Kia ora Mr Ross,
 
On behalf of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment I
acknowledge your email of 17/06/2026 requesting, under the Official
Information Act 1982, the following:
 
I request the following information under the Official Information Act
1982.

This request concerns Immigration New Zealand’s use, authorisation,
approval, guidance, recording, and monitoring of machine translation,
smartphone translation applications, or other automated translation tools
during immigration interviews or questioning at the border, including
where the interview or questioning may lead to a person being refused
entry, turned around, required to leave, or otherwise subject to an
adverse immigration decision.

For the purposes of this request, “machine translation tools” includes
smartphone translation applications, online translation services,
speech-to-text translation tools, text-to-speech translation tools, or any
other automated translation technology. This includes, but is not limited
to, tools used on INZ devices, border officials’ personal or work
smartphones, shared devices, tablets, computers, or other equipment.

Please provide:

1. **Current policies and guidance**

All current policies, standard operating procedures, instructions,
manuals, training materials, guidance notes, checklists, risk guidance,
operational circulars, or other documents that address or refer to the use
of machine translation tools by INZ or border officials when interviewing,
questioning, or communicating with non-English-speaking travellers at the
border.

2. **Historical policies and guidance**

All previous versions of the documents described in paragraph 1 that were
in force at any time from 1 January 2021 to the date of this request.

3. **Authority to use machine translation tools**

Any documents that identify whether, and in what circumstances, INZ or
border officials are permitted, prohibited, discouraged, or required to
use machine translation tools during border interviews or questioning.

4. **Human interpreters and escalation**

Any policies, guidance, or instructions concerning when a human
interpreter must be used instead of, or in addition to, a machine
translation tool during a border interview or questioning.

Please include any guidance on:

* assessing whether a person has sufficient English to be interviewed
without an interpreter;
  * assessing whether machine translation is adequate for the particular
interview;
  * recording a person’s language needs;
  * recording any request for an interpreter;
  * dealing with dialects, low literacy, stress, fatigue, vulnerability,
or comprehension concerns;
  * circumstances in which questioning should be paused until a human
interpreter is available.

5. **Adverse decisions following interviews**

Any policies, guidance, or instructions about using machine translation
tools in interviews or questioning that may contribute to an adverse
decision, including refusal of entry, turnaround, turnaround at the
border, cancellation of travel authority, detention, deportation
liability, or any other decision affecting a person’s ability to enter or
remain in New Zealand.

6. **Approved tools or applications**

A list of any machine translation tools, software, applications, or
services that INZ or border officials are authorised or approved to use
for border interviews or questioning.

For each tool, please provide:

* the tool name;
  * whether it is approved for speech translation, text translation, or
both;
  * whether it is approved for evidential or decision-making contexts;
  * the date from which it was approved or introduced;
  * any limitations, warnings, or caveats issued to staff about its use.

7. **Unapproved or personal-device use**

Any policy, guidance, instruction, reminder, email, memo, or internal
communication concerning the use or non-use of unapproved translation
applications, personal smartphones, or staff-owned devices during border
interviews or questioning.

8. **Recordkeeping**

Any policies, guidance, or instructions on how officials must record the
use of a machine translation tool in:

* interview notes;
  * border case notes;
  * AMS or other INZ systems;
  * decision records;
  * refusal or turnaround documentation;
  * audio or video interview records, if any.

Please include any guidance on whether the official must record the name
of the tool used, the language selected, the words or phrases translated,
any perceived translation problems, and whether the person confirmed
understanding.

9. **Reliability, risk, and quality assurance**

Any documents assessing or discussing the reliability, accuracy,
limitations, risks, or quality assurance of machine translation tools for
border interviews or immigration questioning.

This includes any privacy impact assessments, legal risk assessments,
operational risk assessments, human rights assessments, procurement
assessments, pilot reviews, business cases, evaluations, incident reviews,
or other internal reviews.

