Employment Relations Authority Operating Costs, Caseload, Delay and Per-Case Data 2011/12–2025/26
SPENCER JONES made this Official Information request to Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
Currently waiting for a response from Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment, they must respond promptly and normally no later than (details and exceptions).
From: SPENCER JONES
Dear Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment,
Kia ora,
I request the following information under the Official Information Act 1982.
This request concerns the Employment Relations Authority only. It does not seek information about MBIE mediation services, Early Resolution, or the Employment Court, except where those matters are inseparable from the financial reporting line used for the Employment Relations Authority.
Please provide the following information for each financial year from 2011/12 to 2025/26, or the closest available period held.
1. Annual operating costs
Please provide the annual operating cost of the Employment Relations Authority for each financial year, including:
* total nominal expenditure;
* staffing expenditure;
* member remuneration or equivalent decision-maker cost, if separately held;
* administration or registry support cost;
* contractor or consultant expenditure, if separately held;
* ICT, digital, case-management, or records-system cost, if separately held;
* any other major cost categories used in internal or published financial reporting.
If the Employment Relations Authority does not hold a separate annual operating-cost figure distinct from wider MBIE employment services funding, please provide the closest available financial reporting line and explain what is included and excluded.
2. Inflation-adjusted figures
If already held, please provide inflation-adjusted versions of the annual operating-cost figures, using the official index or base year used by MBIE or Treasury.
If inflation-adjusted figures are not held, please simply confirm that they are not held. I am not asking MBIE to create new calculations if they are not already held.
3. Caseload data
Please provide annual aggregated caseload data for the Employment Relations Authority for each financial year, including:
* number of applications received;
* number of matters disposed of, closed, withdrawn, settled, or otherwise resolved, if held;
* number of determinations issued;
* number of matters active or on hand at year end, if held;
* number of matters involving self-represented applicants, if held.
4. Delay and timeliness data
Please provide annual aggregated timeliness data for each financial year, including:
* average time from application to determination;
* median time from application to determination, if held;
* average time from application to first case-management event or first substantive step, if held;
* number or proportion of matters exceeding any internal timeliness benchmark;
* any internal performance benchmark or target used for ERA timeliness.
5. Per-case or average cost estimates
Please provide any per-case, average-cost, or unit-cost estimates held for Employment Relations Authority matters, including:
* average operating cost per application;
* average operating cost per determination;
* average operating cost per resolved matter;
* any internal costing model, methodology, or assumptions used to calculate such figures.
If no per-case or unit-cost estimates are held, please confirm that.
6. Internal analysis of cost, delay, workload, or efficiency
Please provide any reports, briefings, dashboards, reviews, evaluations, or internal analysis created since 1 January 2015 concerning:
* ERA operating cost trends;
* ERA caseload trends;
* delay or timeliness trends;
* backlog or workload pressures;
* cost per matter or efficiency;
* impact of self-represented parties on process time or support needs, where analysed;
* whether evidence, disclosure, document-bundle, or missing-record issues contribute to delay or cost.
7. Format and scope
I do not seek personal information about any party or individual case. Aggregated, anonymised, financial, policy-level, or operational material is sufficient.
Excel or CSV format is preferred for tables. Existing reports, dashboards, extracts, or published financial tables are acceptable.
If any part of this request is likely to require refinement, please advise before refusing it. I am willing to narrow the request by date range, cost category, or data field if that would assist.
If any information is withheld, please identify the statutory ground relied upon and provide the reasons for withholding.
Kind regards,
Spencer Jones
From: Ministerials
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
Kia ora Spencer Jones,
On behalf of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment I
acknowledge your email of 26/06/2026 requesting, under the Official
Information Act 1982, the following:
I request the following information under the Official Information Act
1982.
This request concerns the Employment Relations Authority only. It does not
seek information about MBIE mediation services, Early Resolution, or the
Employment Court, except where those matters are inseparable from the
financial reporting line used for the Employment Relations Authority.
Please provide the following information for each financial year from
2011/12 to 2025/26, or the closest available period held.
1. Annual operating costs
Please provide the annual operating cost of the Employment Relations
Authority for each financial year, including:
* total nominal expenditure;
* staffing expenditure;
* member remuneration or equivalent decision-maker cost, if separately
held;
* administration or registry support cost;
* contractor or consultant expenditure, if separately held;
* ICT, digital, case-management, or records-system cost, if separately
held;
* any other major cost categories used in internal or published financial
reporting.
If the Employment Relations Authority does not hold a separate annual
operating-cost figure distinct from wider MBIE employment services
funding, please provide the closest available financial reporting line and
explain what is included and excluded.
2. Inflation-adjusted figures
If already held, please provide inflation-adjusted versions of the annual
operating-cost figures, using the official index or base year used by MBIE
or Treasury.
If inflation-adjusted figures are not held, please simply confirm that
they are not held. I am not asking MBIE to create new calculations if they
are not already held.
3. Caseload data
Please provide annual aggregated caseload data for the Employment
Relations Authority for each financial year, including:
* number of applications received;
* number of matters disposed of, closed, withdrawn, settled, or otherwise
resolved, if held;
* number of determinations issued;
* number of matters active or on hand at year end, if held;
* number of matters involving self-represented applicants, if held.
4. Delay and timeliness data
Please provide annual aggregated timeliness data for each financial year,
including:
* average time from application to determination;
* median time from application to determination, if held;
* average time from application to first case-management event or first
substantive step, if held;
* number or proportion of matters exceeding any internal timeliness
benchmark;
* any internal performance benchmark or target used for ERA timeliness.
