COVID‑19 Border Restrictions – Medical Justification, NZBORA Analysis, and Passport Diplomatic Request
Nigel Gray made this Official Information request to Health New Zealand
This request has an unknown status. We're waiting for Nigel Gray to read recent responses and update the status.
From: Nigel Gray
Dear Health New Zealand,
I am requesting the following information held by the Ministry of Health relating to the Government’s COVID‑19 border restrictions and their impact on the right of New Zealand citizens to enter New Zealand.
1. Medical and scientific justification documents
All medical, scientific, epidemiological, modelling, risk‑assessment, or public‑health documents (including internal advice, external advice, briefings, memos, emails, reports, and assessments) that were used, relied upon, referenced, or considered by the Ministry of Health to justify restricting or preventing New Zealand citizens from entering New Zealand during the COVID‑19 response.
This includes (but is not limited to):
the assessed risk posed by returning citizens
the necessity of restricting entry
the medical justification for requiring MIQ as a precondition for entry
the medical justification for limiting MIQ availability
any advice on whether preventing citizens from boarding flights was medically justified
2. NZ Bill of Rights Act 1990 – s18(2) and s5 analysis
All documents that assess, discuss, or reference the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, specifically:
s18(2) — the right of every New Zealand citizen to enter New Zealand
s5 — justified limitations on rights
This includes all proportionality assessments, rights‑impact assessments, legal‑medical interface documents, and any analysis of whether restricting citizen entry was:
prescribed by law
demonstrably justified
proportionate
the least rights‑restrictive means available
3. Consideration of less‑restrictive alternatives
All documents that consider, evaluate, or model less‑restrictive alternatives to limiting citizen entry, including:
home isolation
rapid testing
risk‑stratified entry
medically‑supervised entry
alternative quarantine models
4. MIQ availability and functional denial of entry
All documents that record, analyse, or discuss whether MIQ availability constraints constituted a functional denial of entry for New Zealand citizens who were unable to secure a voucher.
5. Consideration of the diplomatic request printed in the NZ passport (forced yes/no)
Please provide all documents, legal advice, internal correspondence, or policy papers that show whether the Ministry of Health considered, analysed, or discussed the legal meaning or implications of the diplomatic request printed inside the New Zealand passport:
“…to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance, and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary.”
This includes any assessment of whether COVID‑19 border restrictions, MIQ availability limits, or flight‑boarding restrictions were consistent with or contrary to that statement.
If no such documents exist, please confirm this explicitly.
6. Withheld documents list
A list of all documents withheld in full, including the specific OIA grounds relied upon for each withholding.
7. Search methodology (if refusing under s18(e) or s18(f))
If any part of this request is refused under s18(e) or s18(f), please provide:
the specific searches undertaken
the specific databases, repositories, or systems searched
the date ranges searched
the job titles (not names) of staff who conducted the searches
8. Assistance under s18B
If any part of this request is considered too broad, I request that you identify the specific part(s) causing difficulty and provide reasonable assistance to refine them.
I am happy to receive the information in electronic form.
Yours faithfully,
Nigel Gray
From: hnzOIA
Tçnâ koe,
Thank you for your email.
Under the Official Information Act (OIA), agencies are required to respond
to requests for official information as soon as reasonably practicable and
no later than 20 working days after receiving them.
If your request is for data that Health NZ holds, have you checked
[1]Lighthouse first to see if the data you are seeking is already
published?
Lighthouse is a searchable catalogue that makes a range of data and
analytics products available to New Zealanders to enable easier, faster
access to insights about health services.
You can find further information about how OIA timeframes are calculated,
including the Ombudsman’s OIA calculator, at the link below:
[2]Official information calculators | Ombudsman New Zealand
We will provide a response to your request in line with the statutory
timeframes set out in the OIA.
We appreciate your understanding and patience during this time.
Ngâ mihi,
Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora
Statement of confidentiality: This email message and any accompanying
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From: hnzOIA
Kia ora Nigel,
Thank you for your request of 31/05/2026 for the following information:
-----
"I am requesting the following information held by the Ministry of Health
relating to the Government’s COVID‑19 border restrictions and their impact
on the right of New Zealand citizens to enter New Zealand.
1. Medical and scientific justification documents All medical, scientific,
epidemiological, modelling, risk‑assessment, or public‑health documents
(including internal advice, external advice, briefings, memos, emails,
reports, and assessments) that were used, relied upon, referenced, or
considered by the Ministry of Health to justify restricting or preventing
New Zealand citizens from entering New Zealand during the COVID‑19
response.
