Justice Centre | 19 Aitken Street
DX SX10088 | Wellington
T 04 918 8800 |
F 04 918 8820
[email address] | www.justice.govt.nz
30 March 2026
T Hayden
[email address]
Our ref: OIA130559
OIA130592
Tēnā koe T Hayden
Official Information Act request: Public Relations and Communications roles
Thank you for your emails of 1 and 3 March 2026 to the Ministry of Justice (the Ministry),
requesting information under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act), regarding data on
Ministry staff and contractors in public relations and communications roles. Specifically, you
requested:
I would like to request the number of staff in public relations or communications roles
at the Ministry of Justice for 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, and 2021.
On 3 March 2026, you made a further request for information, which includes and expands
the scope of your 1 March 2026 request. Therefore, I am only providing a response to the
request made 3 March 2026, as this captures your original request:
I would like to request the number of staff in public relations or communications roles
at the Ministry of Justice for 2026, 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, and 2021
I would also like to request the number of contractors in public relations or
communications roles at the Ministry of Justice for 2026, 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022,
and 2021.
In response to your request for the number of staff and contractors in public relations or
communications roles for the years 2021- 2024, please refer to the following links from
Parliament’s website:
• For all information on staff roles as at 30 June 2020 - 30 June 2024, please refer to
Question 52 of the 2023/24 Annual Review here:
b06bf5b7131db3d5651f8b10277cad4d992e2987
• For all information on contractors from FY 20/21 to FY 23/24 please refer to question
72 (Appendix 23) of the 2023/24 Annual Review here:
bc5cb53d4552fd054f25b29561877a4c98579de8
Therefore, I am refusing this part of your request under section 18(d) of the Act as the
information you have requested is publicly available.
Please refer to
Table 1 below for the number of staff in public relations or communications
roles in 2025 and 2026. Please note that this represents the number of employees at a point
in time and includes permanent and fixed-term employees using the Public Service
Commission (PSC) methodology. This also includes staff employed by the Ministry to
support Te Tari Whakatau. Figures exclude staff on parental leave or leave without pay, and
those seconded in from another agency.
Table 1: Staff employed by the Ministry for public relations or communications roles
As at 30 June 2025
As at 31 December 2025
As at 3 March 2026
15
16
17
The Ministry engages contractors to build capability and to provide specialist expertise or
capacity that is not normally available within the Ministry. Please refer to
Table 2 for the
number of contractors in public relations or communications roles in 2025 and 2026. Please
note that this represents the total number of contractor engagements active at any point in
this period, not the number of contractors active at any one time and includes roles with
communications or public relations components such as change management.
Most of these engagements were for less than 12 months to undertake short-term, project-
based activity. The Ministry reports its contractor information on a quarterly basis therefore, I
have provided information to the most recent completed quarter as at the date of your
request.
Table 2: Number of contractors engaged by the Ministry for public relations or
communications related roles
FY2024/25 1 July 2024 – 30 June 2025
FY2025/26 YTD 1 July 2025 – 31 December 2025
15
6
Please note that this response, with your personal details removed, may be published on the
Ministry website at:
Official Information Act responses | New Zealand Ministry of Justice. If you are not satisfied with this response, you have the right to make a complaint to the
Ombudsman under section 28 of the Act. The Office of the Ombudsman may be contacted
by phone on: 0800 802 602, by email at: [email address], or via the
webform:
Make a complaint (for members of the public) | Ombudsman New Zealand. Nāku noa, nā
Kelvin Watson
Deputy Secretary, Corporate Services