5. Per-case or average cost estimates
Please provide any per-case, average-cost, or unit-cost estimates held for
Employment Relations Authority matters, including:
* average operating cost per application;
* average operating cost per determination;
* average operating cost per resolved matter;
* any internal costing model, methodology, or assumptions used to
calculate such figures.
If no per-case or unit-cost estimates are held, please confirm that.
6. Internal analysis of cost, delay, workload, or efficiency
Please provide any reports, briefings, dashboards, reviews, evaluations,
or internal analysis created since 1 January 2015 concerning:
* ERA operating cost trends;
* ERA caseload trends;
* delay or timeliness trends;
* backlog or workload pressures;
* cost per matter or efficiency;
* impact of self-represented parties on process time or support needs,
where analysed;
* whether evidence, disclosure, document-bundle, or missing-record issues
contribute to delay or cost.
7. Format and scope
I do not seek personal information about any party or individual case.
Aggregated, anonymised, financial, policy-level, or operational material
is sufficient.
Excel or CSV format is preferred for tables. Existing reports, dashboards,
extracts, or published financial tables are acceptable.
If any part of this request is likely to require refinement, please advise
before refusing it. I am willing to narrow the request by date range, cost
category, or data field if that would assist.
If any information is withheld, please identify the statutory ground
relied upon and provide the reasons for withholding.
We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible, and no
later than 27/07/2026, 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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SPENCER JONES left an annotation ()
Public interest note
This request is part of a wider public-interest inquiry into the cost, delay, accessibility, and auditability of New Zealand’s employment dispute system.
The purpose of this request is narrow. It asks for Employment Relations Authority operating-cost, caseload, delay, and per-case data from 2011/12 to 2025/26, or the closest available period held.
It does not seek personal information about any individual employment dispute. It also does not seek information about MBIE mediation services, Early Resolution, or the Employment Court, except where those matters are inseparable from the financial reporting line used for the Employment Relations Authority.
The public-interest issue is that the cost of an employment dispute system cannot be assessed only by looking at filing fees, legal fees, mediation availability, or individual costs awards. A complete public understanding also requires visibility of:
* the annual public operating cost of the Authority;
* caseload volumes;
* determinations issued;
* matters resolved or disposed of;
* time from application to determination;
* backlog or workload pressure;
* self-represented applicant data, where held;
* and any per-case or unit-cost estimates used internally.
This matters because MBIE’s 2026 consultation asks whether the employment dispute system is quick, affordable, accessible, proportionate, and fair. Those questions cannot be answered properly unless the public can see, at least in aggregate, how the formal adjudication layer has changed over time.
A further public-interest issue is the hidden cost of dispute resolution. Some costs are visible through operating budgets, filing fees, legal representation, and timeframes. Other costs are less visible, including delays caused by incomplete evidence, missing records, late disclosure, document-bundle problems, self-representation burden, and the need to use separate OIA or Privacy Act pathways to reconstruct records before a dispute can be argued on its merits.
This request therefore asks whether MBIE holds any internal analysis about ERA cost trends, caseload trends, delay, efficiency, workload pressure, self-represented parties, or whether evidence, disclosure, document-bundle, or missing-record issues contribute to delay or cost.
The request is designed to assist researchers, submitters, policymakers, and members of the public to understand whether the formal employment dispute system has a measurable long-term cost and delay profile, and whether current public reporting captures enough information to assess system performance.
If the Employment Relations Authority does not have a separate annual operating-cost line distinct from wider MBIE employment services funding, the request asks for the closest available financial reporting line and an explanation of what is included and excluded. That distinction is important because absence of a clean cost line may itself be relevant to public understanding of system auditability.
Public interest note
This request is part of a wider public-interest inquiry into the cost, delay, accessibility, and auditability of New Zealand’s employment dispute system.
The purpose of this request is narrow. It asks for Employment Relations Authority operating-cost, caseload, delay, and per-case data from 2011/12 to 2025/26, or the closest available period held.
It does not seek personal information about any individual employment dispute. It also does not seek information about MBIE mediation services, Early Resolution, or the Employment Court, except where those matters are inseparable from the financial reporting line used for the Employment Relations Authority.
The public-interest issue is that the cost of an employment dispute system cannot be assessed only by looking at filing fees, legal fees, mediation availability, or individual costs awards. A complete public understanding also requires visibility of:
* the annual public operating cost of the Authority;
* caseload volumes;
* determinations issued;
* matters resolved or disposed of;
* time from application to determination;
* backlog or workload pressure;
* self-represented applicant data, where held;
* and any per-case or unit-cost estimates used internally.
This matters because MBIE’s 2026 consultation asks whether the employment dispute system is quick, affordable, accessible, proportionate, and fair. Those questions cannot be answered properly unless the public can see, at least in aggregate, how the formal adjudication layer has changed over time.
A further public-interest issue is the hidden cost of dispute resolution. Some costs are visible through operating budgets, filing fees, legal representation, and timeframes. Other costs are less visible, including delays caused by incomplete evidence, missing records, late disclosure, document-bundle problems, self-representation burden, and the need to use separate OIA or Privacy Act pathways to reconstruct records before a dispute can be argued on its merits.
This request therefore asks whether MBIE holds any internal analysis about ERA cost trends, caseload trends, delay, efficiency, workload pressure, self-represented parties, or whether evidence, disclosure, document-bundle, or missing-record issues contribute to delay or cost.
The request is designed to assist researchers, submitters, policymakers, and members of the public to understand whether the formal employment dispute system has a measurable long-term cost and delay profile, and whether current public reporting captures enough information to assess system performance.
If the Employment Relations Authority does not have a separate annual operating-cost line distinct from wider MBIE employment services funding, the request asks for the closest available financial reporting line and an explanation of what is included and excluded. That distinction is important because absence of a clean cost line may itself be relevant to public understanding of system auditability.
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