Briefing HR20212779 dated 22 December 2021 to Hon Chris Hipkins
Joshua Riley made this Official Information request to Ministry of Health
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From: Joshua Riley
Under the Official Information Act 1982, I request the following document:
The full briefing paper dated 22 December 2021 to the then-Minister for COVID-19 Response, Hon Chris Hipkins, titled: “Policy decisions required for further amendments to the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Vaccinations) Order (No 7) 2021”
Internal reference: HR20212779
This document is referenced in the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons Learned (Phase 2 report, March 2026), particularly in the section on vaccine mandates and CV TAG advice (including paragraph 23).
I request:
- The complete, unredacted briefing paper (all pages, including paragraph 23 and any recommendations)
- All attachments, annexes, appendices, or supporting documents
- Any covering minute or email that accompanied the briefing
If any part of the document is to be withheld, please identify what is withheld or redacted AND the specific sections of the OIA you are relying on and provide the reasons for each withholding or redaction.
Sincerely,
Joshua Riley
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora Joshua,
Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the
Act), received by the Ministry of Health - Manatû Hauora on 22 March 2026.
You requested:
“The following document:
The full briefing paper dated 22 December 2021 to the then-Minister for
COVID-19 Response, Hon Chris Hipkins, titled: “Policy decisions required
for further amendments to the COVID-19 Public Health Response
(Vaccinations) Order (No 7) 2021”
Internal reference: HR20212779
This document is referenced in the Royal Commission of Inquiry into
COVID-19 Lessons Learned (Phase 2 report, March 2026), particularly in the
section on vaccine mandates and CV TAG advice (including paragraph 23).
I request:
- The complete, unredacted briefing paper (all pages, including paragraph
23 and any recommendations)
- All attachments, annexes, appendices, or supporting documents
- Any covering minute or email that accompanied the briefing.”
The reference number for your request is H2026080412. We will endeavour to
respond to your request as soon as possible and in any event no later than
21 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.
Ngâ mihi,
OIA Services Team
Ministry of Health | Manatû Hauora
M[3]inistry of Health information releases
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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...
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora Joshua,
Thank you for your request for official information received on 22 March
2026:
"The full briefing paper dated 22 December 2021 to the then-Minister for
COVID-19 Response, Hon Chris Hipkins, titled: “Policy decisions required
for further amendments to the COVID-19 Public Health Response
(Vaccinations) Order (No 7) 2021”
Internal reference: HR20212779
This document is referenced in the Royal Commission of Inquiry into
COVID-19 Lessons Learned (Phase 2 report, March 2026), particularly in the
section on vaccine mandates and CV TAG advice (including paragraph 23).
I request:
- The complete, unredacted briefing paper (all pages, including paragraph
23 and any recommendations)
- All attachments, annexes, appendices, or supporting documents
- Any covering minute or email that accompanied the briefing.”
The Ministry of Health has decided to extend the period of time available
to respond to your request under section 15A of the Official Information
Act 1982 (the Act) as the consultations necessary to make a decision on
the request are such that a proper response to the request cannot
reasonably be made within the original time limit.
You can now expect a response to your request on, or before, Tuesday 5th
May 2026. Please note this extension is inclusive of Anzac Day, observed
on the 27^th April as a public holiday.
You have the right, under section 28 of the Act, to ask the Ombudsman to
review my decision to extend the time available to respond to your
request.
Ngâ mihi,
OIA Services Team
Ministry of Health | Manatû Hauora
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From: OIA Requests
Kia ora Joshua,
Please find attached the response to your request for official
information.
Ngā mihi,
OIA Services Team
Ministry of Health | Manatū Hauora
show quoted sections
From: Joshua Riley
Re: H2026080412 — request for review of decision
Thank you for your response of 1 May 2026. I am writing to ask the Ministry to reconsider its decision in respect of paragraph 37 of briefing HR20212779.
The Ministry has refused my request under s 18(d) of the Act on the basis that the document is "publicly available." However, the publicly available version on the Ministry's website is not the document I requested. I expressly requested the **complete, unredacted briefing paper**. The version released proactively in 2022, and now relied upon, contains a redaction of paragraph 37 under s 9(2)(h) of the Act (legal professional privilege). The Ministry has therefore not addressed the substance of my request, which was for the withheld portion.
I ask that the Ministry now:
1. Treat my request as a request for the information withheld at paragraph 37 (and any other redactions in HR20212779) and issue a fresh decision on that information; or
2. Confirm that it maintains the s 9(2)(h) withholding, in which case I ask that the Ministry articulate:
a. The specific basis on which legal professional privilege is claimed (was paragraph 37 advice from in-house or external counsel, prepared for the dominant purpose of giving or receiving legal advice?);
b. Whether privilege has been waived, in whole or in part, by the surrounding paragraphs (paragraphs 36 and 38 expressly summarise the BORA analysis and reference "Previous Bill of Rights Act advice");
c. The Ministry's assessment of the s 9(1) public interest balancing test, having regard to:
- the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons Learned (Phase 2, March 2026), which considered vaccine mandates and CV TAG advice in detail;
- the passage of approximately 4.5 years since the advice was prepared;
- the fact that the Vaccinations Order has since been revoked;
- the strong public interest in transparency around the legal basis for measures that affected the employment and bodily autonomy of thousands of New Zealanders.
In the absence of a substantive response to (2), I will refer this matter to the Office of the Ombudsman under s 28 of the Act.
For completeness, I also note that s 18(d) is properly used only where the information is "or will soon be" publicly available. Where the publicly available version is itself a redacted version of the document requested, s 18(d) cannot be a complete answer to a request for the unredacted document. I would be grateful if the Ministry would confirm this point in any further response.
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora Joshua,
Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the
Act), received by the Ministry of Health - Manatū Hauora on 4 May 2026.
You requested:
"1. Treat my request as a request for the information withheld at
paragraph 37 (and any other redactions in HR20212779) and issue a fresh
decision on that information; or
2. Confirm that it maintains the s 9(2)(h) withholding, in which case I
ask that the Ministry articulate:
a. The specific basis on which legal professional privilege is claimed
(was paragraph 37 advice from in-house or external counsel, prepared for
the dominant purpose of giving or receiving legal advice?);
b. Whether privilege has been waived, in whole or in part, by the
surrounding paragraphs (paragraphs 36 and 38 expressly summarise the BORA
analysis and reference "Previous Bill of Rights Act advice");
c. The Ministry's assessment of the s 9(1) public interest balancing
test, having regard to:
- the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19
Lessons Learned (Phase 2, March 2026), which considered vaccine mandates
and CV TAG advice in detail;
- the passage of approximately 4.5 years since the advice was
prepared;
- the fact that the Vaccinations Order has since been revoked;
- the strong public interest in transparency around the legal basis
for measures that affected the employment and bodily autonomy of thousands
of New Zealanders.
In the absence of a substantive response to (2), I will refer this matter
to the Office of the Ombudsman under s 28 of the Act.
For completeness, I also note that s 18(d) is properly used only where the
information is "or will soon be" publicly available. Where the publicly
available version is itself a redacted version of the document requested,
s 18(d) cannot be a complete answer to a request for the unredacted
document. I would be grateful if the Ministry would confirm this point in
any further response."
The reference number for your request is H2026082281. We will endeavour to
respond to your request as soon as possible and in any event no later than
2 June 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...
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora,
Please find attached the response to your request for official
information.
Ngā mihi,
OIA Services Team
Ministry of Health | Manatū Hauora
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