Levonne Scott
Whare Kaupapa Atawhai /
Conservation House
fyi-request-34844-
18 Manners Street
[email address]
Wellington 6011
doc.govt.nz
07 July 2026
Ref: OIAD-9242
Tēnā koe Levonne
Thank you for your request to the Department of Conservation, received on 03 June 2026, in
which you asked for:
“… information regarding the funding and financial accountability records held by the
Department of Conservation in relation to the Matuku Reserve Trust (also operating as
Matuku Link, Charity Registration: CC53807).
Specifically, I request copies of the following documents spanning the last 10 years (2016
to the present date):
•
Funding Agreements & Grant Al ocations: al documentation outlining the exact terms,
conditions, and dollar amounts for grants allocated to the Trust, including but not limited
to the Nature Heritage Fund baseline grant, the Jobs for Nature (Mahi mō te Taiao)
allocations, and the DOC Community Fund grants (such as the $640,000 wil ow
eradication project funding).
•
Accountability & Milestone Reports: copies of all financial acquittal forms, progress
updates, ledger declarations, and project milestone reports submitted by the Matuku
Reserve Trust to DOC to verify how these allocated public funds were spent.
•
Audited/Declared Statements: any internal financial declarations or balance disclosures
supplied by the Trust to the Department as part of their ongoing grant compliance and
monitoring.”
We have considered your request under the Of icial Information Act 1982.
On 25 June we extended the timeframe to respond to your request to 8 July due to the
consultation necessary.
During the period from 2016 until the date of your request, the Matuku Reserve Trust received
three grants across the funds you have specified. One from the Nature Heritage Fund (2016)
and two from the DOC Community Fund (2020 and 2023).
There were no Jobs for Nature grants made from the Department of Conservation to the Matuku
Reserve Trust. They were funded indirectly via a Jobs for Nature grant that the Sustainable
Business Network (SBN) received. As such, the Department does not hold reporting or financial
records in relation to the funding that the Trust received from SBN.
In terms of the Nature Heritage Fund (NHF) and DOC Community Fund (DOCCF) grants, the
documents you have requested have the following naming conventions:
Requested
NHF file name
DOCCF file name
Funding agreements
Deed of Agreement
Deed of Grant
Grant allocations
Summarised in Table 1
Summarised in Table 1
Accountability &
N/A – no such reports
Progress Reports, Annual
Milestone reports
Reports & Final Reports
Financial reports
N/A – no such reports
Summary of Expenses,
Summary Financial
Report
Audited Statements
None received
None received
All documents that fall within the scope of your request are listed in the “Items Table” in
Appendix 1. Grant allocations and payments are summarised in the table below.
Table 1: Grant payments to Matuku Reserve Trust (excluding GST)
DOCCF6
DOCCF7
NHF
TOTAL Grant
$32,640
$605,540
$300,000
Payment 1
$16,320
$52,978
$300,000
October 2020
December 2023
November 2016
Payment 2
$13,056
$52,978
-
April 2021
August 2024
Payment 3
$3,264
$52,978
-
December 2021
February 2025
Payment 4
-
$52,978
-
March 2025
Payment 5
-
$50,016
-
May 2025
Payment 6
-
$150,048
-
December 2025
Payment 7
-
$48,391
-
June 2026
BALANCE
$0
$145,173
$0
I have decided to release the relevant parts of the documents listed in Appendix 1, subject to
information being withheld under one or more of the following sections of the Official Information
Act, as applicable:
• personal information, under section 9(2)(a) – to protect the privacy of natural persons,
including deceased people,
2
• commercially sensitive information, under section 9(2)(b)(i ) – to protect the commercial
position of the person who supplied the information, or who is the subject of the information,
Please note, we are unable to provide all attachments referenced in the DOCCF7 progress
reports, as provision of this material would require substantial collation. Accordingly, this part of
your request is refused under section 18(f) of the Of icial Information Act 1982, as the
information requested cannot be made available without substantial collation or research.
However, we have provided a Summary Financial Report that shows how funds have been
spent.
In making my decision, I have considered the public interest considerations in section 9(1) of the
Of icial Information Act and determined there are no public interests that outweigh the grounds
for withholding.
You are entitled to seek an investigation and review of my decision by writing to an Ombudsman
as provided by section 28(3) of the Official Information Act.
Please note that this letter (with your personal details removed) and attached documents may
be published on the Department’s website.
Nāku noa, nā
David van der Zouwe
Director Strategic Partnerships and Investment
Department of Conservation
Te Papa Atawhai
3
Appendix 1: Documents for OIAD-9242
Item
Date
Document description
Decision
Nature Heritage Fund 2016: Grant towards purchase price of land, $300,000 (NHF15-11)
1.
1 November 2016
Nature Heritage Fund Deed of
Released in part
Agreement
DOC Community Fund, 2020: “Growing Matuku Link” - $32,640 (DOCCF6-168)
2.
21 October 2020
Deed of Grant of Funds
Released in part
3.
12 April 2021
Progress Report 1
Released in part
4.
10 October 2021
Final Report
Released in part
5.
November 2021
Summary of Expenses
Released in part
DOC Community Fund, 2023: “Increasing Mauri for Matuku” - $605,540 (DOCCF7-094*)
6.
17 November 2023
Deed of Grant
previously provided
7.
11 March 2024
Progress Report 1
Released in full
8.
15 May 2024
Y1Q2 Progress Report
Released in part
9.
20 May 2024
Progress Report 2
Released in full
10.
12 August 2024
Progress Report 3
Released in part
11.
15 November 2024 Annual Report Year 1 / Progress Released in part
Report 4
12.
13 March 2025
Progress Report 5
Released in part
13.
16 May 2025
Progress Report 6
Released in part
14.
11 December 2025 Progress Report 7
Released in full
15.
15 December 2025 Progress Report 8 - one section Released in full
of missing information due to
technical issues with download
16.
26 May 2026
Progress Report 9
Released in full
17.
29 May 2026
Summary Financial Report
Released in part
4