This includes (but is not limited to):
the assessed risk posed by returning citizens
the necessity of restricting entry
the medical justification for requiring MIQ as a precondition for entry
the medical justification for limiting MIQ availability
any advice on whether preventing citizens from boarding flights was
medically justified
2. NZ Bill of Rights Act 1990 – s18(2) and s5 analysis All documents that
assess, discuss, or reference the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990,
specifically:
s18(2) — the right of every New Zealand citizen to enter New Zealand
s5 — justified limitations on rights
This includes all proportionality assessments, rights‑impact assessments,
legal‑medical interface documents, and any analysis of whether restricting
citizen entry was:
prescribed by law, demonstrably justified, proportionate, the least
rights‑restrictive means available
3. Consideration of less‑restrictive alternatives All documents that
consider, evaluate, or model less‑restrictive alternatives to limiting
citizen entry, including:
home isolation
rapid testing
risk‑stratified entry
medically‑supervised entry
alternative quarantine models
4. MIQ availability and functional denial of entry All documents that
record, analyse, or discuss whether MIQ availability constraints
constituted a functional denial of entry for New Zealand citizens who were
unable to secure a voucher.
5. Consideration of the diplomatic request printed in the NZ passport
(forced yes/no) Please provide all documents, legal advice, internal
correspondence, or policy papers that show whether the Ministry of Health
considered, analysed, or discussed the legal meaning or implications of
the diplomatic request printed inside the New Zealand passport:
“…to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance, and to
afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary.”
This includes any assessment of whether COVID‑19 border restrictions, MIQ
availability limits, or flight‑boarding restrictions were consistent with
or contrary to that statement.
If no such documents exist, please confirm this explicitly.
6. Withheld documents list
A list of all documents withheld in full, including the specific OIA
grounds relied upon for each withholding.
7. Search methodology (if refusing under s18(e) or s18(f)) If any part of
this request is refused under s18(e) or s18(f), please provide:
the specific searches undertaken
the specific databases, repositories, or systems searched
the date ranges searched
the job titles (not names) of staff who conducted the searches
8. Assistance under s18B
If any part of this request is considered too broad, I request that you
identify the specific part(s) causing difficulty and provide reasonable
assistance to refine them."
-----
Your request asks for information which is more closely aligned with the
functions of the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Business, Innovation
and Employment - MBIE.
For this reason, Health New Zealand has decided to transfer question 1 of
your request to the Ministry of Health and all the remaining questions to
MBIE under section 14(b)(ii) of the Official Information Act (OIA).
You can expect a response from them in due course.
Under section 28(3) of the OIA you have the right to ask the Ombudsman
to review any decisions made under this request.
The Ombudsman may be contacted
by email at: [1][email address] or by calling 0800 802 602.
If you have any queries related to this request, please do not hesitate to
get in touch.
Ngā mihi
Michael
Government Services (OIA)
[2][email address]
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora
Statement of confidentiality: This email message and any accompanying
attachments may contain information that is IN-CONFIDENCE and subject to
legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, do not read, use,
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received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately and
delete this message
References
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1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
From: Ministerial Services
Kia ora Nigel Gray,
On behalf of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment I
acknowledge your email of 31 May 2026 set to health New Zealand
requesting, under the Official Information Act 1982, the following:
* "I am requesting the following information held by the Ministry of
Health relating to the Government’s COVID‑19 border restrictions and
their impact on the right of New Zealand citizens to enter New
Zealand.
1. Medical and scientific justification documents
All medical, scientific, epidemiological, modelling, risk‑assessment,
or public‑health documents (including internal advice, external
advice, briefings, memos, emails, reports, and assessments) that were
used, relied upon, referenced, or considered by the Ministry of Health
to justify restricting or preventing New Zealand citizens from
entering New Zealand during the COVID‑19 response. This includes (but
is not limited to):
the assessed risk posed by returning citizens
the necessity of restricting entry
the medical justification for requiring MIQ as a precondition for
entry
the medical justification for limiting MIQ availability
any advice on whether preventing citizens from boarding flights was
medically justified
2. NZ Bill of Rights Act 1990 – s18(2) and s5 analysis
All documents that assess, discuss, or reference the New Zealand Bill
of Rights Act 1990, specifically:
s18(2) — the right of every New Zealand citizen to enter New Zealand
s5 — justified limitations on rights
This includes all proportionality assessments, rights‑impact
assessments, legal‑medical interface documents, and any analysis of
whether restricting citizen entry was prescribed by law, demonstrably
justified, proportionate, the least rights‑restrictive means available
3. Consideration of less‑restrictive alternatives
All documents that consider, evaluate, or model less‑restrictive
alternatives to limiting citizen entry, including home isolation,
rapid testing, risk‑stratified entry, medically‑supervised entry,
alternative quarantine models.
