[IN-CONFIDENCE - RELEASE EXTERNAL]
Phillip Fry
[FYI request #34790 email]
25 June 2026
Tēnā koe Phillip
OIA: GEMS-48425 – Student, Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting Tool
(SMART) governance and oversight structures
Thank you for your email of 28 May 2026 to the Ministry of Education (the Ministry)
requesting the following information:
“Under the Official Information Act 1982, I request information regarding the
formal governance, oversight, and decision-making structures used for the
procurement, implementation, assurance, and rollout of the Student
Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting Tool (SMART).
In previous responses, the Ministry has advised that decisions relating to
SMART were documented through “formal channels”. To better understand
those formal processes, I request the following information for the period 1
January 2024 to 31 March 2026:
1. the names or titles of formal governance groups, programme boards,
steering groups, assurance groups, or decision-making bodies involved in
SMART procurement, implementation, assurance, or rollout activities;
a) a brief description of the role or function of each identified group or
body;
b) confirmation of which identified group or role held responsibility for:
* procurement oversight;
* rollout readiness oversight;
* privacy and security assurance oversight;
* implementation governance; and
* approval to proceed with rollout involving live student data;
2. copies of any terms of reference, governance structure diagrams,
programme governance frameworks, delegations documents, or reporting
line diagrams relating to SMART governance or oversight;
Wel ington – National Office, PO Box 1666, Wellington 6140
Phone: +64 4 463 8000
education.govt.nz
[IN-CONFIDENCE - RELEASE EXTERNAL]
[IN-CONFIDENCE - RELEASE EXTERNAL]
3. confirmation of which governance or oversight groups received or
maintained:
* risk registers;
* assurance reports;
* readiness assessments;
* probity reports;
* decision logs; or
* action trackers relating to SMART implementation or rollout.
This request relates only to formal governance and oversight structures and
does not seek operational communications, assessment content, or individual
student information”.
Your request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).
The Ministry needs to extend the timeframe for responding to your request, pursuant
to section 15A(1)(b) of the Act, as consultations necessary to make a decision on the
request are such that a proper response cannot reasonably be made within the
original time limit. You can now expect to receive a response to your request on or
before 3 August 2026, which is an extension of 25 working days.
You have the right to ask an Ombudsman to review my decision on your request, in
accordance with section 28 of the Act. You can do this by writing to
[email address] or to Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152,
Wellington 6143.
Nāku noa, nā
Cindy McDonald
Principal Advisor, Ministerials
Te Pou Rangatōpū | Corporate
education.govt.nz
Page 2 of 2
OIA: GEMS-48425
[IN-CONFIDENCE - RELEASE EXTERNAL]
