DrugWipe 3S Procurement and “Independent Laboratory Testing”
Nigel Gray made this Official Information request to Office of the Controller and Auditor-General
Currently waiting for a response from Office of the Controller and Auditor-General, they must respond promptly and normally no later than (details and exceptions).
From: Nigel Gray
Dear Office of the Controller and Auditor-General,
I am requesting the following information under the Official Information Act 1982.
Your recent correspondence to me dated 4 June 2026 stated:
“Independent laboratory testing was conducted on all tenderers’ products with subsequent roadside testing for those who passed the laboratory testing.”
To understand the basis for this statement, I request:
1. All documents, reports, and data relating to the “independent laboratory testing”
Including but not limited to:
laboratory reports
accuracy or validation data
testing methodologies
pass/fail criteria
correspondence with the laboratory or testing provider
2. All tender evaluation documents relating to the DrugWipe 3S procurement
Including:
technical assessments
scoring matrices
evaluation panel notes
conflict‑of‑interest declarations
risk assessments
3. All correspondence between NZ Police and the OAG relating to the DrugWipe 3S procurement
Including:
emails
briefings
meeting notes
verbal advice recorded in file notes
4. The full probity assurance review conducted by the OAG
Including:
the final report
any draft reports
internal analysis
any concerns raised during the review
5. Any documents held by the OAG that describe or summarise the testing process undertaken by Police or their contractors
If any information is withheld, please specify the grounds under the Act.
Yours Sincerely, Nigel Gray (Napier)
From: enquiry
Tēnā koe
Thank you for contacting The Audit Office (please note that the Office of
the Auditor‑General and Audit New Zealand are from 30 April 2026 now
operating under a single name and identity).
This is an automatic acknowledgement to confirm we have received your
email and that it will be processed accordingly. We typically try to
respond in 15 working days.
This mailbox is looked after Monday to Friday (except public holidays and
holiday closure periods).
Ngā mihi
The Audit Office Enquiries Team
From: enquiry
Dear Mr Gray
Thank you for your email of 4 June 2026 requesting information under the Official Information Act 1982 about the procurement of DrugWipe 3S devices and associated testing undertaken by the Police. You have sought information in the following categories:
1. Documents relating to “independent laboratory testing”
2. Tender evaluation documents
3. Correspondence between New Zealand Police and the Office
4. Probity assurance review
5. Documents describing or summarising the testing process
The Auditor-General is an Officer of Parliament. Our role is to provide independent assurance to Parliament on the performance and accountability of public organisations.
The Audit Office is not subject to the Official Information Act 1982. However, we consider requests for information in line with the principles of openness and transparency, where this is consistent with our statutory role and responsibilities. We have considered your request on that basis.
As we noted in our earlier correspondence with you, the Office has carried out probity assurance work in relation to the Police's procurement to select a provider for roadside drug testing services. Our auditors are obliged to keep the information they gather confidential. This is an important and long-established way of encouraging entities to give their auditors open access to internal and sensitive information. We will not be releasing the material the Office holds relating to our assurance work.
We note that the first, second and fifth categories of information you have requested will be held by New Zealand Police. You may wish to contact New Zealand Police directly if you have not already done so.
Yours sincerely
The Audit Office Enquiries Team
Level 2, 100 Molesworth Street, Thorndon, Wellington 6011
www.ao.parliament.nz
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- Download a zip file of all correspondence (note: this contains the same information already available above).
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