4. MIQ availability and functional denial of entry
All documents that record, analyse, or discuss whether MIQ
availability constraints constituted a functional denial of entry for
New Zealand citizens who were unable to secure a voucher.
5. Consideration of the diplomatic request printed in the NZ passport
(forced yes/no)
Please provide all documents, legal advice, internal correspondence,
or policy papers that show whether the Ministry of Health considered,
analysed, or discussed the legal meaning or implications of the
diplomatic request printed inside the New Zealand passport:
“…to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance, and to
afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary.”
This includes any assessment of whether COVID‑19 border restrictions,
MIQ availability limits, or flight‑boarding restrictions were
consistent with or contrary to that statement.
If no such documents exist, please confirm this explicitly.
6. Withheld documents list
A list of all documents withheld in full, including the specific OIA
grounds relied upon for each withholding.
7. Search methodology (if refusing under s18(e) or s18(f))
If any part of this request is refused under s18(e) or s18(f), please
provide the specific searches undertaken, the specific databases,
repositories, or systems searched, the date ranges searched, the job
titles (not names) of staff who conducted the searches
8. Assistance under s18B
If any part of this request is considered too broad, I request that
you identify the specific part(s) causing difficulty and provide
reasonable assistance to refine them.'
Items 2-8 of your request have been transferred to the Ministry of
Business, Innovation and Employment from Health New Zealand on 4 June 2026
and is being processed in accordance with the Official Information Act
1982. A response will be sent to you in due course.
We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible, and no
later than 2 July 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 enquiries
regarding your request feel free to contact us via email to
[1][email address].
Nāku noa, nā
Ministerial Services
Strategy and Assurance
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
15 Stout Street, Wellington 6011 | P O Box 1473 Wellington 6140
References
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1. mailto:[email address]
From: OIA Requests
Health New Zealand
Kia ora Nigel,
Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the
Act), received by the Ministry of Health - Manatū Hauora on 4 June 2026.
You requested:
"1. Medical and scientific justification documents
All medical, scientific, epidemiological, modelling, risk‑assessment, or
public‑health documents (including internal advice, external advice,
briefings, memos, emails, reports, and assessments) that were used, relied
upon, referenced, or considered by the Ministry of Health to justify
restricting or preventing New Zealand citizens from entering New Zealand
during the COVID‑19 response. This includes (but is not limited to):
the assessed risk posed by returning citizens
the necessity of restricting entry
the medical justification for requiring MIQ as a precondition for entry
the medical justification for limiting MIQ availability
any advice on whether preventing citizens from boarding flights was
medically justified "
The reference number for your request is H2026083674. We will endeavour to
respond to your request as soon as possible and in any event no later than
2 July 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: Ministerials
Kia ora Nigel
I am the advisor work on your request. The questions you have asked
covered the work programme of several teams over 2-3 years. This is too
broad and will be declined under section 18(f) of the Act, that the
information requested cannot be made available without substantial
collation or research.
I worked in MIQ before I came over to this role, so I'm well placed to
help you refine this down to something we can answer. Rather than suggest
refinements, I would recommend you take a look at the publicly available
material and submit further questions when you want to dig down into a
specific decision or area.
The Royal Commission COVID-19 Lessons Learned has published two reports,
and both have extensive footnotes with links. You can find those at:
[1]Home | Covid-19 Lessons Learned
There are documents on MBIE's website: [2]Document library | Ministry of
Business, Innovation & Employment, as well as DPMC [3]Search | Department
of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC), and the Ministry of Health
[4]Information releases | Ministry of Health NZ
Further than that, the Office of the Ombudsman undertook a self-initiated
investigation of the MIQ allocation system: [5]Chief Ombudsman's final
opinion on Managed Isolation Allocation System | Ombudsman New Zealand
I worked in MIQ before moving over to this role and I was part of the team
that supplied material to the Office of the Ombudsman for this review. We
have a huge spreadsheet of documents (over 1000 ended up going over), so
this is probably the best place to start a deep dive as this material will
be the easiest to access and address the topics you are most interested
in.
Ngā mihi
Renée
Renée Maunder (she/her)
SENIOR MINISTERIAL ADVISOR
Office of the Deputy Secretary, Labour, Science and Enterprise
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
show quoted sections
From: Nigel Gray
Dear Ministerials,
Subject: OIA Request – Procedural Clarification and Required s18B Assistance
Kia ora,
Thank you for your email of 22 June indicating that my request “will be declined under section 18(f)” due to breadth. As no lawful refusal has yet been issued, I am treating your message as a request for refinement under s18B of the Official Information Act.
To assist you in meeting your statutory obligations, I need to clarify several procedural points.
1. Duty to identify the specific difficulty (s18B)
Section 18B requires the agency to identify which part(s) of the request cause difficulty and why.
