IN-CONFIDENCE

 

Tçnâ koe Joella McIntosh

 

Please find a reply on behalf of the Chief Executive of the Ministry of
Social Development attached.

 

Nâ mâtou noa, nâ

[1][email address]

Ministerial and Executive Services

Ministry of Social Development

 

 

-----Original Message-----

From: Joella McIntosh <[2][FOI #33520 email]>

Sent: Friday, 16 January 2026 8:52 am

To: OIA_Requests (MSD) <[3][MSD request email]>

Subject: Official Information request - Emergency housing for those
escaping domestic abuse

 

Dear Ministry of Social Development,

 

I am writing to request clarity around how MSD/WINZ policy prioritises
housing women—with or without children—leaving domestic abuse contexts,
specifically in the following ways:

 

1.      Do women who relocate regions to get away from their abuser face
restricted access to emergency and/or transitional housing because they
moved areas?

 

2.      Bidois et al. (2024) note that “The rating system for housing that
is currently used by WINZ”  does “not automatically place[]” the “women
and children who are at risk of domestic violence or abuse…at the top of
the waitlist” (p. 23). Is this still accurate? How would these
circumstances be differentiated in any way from the hardship experienced
by others in need of emergency/transitional housing?

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Jo McIntosh

 

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

 

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

 

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[4][FOI #33520 email]

 

Is [5][MSD request email] the wrong address for Official Information
requests to Ministry of Social Development? If so, please contact us using
this form:

[6]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

 

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

[7]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

 

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.

 

 

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

 

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 Social Development accepts no
responsibility for changes made to this message or attachments after
transmission from the Ministry.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[FOI #33520 email]
3. mailto:[MSD request email]
4. mailto:[FOI #33520 email]
5. mailto:[MSD request email]
6. https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
7. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

hide quoted sections