Kia ora Spencer,

 

Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the
Act), received by the Ministry of Health on 9 January 2026. You requested:

 

"Under the Official Information Act 1982, I request copies of existing
documents held by the Ministry of Health that describe how ethical
oversight and informed-consent governance are addressed for public
vaccination programmes, where those programmes are not conducted as
research and are therefore outside the remit of Health and Disability
Ethics Committees.
 

Specifically, please provide any documents (including but not limited to
policies, guidance, briefing papers, legal interpretations, or internal
frameworks) that address one or more of the following:

1.      Governance responsibility

Documents that identify which body or bodies are responsible for ethical
oversight of informed consent in the context of public vaccination
programmes (as distinct from research studies).
       2.      Ethical framework outside HDEC scope

Any guidance or analysis explaining how ethical considerations are
assessed, assured, or reviewed for vaccination programmes that do not
require HDEC approval.
       3.      Interface with consent obligations

Documents describing how ethical considerations are integrated with
informed-consent requirements under:
       •       the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’
Rights; and/or
       •       Medicines Act–related guidance or interpretations.
       4.      Reviews or acknowledgements of governance boundaries
 

Any internal reviews, gap analyses, or briefing material that discuss the
absence of ethics-committee oversight for programme-based vaccination, or
that explain how this is mitigated or addressed in practice."

 

The reference number for your request is H2026077385. As required under
the Act, the Ministry will endeavour to respond to your request no later
than 20 working days after the day your request was
received: [1]http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/.  

 

Please be advised that due dates for requests received on 27 November 2025
onwards will take into account the summer holiday period (25 December 2025
to 15 January 2026). Please refer to this guide for an explanation of
the [2]statutory obligations under the Official Information Act 1982.
 

If you have any queries related to this request, please do not hesitate to
get in touch ([3][email address]).

 

 

Ngā mihi, 
 
OIA Services Team

Ministry of Health | Manatū Hauora
 

M[4]inistry of Health information releases

 

 

------------------- Original Message -------------------
From: SPENCER JONES <[FOI #33475 email]>; 
Received: Fri Jan 09 2026 14:57:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
To: OIA Requests <[email address]>; OIA <[email address]>; 
Subject: Official Information request - Ethical Oversight and
Informed-Consent Governance for Public Vaccination Programmes

Kia ora,

Under the Official Information Act 1982, I request copies of existing
documents held by the Ministry of Health that describe how ethical
oversight and informed-consent governance are addressed for public
vaccination programmes, where those programmes are not conducted as
research and are therefore outside the remit of Health and Disability
Ethics Committees.

Specifically, please provide any documents (including but not limited to
policies, guidance, briefing papers, legal interpretations, or internal
frameworks) that address one or more of the following:

1.      Governance responsibility
Documents that identify which body or bodies are responsible for ethical
oversight of informed consent in the context of public vaccination
programmes (as distinct from research studies).
        2.      Ethical framework outside HDEC scope
Any guidance or analysis explaining how ethical considerations are
assessed, assured, or reviewed for vaccination programmes that do not
require HDEC approval.
        3.      Interface with consent obligations
Documents describing how ethical considerations are integrated with
informed-consent requirements under:
        •       the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’
Rights; and/or
        •       Medicines Act–related guidance or interpretations.
        4.      Reviews or acknowledgements of governance boundaries

Any internal reviews, gap analyses, or briefing material that discuss the
absence of ethics-committee oversight for programme-based vaccination, or
that explain how this is mitigated or addressed in practice.

This request is limited to existing information and does not seek the
creation of new analysis or opinion.

If no documents are held that meet one or more parts of this request,
please confirm that explicitly and identify which parts are affected.

If any portion of this request would be more appropriately held by another
agency, please consider transfer under section 14 of the Act.

Kind regards,
Spencer Jones

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

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

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #33475 email]

Is [Ministry of Health request email] the wrong address for Official Information requests
to Ministry of Health? If so, please contact us using this form:
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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.

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hide quoted sections

Tēnā koe Spencer,

  

Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the
Act) to the Ministry of Health-Manatū Hauora on 9 January 2026. You
requested:

 

"Under the Official Information Act 1982, I request copies of existing
documents held by the Ministry of Health that describe how ethical
oversight and informed-consent governance are addressed for public
vaccination programmes, where those programmes are not conducted as
research and are therefore outside the remit of Health and Disability
Ethics Committees.
 

Specifically, please provide any documents (including but not limited to
policies, guidance, briefing papers, legal interpretations, or internal
frameworks) that address one or more of the following:
 

1.      Governance responsibility

Documents that identify which body or bodies are responsible for ethical
oversight of informed consent in the context of public vaccination
programmes (as distinct from research studies).

       2.      Ethical framework outside HDEC scope

Any guidance or analysis explaining how ethical considerations are
assessed, assured, or reviewed for vaccination programmes that do not
require HDEC approval.

       3.      Interface with consent obligations

Documents describing how ethical considerations are integrated with
informed-consent requirements under:

       •       the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’
Rights; and/or
       •       Medicines Act–related guidance or interpretations.

       4.      Reviews or acknowledgements of governance boundaries
 

Any internal reviews, gap analyses, or briefing material that discuss the
absence of ethics-committee oversight for programme-based vaccination, or
that explain how this is mitigated or addressed in practice."

  

Your request asks for information which is more closely connected with the
functions of Health New Zealand (Te Whatu Ora). For this reason, the
Ministry has decided to transfer your request to Health New Zealand  under
section 14(b)(ii) of the Act. You can expect a response from their agency
in due course. Their contact email is: [1][email address]. 

    

Under section 28(3) of the Act you have the right to ask the Ombudsman
to review any decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be
contacted by email at: [2][email address] or by calling 0800
802 602. 

  

Ngā mihi, 
  

OIA Services Team

Ministry of Health | Manatū Hauora

 

M[3]inistry of Health information releases

 

****************************************************************************
Statement of confidentiality: This e-mail message and any accompanying
attachments may contain information that is IN-CONFIDENCE and subject to
legal privilege.
If you are not the intended recipient, do not read, use, disseminate,
distribute or copy this message or attachments.
If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender
immediately and delete this message.
****************************************************************************

References

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1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. https://www.health.govt.nz/about-ministr...
https://www.health.govt.nz/about-ministr...

hide quoted sections

Tçnâ koe,

 

Thank you for your email. 

 

Under the Official Information Act (OIA), agencies are required to respond
to requests for official information as soon as reasonably practicable and
no later than 20 working days after receiving them.

 

Please note that the period from 25 December 2025 to 15 January 2026
(inclusive) is not counted as working days under the OIA. As a result, any
OIA requests received on or after 29 November 2025 may take longer to
process than usual, as the maximum response timeframe may extend into the
new year.

If your request is for data that Health NZ holds, have you checked
[1]Lighthouse first to see if the data you are seeking is already
published?

 

Lighthouse is a searchable catalogue that makes a range of data and
analytics products available to New Zealanders to enable easier, faster
access to insights about health services.

 

You can find further information about how OIA timeframes are calculated,
including the Ombudsman’s OIA calculator, at the link below:
[2]Official information calculators | Ombudsman New Zealand

 

We will provide a response to your request in line with the statutory
timeframes set out in the OIA.

We appreciate your understanding and patience during this time.

 

Ngâ mihi,
Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora.

Statement of confidentiality: This email message and any accompanying
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received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately and
delete this message

References

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