Justice Centre | 19 Aitken Street
DX SX10088 | Wel ington
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[email address] | www.justice.govt.nz
29 May 2026
Spencer Jones
[FYI request #34192 email]
Our ref: OIA 132042
Tēnā koe Spencer
Official Information Act request: Supervised Contact Provider Payment information
Thank you for your email of 22 April 2026 to the Ministry of Justice (the Ministry), asking
under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act), follow up questions about the Ministry’s
response to OIA 131189. Specifical y, you asked:
This request seeks to clarify inconsistencies and gaps in your response dated 22 April
2026. Specifically, it addresses:
- The existence and status of the supervised contact provider payments dataset
- The application of section 2(6)(a) (court information exclusion)
- The refusal under section 18(g)(i) (information not held)
- The absence of accessible aggregated data beyond previously released tables
This is a precision request. Where information does not exist, please explicitly confirm
this under section 18(e).
SECTION 1: DATASET EXISTENCE AND STATUS
1.1 Please confirm whether the dataset compiled on 13 September 2024 (and
released on 26 September 2024) stil exists in any form within Ministry systems,
including:
- Financial Management Information Systems
- Extracts, reports, or derived datasets
- Archived or retained copies
1.2 If the dataset exists in any form, please describe:
(a) The system(s) in which it is held
(b) The format (raw data, extract, table, report)
(c) Whether it is currently accessible or retrievable
1.3 If the dataset no longer exists, please confirm:
(a) Date of deletion or disposal
(b) Disposal authority or retention schedule applied
SECTION 2: APPLICATION OF SECTION 2(6)(a) – COURT INFORMATION
2.1 Please clarify the basis on which the underlying dataset is considered to fall within
section 2(6)(a).
Specifically:
(a) Which data fields are considered “court information”
(b) Whether all fields are excluded, or only a subset
(c) Whether financial/payment data itself is considered court information
2.2 Please confirm whether it is possible to:
(a) Remove or redact court-related fields, and
(b) Provide a de-identified or aggregated dataset containing only:
- Provider name
- Total payments per financial year
- Non-case-specific financial information
2.3 If such a dataset cannot be provided, please explain why this is not possible.
SECTION 3: SECTION 18(g)(i) – “NOT HELD”
3.1 Your response states that the Ministry “holds only aggregated statistical
information,” yet also refers to a previously compiled dataset.
Please clarify:
(a) Whether the aggregated table previously released was generated from a dataset
held at the time
(b) Whether that dataset was temporary, system-generated, or retained
3.2 If the underlying dataset is not held:
(a) Explain how the aggregated table was produced
(b) Identify the source systems used to generate it
(c) Confirm whether the same process could be repeated to regenerate the dataset
3.3 If regeneration is possible, please treat this as a request for that regenerated
dataset (subject to lawful redaction if required).
SECTION 4: DATA GOVERNANCE AND RETENTION
4.1 Please provide any policies, standards, or guidance governing:
- Retention of financial datasets relating to contracted service providers
- Extraction of data from court-related systems into administrative or reporting
systems
- Separation (if any) between court information and financial/payment records
4.2 Please confirm whether:
(a) Financial payment data is routinely stored independently of court case data
(b) There is any centralised dataset or reporting system tracking payments to
supervised contact providers
SECTION 5: DISCLOSURE RECORDS (REFINED REQUEST)
5.1 In place of the previously withheld OIA Information Sheet, please provide:
(a) Any administrative metadata relating to the prior release, excluding opinion-based
content, including:
- Date of release
- Type of information released
- Request reference number
(b) Any disclosure log entries or summary records that do not contain free and frank
opinion
If no such administrative records exist separate from the withheld document, please
confirm.
SECTION 6: SEARCH ADEQUACY
6.1 Please describe the steps taken to respond to both the original request and this
follow-up, including:
- Systems searched
- Business units consulted
- Whether financial and court systems were searched separately
This is requested to assess compliance with section 13 (duty to assist).
Some aspects of your request seek explanation or clarification rather than specific official
information held by the Ministry. However, in keeping with our duty to assist under section 13
of the Act, we have provided explanatory information where appropriate.
I wil respond to each part of your request in turn.
