Thank you for contacting the Hon Simeon Brown, Minister of Health,
Minister for State Owned Enterprises, and Minister for Auckland.

The Minister’s office is closed from midday 24 December and reopens on 7
January 2026. 

If the topic of your correspondence falls outside of the Minister's
portfolio responsibilities, expresses a personal view, or is copied to
multiple Members of Parliament, then your email will be noted, and it may
be transferred to another Minister’s office, or there may be no further
response to you.

If your correspondence is related to a constituent matter, please get in
touch with the Minister’s electorate team by email
at[1][email address]

 

If it’s a medical emergency – call 111

This can include chest pain or tightness, difficulty breathing, choking,
severe bleeding or bleeding that won’t stop, sudden weakness or difficulty
talking, fainting or unconsciousness.

 

Associate Health Ministers

Please note that all emails are read, however please do not expect a
response from this office if your email relates to the below matters as
these responsibilities are delegated to Associate Ministers of Health.

·       Hon Matt Doocey, Minister for Mental Health and Associate Minister
of Health. If your matter relates to mental health, neurodiversity,
nutrition, or rural health, you can contact Hon Doocey by emailing
[2][email address].

·       Hon Casey Costello, Associate Minister of Health. If your matter
relates to emergency services, women’s health, aged care, or smoking and
vaping, you can contact Hon Costello by emailing
[3][email address].

·       Hon David Seymour, Associate Minister of Health. If your matter
relates to Pharmac, Medsafe, or medicines funding and supply, you can
contact Hon Seymour by emailing [4][email address].

Further delegations details of Associate Ministers of Health can be found
[5]here.

Other health support and services

·       Healthline – call free on 0800 611 116

·       If you’re concerned or not sure about something

·       If you can’t access a GP or you don’t have one

·       For advice about what’s happening for you and next steps

·       If you want advice on finding services near you visit
[6]Healthpoint.

·       If you want information on COVID-19, call the COVID-19 Healthline
on 0800 358 5453.

·       If you are feeling stressed, a bit overwhelmed or just need
someone to talk to Freecall or text 1737 any time for support from a
trained counsellor.

·       Call the Vaccination Healthline for information about COVID-19,
flu, MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella), Boostrix (whooping cough) on 0800
28 29 26 8AM – 5:30PM Monday to Friday.

·       You can also visit: [7]bookmyvaccine.health.nz.

·       If you or your family are not happy with public health services
received, you can [8]contact Health New Zealand.

·       If you would like to raise a complaint about a health and
disability service,  you can also [9]contact the Health and Disability
Commissioner.

 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. mailto:[email address]
4. mailto:[email address]
5. http://www.dpmc.govt.nz/our-business-uni...
6. https://www.healthpoint.co.nz/
7. https://bookmyvaccine.health.nz/
8. https://www.tewhatuora.govt.nz/corporate...
9. https://www.hdc.org.nz/making-a-complain...

Dear Sam,

Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) request, received on XXX, in which you requested the following information:

1. Ministerial/Privacy performance, delays, and compliance

a. Copies of internal reports, dashboards, or analyses (including metrics, KPIs, or performance data) showing MOH or Health NZ’s compliance with OIA timeliness obligations for the 2024 and 2025 calendar years.
b. Any reviews, audits, or internal evaluations of OIA handling processes undertaken since 1 January 2024, including action plans or changes implemented in response to findings that OIA performance was below statutory requirements.
c. Records of any correspondence between MOH, Health NZ and the Office of the Ombudsman regarding delays, refusals, or compliance obligations, including the agency’s responses to Ombudsman findings in last calendar year.
d. Records of any correspondence between MOH, Health NZ and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner regarding delays, refusals, or compliance obligations, including the agency’s responses to Privacy Breach findings in last calendar year.

2. Private hospital outsourcing contracts

a. The total value of all elective surgery contracts awarded to private hospitals from 1 January 2024 to present, including contract term lengths, provider names, and the criteria used to select each provider.
b. Any cost-benefit or value-for-money analyses/assessments undertaken by Health NZ related to outsourcing elective surgeries to private providers.
c. Copies of legal advice received by Health NZ regarding disclosure obligations for contract pricing under the OIA or other statutory obligations.