Your message states only that the request “covered the work programme of several teams over 2–3 years”. This is a general description of organisational history, not a statutory difficulty.
Please specify:
which numbered question(s) create difficulty
the nature of the difficulty for each
the estimated volume of material involved
the systems or repositories that would need to be searched
the reason the search cannot be completed without “substantial collation or research”
This information is required before any refinement can occur.
2. Improper reliance on publicly available material (s18(d))
You referred me to various public websites.
For clarity, none of the information I requested is publicly available in the form requested, and you have not claimed s18(d).
Please confirm that you are not refusing any part of the request on the basis that the information is publicly available.
3. Requirement to consider partial release (s17A)
Before any refusal under s18(f), the agency must consider whether some of the information can be provided without substantial collation or research.
Please confirm:
which parts of the request can be answered immediately
which parts may be answered with limited refinement
which parts you believe may require refusal
This is required before any lawful refusal can be issued.
4. Clarification of transfer and clock start date
The request was submitted on 31 May 2026.
Both Health NZ and MBIE appear to have treated the transfer date (4 June) as the start date.
Please confirm the date you consider the statutory timeframe to have begun, and the basis for that calculation.
5. Proposed refinement (if required)
If refinement is genuinely necessary, I propose the following initial narrowing:
Refinement Option A:
All documents held by MBIE that assess or discuss whether MIQ availability constraints constituted a functional denial of entry for New Zealand citizens.
Refinement Option B:
All NZBORA s18(2) and s5 assessments relating to citizen entry restrictions, regardless of format or originating team.
Either refinement is narrow, discrete, and easily searchable.
Please advise which option best aligns with your internal document structure.
6. Next steps
Once you provide the required s18B detail, I will refine the request if necessary.
I am documenting this exchange for accuracy should review be required.
Yours sincerely,
Nigel Gray
From: Ministerials
Kia ora Nigel
Please see attached our response to your request for information under the
Official Information Act 1982.
Ngā mihi nui,
Ministerial Services
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
15 Stout Street, Wellington 6011 | PO Box 1473, Wellington 6140
From: Nigel Gray
Dear Ministerials,
Tēnā koe Kylie,
Thank you for your response of 30 June 2026.
Before I determine next steps, I am seeking clarification of the basis for the refusal under s18(f). The Act requires certain information to be supplied when relying on s18(f), and this was not included in the decision letter.
To assist me in understanding the decision, please provide the following:
1. Search methodology
Please outline the search steps undertaken before concluding that the request would require substantial collation or research, including:
systems, repositories, and databases searched
keyword terms used
date ranges applied
work programmes or business units consulted
whether legal, policy, or MIQ‑related teams were asked to identify relevant documents
This information is required to assess whether the refusal was properly grounded.
2. Identification of the specific difficulty
Section 18(f) requires the agency to identify what specific part of the request would require substantial collation or research.
Your decision refers only to the request being “broad in scope”, but does not specify:
which clauses (2–5) create the difficulty,
why those clauses cannot be isolated by keyword, programme, or document type,
or why proportionality assessments, rights‑impact assessments, MIQ availability analysis, or modelling of alternatives cannot be retrieved without substantial collation.
Please clarify the specific difficulty relied upon.
3. Compliance with s18B (duty to assist)
Section 18B requires the agency to provide reasonable assistance to refine the request.
Your letter does not identify:
any proposed refinement,
any part of the request that could be provided,
or any narrower scope that would avoid s18(f).
Directing me to “review publicly available material” is not s18B assistance.
Please clarify what s18B steps were taken.
4. Existence of documents
The Government repeatedly stated during COVID‑19 that:
rights impacts were assessed,
proportionality under s5 was considered,
less‑restrictive alternatives were evaluated,
MIQ availability constraints were monitored,
legal advice was obtained.
These public statements cannot exist without underlying documents.
Please confirm whether MBIE’s position is that:
no proportionality assessments exist,
no rights‑impact assessments exist,
no modelling of less‑restrictive alternatives exists,
no MIQ availability analysis exists,
no legal advice or policy papers exist regarding the diplomatic request printed in the NZ passport.
If documents do exist, please clarify why they cannot be isolated.
I look forward to your clarification so I can determine whether refinement is appropriate or whether the matter should proceed to the Ombudsman.
Ngā mihi,
Nigel Gray
Yours sincerely,
Nigel Gray
From: OIA Requests
Health New Zealand
Kia ora,
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: Ministerials
Kia ora Nigel
Your message has been forwarded to Kylie and she will respond to you in
due course.
Nga mihi
Office of the Deputy Secretary, Labour, Science and Enterprise
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
-
show quoted sections
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