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26/02/2026
John Luke
[FYI request #33609 email]
Tēnā koe John
OIA: GEMS-46635 – Appointments to the Tertiary Education Commission Board
Thank you for your email of 29 January 2026 to the Ministry of Education (the Ministry) requesting
the following information:
I noted, TEC: 28 January 2026.
https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/about-us/our-purpose-and-role/crown-entity-and-
other-statutory-board-appointments
1. May I ask how you called for public nomination and on what platform you have call for
public nominations e.g. govt.jobs website. A copy of your ad and pay rate as well.
2. Also, how many applications you have received for each of the role from the public and
how many you have received from other nominating agencies such as TPK or Ministry
of women etc for your role.
3. How many you have shortlisted and how many you have interviewed. Also, can I
request to view the appointment letter if there is one sent to the appointee. I am happy
for you to remove all the personal information.
4. How many vacancies are you looking to fil for this round.
Your request has been considered under the Of icial Information Act 1982 (the Act).
In response to
part one of your request, expressions of interest for positions on the Tertiary
Education Commission Board (the Board) were sought on the Ministry’s website, the link to which
was included in your request. Please find attached as
Appendix A a copy of the advertisement
seeking expressions of interest for the Board, which was posted on the Ministry website on
19 December 2025, and the job description linked with the advertisement. The member fee is
noted in the attached advertisement.
In response to
parts two and three of your request,
the appointment process is stil underway. As
such, I am refusing these parts of your request under section 18(a) of the Act, since, by virtue of
section 9(2)(f)(iv) of the Act, there is good reason for withholding the information requested to
maintain the constitutional conventions for the time being which protect the confidentiality of advice
tendered by Ministers of the Crown and officials.
Wellington National Office, 1 The Terrace, Levels 5 to 14, Wellington 6011
PO Box 1666, Wel ington 6140, DX SR51201 Phone: +64 4 463 8000
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You are welcome to resubmit your request for information relating to this appointment once
decisions regarding the appointment to the Board have been finalised. As no appointment letter
has yet been sent, I am refusing this aspect of
part three of your request under section 18(e) of
the Act, as the information requested does not yet exist.
As required under section 9(1) of the Act, I have considered the public interest in releasing the
information withheld. I do not consider that the public interest considerations favouring the release
of this information are sufficient to outweigh the need to withhold it at this time.
In response to
part four of your request, there are currently two vacancies on the Board. The
number of appointments made wil be confirmed in due course.
Please note, we may publish this response on our website after five working days. Your name and
contact details wil be removed.
Thank you again for your email. You have the right to ask an Ombudsman to review my decision
on your request, in accordance with section 28 of the Act. You can do this by writing to
[email address] or to Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143.
Nāku noa, nā
Jennifer Heersping
Director, Monitoring and Appointments
Te Pou Kaupapahere | Policy
OIA: GEMS-46635
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