Dear Mr Grainger

Thank you for your e-mail of 13 June 2012 requesting information under
the provisions of the Official Information Act 1982. We will respond
within the twenty working days provided for in the Act.

-----Original Message-----
From: Joshua Grainger
[mailto:[OIA #359 email]]
Sent: Wednesday, 13 June 2012 6:02 p.m.
To: OIA Privacy
Subject: Official Information Act request - Top Secret Special
clearances

Dear New Zealand Security Intelligence Service,

I was reading your annual report for 2011, and included in there
were the level of security clearances. These were, confidential,
secret, top secret, and top secret special. I was intrigued by the
concept of "top secret special" security clearances, as I couldn't
find any mention of them in your vetting documentation
(http://www.nzsis.govt.nz/pdf/Vetting_for...). So, I would
like to request some information under the Official Information Act
about them. I would like to request:

a) what a top secret special security clearance enables you to do
that a "top secret" security clearance won't satisfy for
b) the job title of each current holder of a top secret special
security clearance, and the agency that they work for
c) how the vetting for a top secret special security clearance
differs from the vetting for other security clearances

Feel free to contact me if you want me to clarify my request. I
would prefer an electronic response sent to this email address.

Any emails sent in response to this request will be automatically
posted on the FYI.org.nz website, so please *do not* sign email
responses with any name due to s13A of the NZSIS Act.

Yours faithfully,

Joshua Grainger

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Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[OIA #359 email]

Is [NZSIS request email] the wrong address for Official
Information Act requests to New Zealand Security Intelligence
Service? If so, please contact us using this form:
http://fyi.org.nz/help/contact

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be
published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
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If you find this service useful as an OIA officer, please ask your
web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

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________________________________________________________________
This information is communicated in confidence. If you are not
the intended recipient, please delete/destroy and do not further
disseminate, distribute or copy this message. Thank you.
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Dear Mr Grainger

We replied to your request for information about Top Secret (Special)
security clearances by letter reference 2906647 dated 25 June 2012.

This was posted to you at the address you provided in your e-mail of 17
May 2012: [personal information removed].

If you confirm that you did not receive that letter, we can send you a
copy.

-----Original Message-----
From: Joshua Grainger
[mailto:[OIA #359 email]]
Sent: Thursday, 2 August 2012 9:01 p.m.
To: OIA Privacy
Subject: RE: Official Information Act request - Top Secret Special
clearances

Dear New Zealand Security Intelligence Service,

The deadline for replying to my Official Information Act request on
Top Secret Special requests passed on the 12th of July. Can I
please have an update on the status of my request?

Yours faithfully,

Joshua Grainger

________________________________________________________________
This information is communicated in confidence. If you are not
the intended recipient, please delete/destroy and do not further
disseminate, distribute or copy this message. Thank you.
________________________________________________________________

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Dear Mr Grainger

Please refer to our recent e-mail exchange.

Attached is our response to your request about Top Secret (Special)
security clearances, which we originally posted to you on 25 June 2012.

The provision of an electronic version of a document can be subject to
technical delays and I regret that this has proved to be the case.

________________________________________________________________
This information is communicated in confidence. If you are not
the intended recipient, please delete/destroy and do not further
disseminate, distribute or copy this message. Thank you.
________________________________________________________________

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Dear Mr Grainger

Thank you for your e-mail of 9 August 2012 requesting the reasons for
our withholding, under s6(a)of the Official Information Act 1982, of the
job titles of those currently holding Top Secret (Special) security
clearances.

We will respond within the twenty working days provided for in the Act.

-----Original Message-----
From: Joshua Grainger
[mailto:[OIA #359 email]]
Sent: Thursday, 9 August 2012 1:49 p.m.
To: OIA Privacy
Subject: Internal review of Official Information Act request - Top
Secret Special clearances

Dear New Zealand Security Intelligence Service,

Thank you very much for your reply. I was wondering if you could
explain the reasons why the job titles of those currently holding
Top Secret Special security clearances was withheld under s6(a).

As the Ombudsmen Guidelines state: "It is not sufficient to simply
assert that disclosure of the information will have a prejudicial
effect. The public sector agency must be able to identify, with
sufficient particularity, the nature of the prejudicial effect and
explain how such prejudice will occur in order to meet the tests
for withholding in section 6."

As such I was hoping you could disclose what the prejudicial effect
would be, and how such prejudice would occur.

Yours faithfully,

Joshua Grainger

________________________________________________________________
This information is communicated in confidence. If you are not
the intended recipient, please delete/destroy and do not further
disseminate, distribute or copy this message. Thank you.
________________________________________________________________

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Dear Mr Grainger

Response to your official information act request is now attached.

-----Original Message-----
From: OIA Privacy
Sent: Thursday, 9 August 2012 4:40 p.m.
To: 'Joshua Grainger'
Subject: RE: Internal review of Official Information Act request - Top
Secret Special clearances

Dear Mr Grainger

Thank you for your e-mail of 9 August 2012 requesting the reasons for
our withholding, under s6(a)of the Official Information Act 1982, of the
job titles of those currently holding Top Secret (Special) security
clearances.

We will respond within the twenty working days provided for in the Act.

-----Original Message-----
From: Joshua Grainger
[mailto:[OIA #359 email]]
Sent: Thursday, 9 August 2012 1:49 p.m.
To: OIA Privacy
Subject: Internal review of Official Information Act request - Top
Secret Special clearances

Dear New Zealand Security Intelligence Service,

Thank you very much for your reply. I was wondering if you could
explain the reasons why the job titles of those currently holding
Top Secret Special security clearances was withheld under s6(a).

As the Ombudsmen Guidelines state: "It is not sufficient to simply
assert that disclosure of the information will have a prejudicial
effect. The public sector agency must be able to identify, with
sufficient particularity, the nature of the prejudicial effect and
explain how such prejudice will occur in order to meet the tests
for withholding in section 6."

As such I was hoping you could disclose what the prejudicial effect
would be, and how such prejudice would occur.

Yours faithfully,

Joshua Grainger

________________________________________________________________
This information is communicated in confidence. If you are not
the intended recipient, please delete/destroy and do not further
disseminate, distribute or copy this message. Thank you.
________________________________________________________________

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