10. **Privacy and confidentiality**

Any policies, guidance, or assessments about privacy, confidentiality,
data security, information storage, data retention, cloud processing,
third-party access, or cross-border disclosure risks arising from the use
of machine translation tools in border interviews or questioning.

11. **Training**

Any training material provided to INZ or border officials about the use of
machine translation tools, interpreter use, language assistance,
interviewing non-English-speaking travellers, or ensuring comprehension
during border interviews.

12. **Prevalence data**

For each calendar year from 1 January 2021 to the date of this request,
please provide the number of border interviews or questioning events in
which INZ records show that:

* a machine translation tool was used;
* a human interpreter was used;
* both a machine translation tool and a human interpreter were used;
* no interpreter or translation assistance was used despite a recorded
non-English language need;
* the interview or questioning resulted in, or contributed to, a refusal
of entry, turnaround, or other adverse immigration outcome.

If the information is not held in this form, please provide the closest
available data or explain what relevant data is held and how it is
recorded.

13. **Breakdowns of prevalence data**

For the data requested in paragraph 12, please provide any available
breakdowns by:

* port or airport;
* traveller language;
* citizenship or nationality;
* type of immigration outcome;
* type or name of translation tool used;
* whether the tool was used by an INZ device, other government device, or
personal device;
* whether a human interpreter was requested;
* whether a human interpreter was refused, unavailable, or not considered
necessary.

14. **Complaints, incidents, and reviews**

For the period from 1 January 2021 to the date of this request, please
provide the number of complaints, incident reports, internal reviews,
reconsiderations, Ombudsman-related matters, Privacy Act matters,
litigation matters, or other recorded concerns relating to:

* use of machine translation tools in border interviews or questioning;
* failure to provide a human interpreter at the border;
* misunderstanding, mistranslation, or disputed interpretation in a border
interview;
* adverse decisions allegedly affected by language assistance or
translation issues.

Please provide copies of any policies, summaries, review reports, or
lessons-learned documents arising from those complaints, incidents, or
reviews. I do not seek names or identifying details of individual
travellers.

15. **Procurement or approval documents**

Any documents relating to the procurement, approval, piloting, deployment,
or evaluation of machine translation tools for INZ border operations,
including any communications with vendors or other government agencies.

16. **Internal communications**

Any substantive internal communications, memoranda, emails, or briefings
from 1 January 2021 to the date of this request that discuss whether
machine translation tools should be used, should not be used, or should be
limited in INZ border interviews or questioning.

I do not seek personal information about any individual traveller, and I
am content for names and identifying details of travellers or junior staff
to be redacted where necessary. However, I do seek official information
about policies, systems, operational practices, risks, and aggregate data.

If any part of this request is likely to be refused on the basis of
substantial collation or research, please contact me before making a
decision so I can consider refining the request. If the information is
held in a database or spreadsheet, I request that it be provided in its
original electronic format, or in another searchable electronic format
such as CSV or Excel.

If any information is withheld, please identify the specific grounds
relied on under the Official Information Act and explain how those grounds
apply.

Please provide the information by email.
 
We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible, and no
later than 16/07/2026, 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][MBIE request email].
 
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:[MBIE request email]

Kia ora Mr Ross,

 

Thank you for your OIA request regarding use of translation applications
by Immigration New Zealand.

 

As your request currently stands, it will be refused under section 18(f)
of the Act as the information requested cannot be made available without
substantial collation or research.

 

In order to be answerable, the scope of your request will need to be
significantly narrowed. Could you please advise if you can narrow the
scope of your request and we will assess accordingly.

 

Kind regards

Ministerial Services

Immigration New Zealand

 

 

Kia ora Mr Ross,
Please see attached our response to your request for information under the
Official Information Act 1982.
Ngā mihi nui,

Gabriel 

BUSINESS ADVISOR

Ministerial Services Team,

Office of the Deputy Secretary, Immigration New Zealand | Te Rōpū Manene

Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment, Hīkina Whakatutuki

NZBN 9429000106078