19 May 2026 
 
 
Miguel Angel 
[FYI request #34245 email]     
 
 
 
Our ref: OIA 2526-1026
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tēnā koe Miguel 
Thank you for your follow up response of 4 May 2026 to the Ministry for Ethnic Communities (the 
Ministry), relating to the Ministry’s response to your Official Information Act (OIA) request (OIA2526-
1026 refers).  
As previously advised, the Ministry does not provide funding to support political campaigning or 
activities outside the purpose of the Ethnic Development Community Fund (ECDF). This grant was 
assessed against the ECDF’s published purpose, eligibility and funding criteria. ECDF advisors can 
exercise discretion and judgement as part of the assessment process by considering the information 
provided by the applicant, nature of the activities and whether these fall within scope of the fund. At 
the time of the application assessment, there was no political advocacy content identified in line with 
the ECDF policy. As such, the Ministry does not hold any documents relating to the assessment of 
political advocacy for this grant.   
Unless concerns are identified through the grant review process, grants are considered closed 
following satisfactory completion of the final reporting process. The Ministry notes that there are 
limitations to the scope of the final reporting review process, and the information available. In this 
instance, the Ministry was made aware of the billboard content after closing out the grant and has 
initiated a review as part of the ECDF complaints procedure.  
The final expenditure report forms part of the Ministry’s final accountability checks for a grant. In this 
case, there was a minor unauthorised expenditure of $1022 identified and assessed as non-material. 
This is currently being reconsidered, as part of the review, in light of the wider concerns raised. The 
reasoning for this unauthorised expenditure is reflected in the information previously released to 
you.  
The Ministry has provided you with all other information it holds in scope of your request, in our 
response to you on 4 May 2026. As the matters you raise are currently subject to an ongoing review, 
the Ministry is unable to comment further at this stage and the results of the review will be made 
available, as appropriate.  
 
Ngā mihi 
 
Edward Firth 
Director of Ministerial Services 
 
 
 
 

---