7 July 2026
Erika Whittome
[FYI request #34938 email]
Tēnā koe Erika
Your request for official information, reference: HNZ00205005
Thank you for your email on 23 June 2026, asking Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora for the
following under the Official Information Act 1982 (the OIA):
Would you please share the 2021 and 2022 budget allocated to each DHB for any such
covid-19 giveaways and prizes such as food vouchers, Paknsave vouchers, iphone draws
etc etc
Response
Incentives for getting vaccinated, such as food vouchers and giveaways, were not directly funded
by Health NZ, or the Ministry of Health (prior to Health NZ’s inception). For more information on
this, we refer you to this OIA published on FYI, from 2021:
https://fyi.org.nz/request/17900-covid-
19-vaccine-administration-programme-funding-of-entertainment-giveaways-and-prizes.
COVID-19 vaccination budgets were allocated by the Ministry of Health to the district health boards
(DHBs), who then in turn funded vaccination providers. There were two primary vaccination
funding mechanisms nationally:
• The Pay Per Dose (PPD) contract with GPs and pharmacies, where providers were paid an
administration fee for delivering vaccinations, consistent with other vaccination services.
• Bulk-funded contracts held by the Equity team with Māori providers. Some providers may
have used a portion of this funding to support whānau to attend vaccination clinics
Health NZ does not hold information showing the amounts spent on any giveaways or vouchers as
decisions on this expenditure were made at a provider level. This information is therefore refused
under section 18(g) of the OIA, as it is not held by Health NZ, and we do not believe it is held by
another agency subject to the OIA.
Please note that the government also distributed vaccination funding to other agencies, such as
the Ministry for Ethnic Communities and Te Puni Kōkiri, to drive uptake. Details about how Te Puni
Kōkiri used the Māori Communities COVID-19 Fund, including any incentives offered, can be found
on their website, here:
www.tpk.govt.nz/en/nga-putea-me-nga-ratonga/covid-19-information-for-
maori/maori-communities-covid19-fund.
How to get in touch
If you have any questions, you can contact us at
[email address].
If you are not happy with this response, you have the right to make a complaint to the
Ombudsman. Information about how to do this is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
by phoning 0800 802 602.
As this information may be of interest to other members of the public, Health NZ may proactively
release a copy of this response on our website. Al requester data, including your name and
contact details, wil be removed prior to release.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Sara Freitag
Manager, Government Services
TeWhatuOra.govt.nz
Health NZ, PO Box 793,
Wel ington 6140, New Zealand
