Tēnā koe Athina,

 

Thank you for your OIA request to the Department of Internal Affairs
(included with this email)

 

As the information you have requested is more closely related to the
functions of the Ministry of Health and Health New Zealand than those of
the Department of Internal Affairs, I am transferring your request to
those agencies for response, in accordance with section 14(b) of the
Official Information Act 1982.

I note, I am advised that The Ministry of Health was the original system
owner and accountable agency for the NZ COVID Tracer app and the
associated digital contact-tracing infrastructure. Some files and resource
from the Ministry of Health were however transferred to Health New Zealand
in past years.  Consultation with the Ministry of Health and Health New
Zealand on transfer has not sufficiently resolved which agency is
currently best placed to respond to you. I am therefore transferring your
request to both agencies, on the basis that one of these two agencies will
be in a position to respond to you, and the other will refer you to their
response.

 

You can expect to hear from the receiving agency shortly in regard to your
request.  If you would like to contact them directly, you are able to
email them at:

o Ministry of Health: [1][email address]
o Health New Zealand: [2][email address]

 

You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of
this decision to transfer.  Information about how to make a complaint is
available at [3]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or Freephone 0800 802 602.  

 

Nāku, nā

 

Michelle Reed [4](she/her)  

Principal Advisor Official Correspondence | Privacy and Official
Correspondence team

Legal Services | Ngā Ratonga Ture

[5]DIA Logo - Black

 

 

 

show 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.

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
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

Visible links
1. https://www.tewhatuora.govt.nz/for-healt...
https://www.tewhatuora.govt.nz/for-healt...
2. https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/agen...

Kia ora Athina,

  

Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the
Act), received by the Ministry of Health - Manatū Hauora on 16 February
2026. You requested:

 

"Information regarding the digital infrastructure used for tracking and
managing COVID-19 in New Zealand. Specifically, I request:
 

The dates on which the digital systems used for COVID-19 tracking
(including, but not limited to, contact tracing apps, QR code scanning
systems, or other electronic tracking platforms) were first made available
to the public or operational within New Zealand.
 

Any official documentation outlining the rollout schedule or launch dates
of these systems.
 

Any updates, upgrades, or expansions to this digital infrastructure during
the COVID-19 pandemic, including the dates these changes were
implemented."
 

The reference number for your request is H2026080139. We will endeavour to
respond to your request as soon as possible and in any event no later than
15 April 2026 being 20 working days after the day your request was
received. If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will
notify you of an extension of that timeframe.

 

If you have any queries regarding your request, please feel free to
contact the OIA Services Team on [1][email address]. If any
additional factors come to light which are relevant to your request,
please do not hesitate to contact us so that these can be taken into
account. 

 

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

 

 

show quoted sections

References

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

Apologies - received 16 March* as opposed to 16 February.
Ngā mihi,

OIA Services Team

Ministry of Health | Manatū Hauora

show quoted sections

Kia ora Athina,

Health NZ has been advised that your request for information about the
COVID-19 Contact Tracing App was transferred from DIA to both itself and
the Ministry of Health (the Ministry). Unfortunately, Health NZ does not
hold any information within scope of your request.

Ministry was the system owner and accountable agency for the NZ COVID
Tracer app and the associated digital contact-tracing infrastructure,
prior to the establishment of Health NZ. Given this, we would have
transferred your request to the Ministry under section 14 of the OIA.
However, as the Ministry has already received a copy of your request, this
was deemed unnecessary.

You should expect a response from the Ministry in due course.

Ngā mihi, 
 
Stephanie
Government Services (OIA)
[1][email address]
 
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora
 
 
 

Statement of confidentiality: This email 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

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]

Tçnâ koe Athina,

 

Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the
Act) transferred to the Ministry of Health – Manatû Hauora (the
Ministry) from the Department of Internal Affairs on 16 March 2026. Each
part of your request is addressed in turn. You requested:  

 

Information regarding the digital infrastructure used for tracking and
managing COVID-19 in New Zealand. Specifically, I request: 

 

The dates on which the digital systems used for COVID-19 tracking
(including, but not limited to, contact tracing apps, QR code scanning
systems, or other electronic tracking platforms) were first made available
to the public or operational within New Zealand. 

 

The NZ COVID Tracer application (the app), the government’s implementation
of COVID-19 tracking, was officially launched on 20 May 2020. The QR Code
system, which allowed businesses to generate the codes and posters for
display on their premises, was launched on 18 May 2020. 

 

Any official documentation outlining the rollout schedule or launch dates
of these systems. 

 

Please refer to the following briefing provided to the former Minister of
Health. As it is publicly available, section 18(d) of the Act applies to
this part of your
request: [1]covid19.govt.nz/assets/Proactive-Releases/proactive-release-2020-june/Health-Report-Launch-of-NZ-COVID-Tracer-mobile-app.pdf. 

 

Any updates, upgrades, or expansions to this digital infrastructure during
the COVID-19 pandemic, including the dates these changes were
implemented. 

 

Bluetooth functionality, allowing users to be notified if they were near
another user of the app who tested positive for COVID-19, was
implemented into the app from 10 December 2020. A Bluetooth-enabled card
was trialled as an alternative to the app, but ultimately not widely
implemented. This is detailed in this publicly available briefing:
[2]www.health.govt.nz/system/files/2021-08/20211350_covid19_tracer_app_update_paper_updated.pdf 

 

Please note that since the health system reforms in July 2022, the
responsibility for this work lies with Health New Zealand. Any further
queries relating to this matter should be directed to their
agency:[3] [email address]. If you wish to discuss any aspect of
your request with us, including this decision, please feel free to contact
the OIA Services Team on:[4] [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: [5][email address] or by calling 0800
802 602. 

 

 

Ngâ mihi,

 

 

OIA Services Team

Ministry of Health | Manatû Hauora

 

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. https://covid19.govt.nz/assets/Proactive...
2. https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/...
3. [email address]
mailto:[email address]
4. [email address]
mailto:[email address]
5. mailto:[email address]

Kia ora Athina,
Hopefully these links work on your end:
[1]https://covid19.govt.nz/assets/Proactive...
[2]https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/...
Copies of the documents themselves have been attached, too.
Ngā mihi,

OIA Services Team

Ministry of Health | Manatū Hauora

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

From: Athina Andonatou <[FOI #33893 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 31 March 2026 05:47
To: OIA Requests <[email address]>
Subject: Re: Response to your official information act request, ref:
H2026080139 CRM:0466055
 
Dear OIA Requests,
Can you share a link that I can actually open. Link shared comes back with
the message "403 Forbidden"

Yours sincerely,

Athina Andonatou

show quoted sections