Part 1 – Data existence and status
In part 1 of your request, you have asked if the supervised contact provider (provider)
payment information extracted for OIA 115261 stil exists, and if so, on what system and in
what format.
While the underlying provider payment information continues to be held within the Ministry’s
Financial Management Information System (FMIS), as noted in the response to OIA 131189,
the Ministry identified issues with the accuracy of the provider payment table previously
compiled from this data.
The Ministry is currently reviewing the information in the provider payment table for
accuracy. As a result, the Ministry is not in a position to provide the compiled provider
payment table. Once the review is complete, the updated provider payment table will be
made available to you.
Part 2 – Court information
In part 2 of your request, you have asked questions about court information contained within
provider payment information. Specifically, whether all payment information is court
information, what fields in FMIS extracted information are considered court information,
whether the court-related fields can be removed or redacted, and if de-identified or
aggregated information can be provided.
The Act applies to official information held by the Ministry but does not apply to court or
judicial information as set out in section 2(6)(a) of the Act. You may fi
nd Schedule 1 of the
District Court Act 2016, which defines Ministry, court and judicial information, useful. This is
why parts of OIA 131189 were refused under section 18(g)(i) of the Act, as you requested
court information, which is not held by the Ministry.
The Ministry provides administrative and operational support for courts in New Zealand. This
includes facilitating the payment of invoices relating to court matters. While payment
information is generally considered Ministry information, provider invoices may include
references to individual court proceedings. As these references include court information
about those proceedings, this information is excluded from the Act under section 2(6)(a).
It is also important to note that court information is not contained within a single, defined field
in FMIS. Rather, it may appear within various free-text or reference fields derived from
provider invoices. As a result, it cannot be reliably isolated or automatically removed from
extracted data without manual review.
As mentioned earlier, the information contained in the provider payment table is currently
under review to ensure its accuracy. Once the review is complete, the updated provider
payment table wil be made available to you.
Part 3 – section 18(g)(i), information not held by the Ministry
In part 3 of your request, you have asked about the nature of the source provider payment
information extracted for OIA 115261. You have also asked for a copy of the provider
payment information.
Please refer to the information provided to you in parts 1 and 2 above regarding the provider
payment table information.
Part 4 – Data governance and retention
In part 4 of your request, you have asked for policy and guidance documents held by the
Ministry on the retention of financial information, the extraction of information from court
systems, and the separation between court and payment information. You have also asked
the Ministry to confirm if payment information is stored separately from court case
information, and how payments are tracked.
The Ministry complies with the Public Records Act 2005, and has
a Data and Retention
Policy available on the Ministry’s website. This part of your request is therefore refused
under section 18(d) of the Act as the information you have requested is publicly available.
By way of context, provider payment information is held and tracked in FMIS, the Ministry’s
finance system, and court case information is held in CMS, the Case Management System
used by the Courts. As noted in part 2 above, payment information in FMIS may include
court information about individual cases, which allows the Ministry to facilitate provider
payments.
Part 5 – Disclosure records
In part 5 of your request, you have asked for the reference number, date of release and
information included in OIA 115261, and whether there are other administrative records
aside from the withheld
‘OIA Information Sheet’.
As noted in the response to OIA 131189, OIA request 115261 was released on 26
September 2024. The information released included:
• the number of supervised contact commitments, by financial year, between 2005/06
and 2024/25.
• a breakdown of supervised contact provider costs, by financial year, between
2007/08 and 2023/24.
• the average number of sessions per supervised contact commitment, by region and
financial year, between 1 July 2019 and 30 April 2024.
Aside from the
‘OIA Information Sheet’, which was previously withheld under section
9(2)(g)(i) of the Act, the Ministry does not hold any further administrative documents relating
to OIA 115261.
Part 6 – Search adequacy
In part 6 of your request, you have asked what systems were searched and what business
units were consulted for OIA 131189 and in this response to your follow-up request.
The Ministry considered information held in FMIS for the purposes of the payment table.
The Ministry’s Regional Service Delivery Operations Support team consulted with the
Finance team in relation to the existence, source, and compilation of provider payment
information.
Please note that this response, with your personal details removed, may be published on the
Ministry websi
te 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
Moana Ieremia
Acting Group Manager, Courts and Tribunals, Regional Service Delivery