3. Staffing and recruitment delays for Health NZ and MOH

a. Official data (including spreadsheets or datasets where available) showing average and median approval times for recruitment requests for clinical and frontline roles across all regions for the period March 2024–December 2025.
b. Any internal correspondence or reports assessing the impact of staffing recruitment delays on service delivery or patient care outcomes.

4. Patient safety and incident reporting

a. Copies of annual summaries of serious and sentinel event reporting from 2022 to 2025, or the most recent versions prepared by Health NZ and MOH b. Records describing any changes made to incident reporting systems or quality and safety staffing levels since 1 January 2024.

5. Data governance for digital health systems

a. Any reports, risk assessments, or governance documents relating to the ManageMyHealth patient portal data breach and subsequent cybersecurity improvements, including full timelines of corrective actions taken by Health NZ or the Minister or Ministry.
b. Copies of contracts or procurement records relating to the Shared Digital Health Record system awarded in 2025.

6. Any regular dashboards or public health surveillance data sets maintained or distributed by Health NZ for diseases such as measles (for 2025), including definitions and data.

Your request will be answered within the provisions of the Official Information Act.

Kind regards,
Office of Hon Simeon Brown
Minister of Health, Minister for State Owned Enterprises, Minister for Auckland

Email: [email address]
Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand

-----Original Message-----
From: Sam Malik <[FOI #33559 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 20 January 2026 7:38 AM
To: Simeon Brown (MIN) <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - Official Information Act Request — Transparency, OIA Practices, and Operational Data

Dear Simeon Brown,

Pursuant to the Official Information Act 1982, I hereby request the following information held by your agencies.

I ask that, where information is withheld, you provide the legal grounds for any withholding under the Act.

1. Ministerial/Privacy performance, delays, and compliance

a. Copies of internal reports, dashboards, or analyses (including metrics, KPIs, or performance data) showing MOH or Health NZ’s compliance with OIA timeliness obligations for the 2024 and 2025 calendar years.
b. Any reviews, audits, or internal evaluations of OIA handling processes undertaken since 1 January 2024, including action plans or changes implemented in response to findings that OIA performance was below statutory requirements.
c. Records of any correspondence between MOH, Health NZ and the Office of the Ombudsman regarding delays, refusals, or compliance obligations, including the agency’s responses to Ombudsman findings in last calendar year.
d. Records of any correspondence between MOH, Health NZ and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner regarding delays, refusals, or compliance obligations, including the agency’s responses to Privacy Breach findings in last calendar year.

2. Private hospital outsourcing contracts

a. The total value of all elective surgery contracts awarded to private hospitals from 1 January 2024 to present, including contract term lengths, provider names, and the criteria used to select each provider.
b. Any cost-benefit or value-for-money analyses/assessments undertaken by Health NZ related to outsourcing elective surgeries to private providers.
c. Copies of legal advice received by Health NZ regarding disclosure obligations for contract pricing under the OIA or other statutory obligations.

3. Staffing and recruitment delays for Health NZ and MOH

a. Official data (including spreadsheets or datasets where available) showing average and median approval times for recruitment requests for clinical and frontline roles across all regions for the period March 2024–December 2025.
b. Any internal correspondence or reports assessing the impact of staffing recruitment delays on service delivery or patient care outcomes.

4. Patient safety and incident reporting

a. Copies of annual summaries of serious and sentinel event reporting from 2022 to 2025, or the most recent versions prepared by Health NZ and MOH b. Records describing any changes made to incident reporting systems or quality and safety staffing levels since 1 January 2024.

5. Data governance for digital health systems

a. Any reports, risk assessments, or governance documents relating to the ManageMyHealth patient portal data breach and subsequent cybersecurity improvements, including full timelines of corrective actions taken by Health NZ or the Minister or Ministry.
b. Copies of contracts or procurement records relating to the Shared Digital Health Record system awarded in 2025.

6. Any regular dashboards or public health surveillance data sets maintained or distributed by Health NZ for diseases such as measles (for 2025), including definitions and data.

Where possible, I request that the information be provided in machine-readable format (e.g., CSV or Excel) so that the data can be readily analysed.

If any of the information sought is publicly available (e.g., already published dashboards), please provide direct links or citations rather than duplicating material.

Thank you for your assistance. I look forward to your response within the statutory timeframe.

Yours faithfully,

Sam

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[FOI #33559 email]

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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.

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.

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References

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2. https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/agen...