10 May 2026

Response to your official information act request, ref: H2026081336 CRM:0520082

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Requested: what Ministry-held records exist showing the evidential, financial, contractual, and public-interest basis for the COVID-19 response.

Follow-up OIA Request | H2026081336 | Ministry of Health

FOLLOW-UP OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT REQUEST

COVID-19 Response Evidence, Contracts, Expenditure and Public Interest Decision Records

To: Ministry of Health – OIA Services Team

By email: [email protected]

From: Tracy Lynch

By email: [email protected]

Date: 10 May 2026

Reference: H2026081336

Re: Follow-up to OIA response H2026081336 – request for proper identification of Ministry-held records

I refer to the Ministry of Health response dated 8 May 2026, reference H2026081336.

That response largely refers me to publicly available material, including the revised New Zealand Pandemic Plan, legislation, Royal Commission material, Treasury material, Audit Office material, and Ministry website summaries. Those references are noted. However, they do not answer the central concern in my request: what Ministry-held records exist showing the evidential, financial, contractual, and public-interest basis for the COVID-19 response.

For clarity, I am not asking the Ministry to reproduce general public webpages. I am asking the Ministry to identify and disclose the actual records held or relied upon by the Ministry.

Issues arising from the Ministry response

• No document schedule was provided.

• No search methodology was identified.

• No list of Ministry-held briefings, reports, assessments, decision papers, procurement files, finance records, or internal analyses was provided.

• No schedule of major COVID-19 contracts, suppliers, values, and payments was provided.

• Public-interest and proportionality assessments were not identified by record.

• No clear release, partial release, withholding, refusal, or transfer decision was provided for each requested class of information.

• The response relies heavily on public links, but does not confirm whether those links are the only information held by the Ministry or whether additional internal records exist.

Accordingly, I now make this follow-up request under the Official Information Act 1982.

1. Search methodology and records located

Please provide the Ministry search methodology for request H2026081336, including:

• a. business units searched;

• b. databases, document systems, or records repositories searched;

• c. search terms used;

• d. date ranges applied;

• e. whether procurement, finance, policy, public health, legal, and executive decision files were searched;

• f. the number and categories of records located.

If no search methodology was recorded, please confirm that.

2. Document schedule

Please provide a document schedule for all Ministry-held records located or considered relevant to the request, including:

• a. document title;

• b. date;

• c. author or originating unit;

• d. document type;

• e. whether released, withheld, partially withheld, or refused;

• f. OIA withholding or refusal ground relied upon.

This may be provided as a table.

3. Scientific, medical, and policy assessments

Please provide copies of, or a schedule identifying, Ministry-held scientific, medical, modelling, policy, risk, or public health assessments used to support national-level COVID-19 interventions.

This includes records concerning lockdowns, border restrictions, managed isolation and quarantine, vaccine rollout, mandates or certificate/pass requirements, testing requirements, mask requirements, and enforcement or compliance measures.

4. Thresholds, criteria, and decision tests

Please provide any Ministry-held records showing the thresholds, criteria, definitions, or decision tests used to determine:

• a. when pandemic response measures were required;

• b. when measures should escalate;

• c. when measures should reduce or end;

• d. how proportionality was assessed;

• e. how public interest was assessed;

• f. how competing harms were assessed.

5. Contracts and flow of funds

Please provide a schedule of major COVID-19 response contracts held by the Ministry, including:

• a. supplier name;

• b. contract purpose;

• c. contract date or date range;

• d. total contract value or estimated value;

• e. amount paid;

• f. whether the contract related to vaccines, testing, PPE, communications, enforcement, technology, logistics, quarantine, or other programme delivery;

• g. whether the contract is released, withheld, partially withheld, or refused.

If individual contract terms are withheld, please still provide a supplier/payment schedule unless the Ministry claims a specific OIA ground for withholding that schedule.

6. Vaccine procurement

The Ministry response states that vaccine supplier contracts continue to be withheld under sections 9(2)(b)(ii), 9(2)(ba)(ii), and 9(2)(c).

Please provide:

• a. the current basis for continuing to withhold those contracts in 2026;

• b. whether the Ministry has reconsidered withholding in light of the passage of time;

• c. whether any public-interest balancing exercise has been undertaken;

• d. any document recording that public-interest balancing exercise;

• e. whether redacted versions, summaries, schedules, total values, payment summaries, or non-commercial clauses can now be released.

7. Expenditure and value-for-money records

Please provide Ministry-held records concerning:

• a. total Ministry expenditure on COVID-19 response activities;

• b. vaccine procurement and delivery expenditure;

• c. testing expenditure;

• d. PPE expenditure;

• e. communications/public messaging expenditure;

• f. enforcement/compliance expenditure, if held;

• g. internal reviews of value for money;

• h. audits or assurance reviews;

• i. identified shortcomings, risks, failures, wastage, or lessons learned.

8. Public interest and proportionality

Please provide Ministry-held records showing how public interest, proportionality, rights impacts, competing harms, social harms, economic harms, health harms, or unintended consequences were assessed before or during COVID-19 decision-making.

If the Ministry says these records are held by another agency, please identify which agency and the basis for that view.

9. Clarification regarding public links

Where the Ministry relies on publicly available information under section 18(d), please confirm whether:

• a. the public material is the only information held by the Ministry; or

• b. the Ministry holds additional internal records but has not disclosed them.

This distinction is important. A public webpage does not answer the request if underlying Ministry-held decision records also exist.

10. Request for proper decision

For each part of this request, please either:

• a. release the information;

• b. provide a document schedule;

• c. provide a lawful withholding ground under the OIA;

• d. provide a lawful refusal ground under the OIA;

• e. transfer the request under section 14 if another agency holds the information more closely.

Please do not treat this request as answered merely by referring to public webpages unless the Ministry confirms that no additional Ministry-held records exist.

Reservation of rights

I reserve the right to complain to the Ombudsman if the Ministry does not provide a proper search, schedule, release, withholding decision, refusal decision, or transfer decision.

Yours faithfully,

Tracy Lynch

[email protected]

On May 8, 2026 at 3:10 PM, <OIA Requests> wrote:

Kia ora, 

Please find attached the response for your request for official information.

Ngā mihi,

OIA Services Team

Ministry of Health | Manatū Hauora

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