National Headquarters
Fire and Emergency New Zealand
National Headquarters
Spark Central, Level 7
42-52 Willis Street
Wellington Central
Wellington 6011
Phone +64 4 496 3600
8 May 2026
Ref: 21117
Peter Campbell
[FYI request #34018 email]
Tēnā koe Peter
Thank you for your request of 10 March 2026 to Fire and Emergency New Zealand requesting
information relating to staff morale and public relations expenses under the Official Information
Act 1982 (OIA). We copy and respond to each aspect of your request below.
1. When did FENZ last conduct a staff morale survey (or similar) and by what departments?
are there plans to do this in the near future?
Fire and Emergency does not run a survey specifically described as a “staff morale survey”.
However, the organisation does undertake surveys that gather information about people’s
experiences working or volunteering in the organisation.
The most recent organisation-wide survey was the Whanaungatanga Wellbeing Survey, conducted
in March 2026 as part of the Whanaungatanga Programme. The survey was offered to all
employees and explores organisational and wellbeing factors affecting personnel. The results help
inform initiatives aimed at strengthening mental health and overall wellbeing across the
organisation.
Prior to this, the organisation-wide people experience ‘YourSay’ survey was conducted in July
2025. This survey was offered to all Fire and Emergency employees and volunteers and was led by
the Organisational Development Programmes Team.
In addition, Fire and Emergency continues to gather feedback through targeted, phased ‘Moments
that Matter’ lifecycle surveys, including:
•
Onboarding survey – currently offered in areas where the formal induction programme
has been implemented. As the programme is progressively rolled out across more parts of
the organisation, including operational firefighters and volunteers, the onboarding survey
will be expanded accordingly; and
•
Exit survey – offered to all employees and volunteers.
2. Are there any documented organisational staff morale issues that have been reported any
other way within the past 1 year? if so please provide tabled or basic information on the
issues.
Please find attached, as the
Appendix to this response, copies of the following documents:
• Fire and Emergency’s Culture Journey 2025 Qualitative research and insights
• A place where we all feel we belong – June 2025 organisation culture plan; and
• Speak Safe @ Fairway report – January – March 2025.
Additionally, Fire and Emergency established the Eke Taumata programme to improve our working
environment, so our people feel that it is a safe, positive and inclusive place to work. Six monthly
Eke Taumata progress reports are published on Fire and Emergency’s website. You can view the
most recent report by following the link below:
www.fireandemergency.nz/assets/Uploads-v2/Eke-Taumata/Eke-Taumata-six-month-report-to-
30-June-2025.pdf For this reason, this aspect of your request is being partially refused under section 18(d) of the
OIA, as the information requested is or will soon be publicly available.
3. Have the National Executive or board discussed their role in staff morale or any initiatives
to alleviate any staff morale issues within the past 1 year? if so please provide information
on this.
Yes. Over the past year, the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) has considered several matters
relating to staff morale, wellbeing and the working environment. These discussions have primarily
occurred through formal ELT papers and meeting updates relating to organisational culture,
wellbeing insights and specific workplace issues. This has included consideration of findings from
the Culture Journey qualitative research (included in the Appendix), as well as matters raised
about workplace conditions affecting particular groups of personnel. The ELT has progressed or
supported initiatives intended to address these issues, including short-term improvements to
working environments and longer-term planning work.
4. Do FENZ use the services of a Public Relations person or company to assist with their public
reputation? if so how much has been spent on this in the past 1 year? and has this been
considered against their budget savings requirements?
We can confirm we have engaged with a communications and marketing company and as part of
this engagement they are assisting us with maintaining public confidence and reputation. The total
amount paid to the firm from 1 July 2025 to 28 February 2026 is $87,284.94.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision.
Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
freephone 0800 802 602.
We trust that the information being provided is of assistance. If you require further information,
please email [FENZ request email]
Please note that because of the identified public interest in the information that you have
requested, we intend to publish this response (with your personal details removed) on our
website.
Nāku noa, nā
Aidan Saunders
Manager, Information Requests
