, perceived conflict of interest, or integrity risk,
either general y or in specific operational or leadership contexts.
6. Any internal policies, guidance documents, directives, circulars, or integrity
frameworks, current or historic, that refer to Freemasonry or Masonic
organisations, whether expressly or by category, for example fraternal
organisations.
7. Whether the New Zealand Police have undertaken any review, assessment, or
consideration, formal or informal, of the Metropolitan Police Service’s decision, or
of comparable overseas policing approaches, in relation to Freemasonry.
8. Whether the New Zealand Police have any intention to review, amend, or
introduce disclosure requirements relating to Freemasonry as a result of
overseas developments.
Membership of the Freemasons is not restricted, discouraged, or prohibited for any
category of a Police role nor does Police require staff to declare membership of the
Freemasons or any Masonic body as a standalone or category-based disclosure.
Membership of an external organisation (including clubs, societies or associations) is not,
of itself, required to be declared unless it gives rise to a conflict of interest in the specific
operational, investigative, or corporate context in which the employee is working.
Police’s approach focusses on identifying and managing conflicts of interest in context,
consistent with the Managing conflicts of interest Police Manual chapter. This is available
on the police website at
https://www.police.govt.nz/about-us/publication/managing-
conflicts-interest-police-manual-chapter. Where a conflict of interest, whether actual,
potential, or perceived, is identified, it is assessed and managed on a case-by-case basis
through supervisory oversight rather than by restricting lawful membership of external
organisations.
Please note that the manual does not instruct Police to create specific categories,
enhanced disclosure requirements, or integrity designations for fraternal or associational
organisations, and does not identify Freemasonry or Masonic organisations specifically.
Police does not record data on the number of staff who have declared membership of
Freemasons or any Masonic body. Therefore, this part of your request is refused under
section 18(g) of the OIA, as the information requested is not held.
Police confirms that a review of the complaints data was initiated, which identified two
complaints that included references to freemasons.
• 2021: a complaint received from a person who alleged that they were being
“harassed, stalked, mocked and have been put online by police officers who are
members of the freemasons in New Zealand”. The complaint was notified to the
IPCA. The IPCA declined the complaint as further action was unnecessary.
• 2024: a complaint received by a person who al eged that a Police employee who
was involved in the renewal of the complainants’ firearms licence was a
Freemason. The complaint was notified to the IPCA. The IPCA saw no evidence
of Police misconduct or neglect of duty and took no further action. No further
action was required on the part of Police.
Police has not identified any internal policies, guidance documents, directives, circulars,
or integrity frameworks, either existing or in development, that refer expressly to
Freemasonry or Masonic organisations. Therefore, this part of your request is refused
under section 18(e) of the OIA, as the information requested does not exist.
Please note that as part of its commitment to openness and transparency, Police
proactively releases some information and documents that may be of interest to the
public. An anonymised version of this response may be publicly released on the New
Zealand Police website.
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
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
Nāku noa, nā
Virginnia Urlich
Director - People Strategy
New Zealand Police
