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OIA 26-541. Very interesting search of information

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Dear Correspondence, Reviews and Ministerial Servicing Team,

Thank you for your response dated 26 August 2026, reference OIA 26-541.

I note that Customs has identified 62 documents potentially within scope of my earlier request, but has declined the broader request under section 18(f) of the Official Information Act 1982 on the basis of substantial collation or research. Customs has invited me to specify particular documents from the schedule for consideration for release.

I therefore make the following narrowed request under the Official Information Act 1982.

Please provide copies of the following documents identified by Customs in the schedule attached to OIA 26-541:

Information Disclosure Agreement (COVID-19 response) between NZ Customs Service and NZ Police.

Information Disclosure Agreement for the importation of controlled drugs and firearms between the New Zealand Customs Service and NZ Police – s316 (Schedule 8 of MOU 1106).

Direct Access Agreement between New Zealand Customs Service and New Zealand Police – s315 (Schedule 5 to MOU 1106).

Memorandum of Understanding between NZ Customs Service and NZ Police.

Variation to Direct Access Agreement between New Zealand Customs Service and New Zealand Police – varying Police’s access to border alerts for monitoring of child sex offenders.

Information disclosure agreement (section 316, Customs and Excise Act 2018) between New Zealand Customs Service and New Zealand Police.

Memorandum of Understanding between members of the Combined Law Agency Group in relation to the New Zealand Identity Protection Register.

These documents are expressly identified by Customs as documents potentially within scope of the original request.

I also request the following operational policies, procedures and guidance documents identified in the same schedule:

Information disclosure to NZ government agencies – Operational Policy – 0209.

Guidelines – NZ government agency information request – 0187.

Operational Policy – information sharing accountability – 0194.

Operational Policy – use of Passenger Name Record – 0210.

Process – audit disclosed information – 0196.

Process – disclose information – 0197.

Search electronic devices – Operational Policy – 0258.

Thresholds and general guidelines for the search of electronic devices – Guidelines – 0057.

Initial search of data in an electronic device – Procedure – 0061.

Travel movement requests – Operational Policy – 0846.

Those documents are likewise specifically identified in Customs’ own schedule.

For each requested document, please provide the complete current version together with any version that was operative between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2025, where materially different.

Where a document has been superseded, varied, amended or replaced, please identify:

the date each version took effect;

the date it ceased to have effect;

the document that replaced it; and

any schedules, appendices or variations forming part of the agreement or policy.

If any part of a document is withheld, please identify the specific statutory withholding ground relied upon for each redaction or withheld portion.

If Customs considers any document publicly available, please provide the direct location of the particular document rather than a general webpage.

If Customs considers that any part of this narrowed request remains too large, please contact me before refusing it so that the request can be further refined.

This request is deliberately confined to documents already identified by Customs in OIA 26-541 and should therefore substantially reduce the collation and research required.

Thank you. I look forward to receiving the documents.

Yours faithfully,

Tracy Lynch
not a lawyer – acting in my own private capacity

 
 

 

On Aug 26, 2026 at 1:55 PM, <OIA> wrote:

 

UNCLASSIFIED
 

 

Good afternoon Ms Lynch,

 

Please find attached the Customs response to your request under the Official Information Act 1982, received 10 July 2026.

 

Kind regards, 

 

Correspondence, Reviews, and Ministerial Servicing

New Zealand Customs Service | Te Mana Ārai o Aotearoa

 

 

 

 

UNCLASSIFIED
 

From: OIA <[email protected]> 
Sent: Monday, 3 August 2026 13:27
To: [email protected]
Cc: OIA <[email protected]>
Subject: [UNCLASSIFIED] Acknowledgement of clarified request – OIA 26-541

 

UNCLASSIFIED

 

Good afternoon Ms Lynch,

 

Thank you for your email received 31 July 2026, in which you clarified your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).

 

Under section 15(1AA) of the Act, your clarified request is being treated as a new request. You can expect to receive a response to your request on or before 28 August 2026.

 

Kind regards, 

 

Correspondence, Reviews, and Ministerial Servicing

New Zealand Customs Service | Te Mana Ārai o Aotearoa

 

UNCLASSIFIED

 

UNCLASSIFIED

From: F Q <[email protected]> 
Sent: Friday, 31 July 2026 14:11
To: OIA <[email protected]>
Cc: Records <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [UNCLASSIFIED] Request for further clarification – OIA 26-541

 

 

Thank you for your email.

I wish to further refine my request so that it is limited to identifiable categories of documents held by the New Zealand Customs Service between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2025.

Please provide:

Any Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), Information Sharing Agreements, or Information Disclosure Agreements between Customs and:

New Zealand Police;

Immigration New Zealand;

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment; and

the Department of Internal Affairs,
concerning border processing, passenger information, or identity verification.

Any Privacy Impact Assessments prepared or commissioned by Customs relating to:

Advance Passenger Information (API);

Advance Passenger Processing (APP);

Passenger Name Record (PNR);

biometric identity verification; or

eGate systems.

The current operational policy, manual, or guidance document used by Customs officers that describes:

the collection and use of passenger identity information;

information sharing with other agencies; and

the legislative authority for those activities.

Any audit, review, assurance report, or post-implementation review completed by or for Customs concerning the accuracy, governance, privacy, or operation of those systems.

 

I am not requesting:

individual passenger records;

operational intelligence;

legally privileged advice;

documents that would prejudice border security or law enforcement; or

information that Customs does not hold.

If any document is publicly available, I am happy to receive the relevant link instead of a copy.

If any part of this request remains too broad, I ask that Customs continue to assist me under sections 13 and 18B of the Official Information Act by identifying the particular part that requires refinement, rather than refusing the request as a whole.

Where appropriate, I am also willing to receive an index or schedule of responsive documents first, with documents released in tranches.

Thank you. I look forward to your response.

 

Tracy Lynch

 

 

On Jul 30, 2026 at 11:29 AM, <OIA> wrote:

UNCLASSIFIED

 

Good morning Ms Lynch,

 

Thank you for your email received 22 July 2026, in which you clarified your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).

 

On assessment of your clarified your request, your request is still likely to be refused under section 18(f), as it would require substantial collation and research to make a decision on. As such, Customs is inviting you to further clarify your request, in particular ensuring that it is specific in scope in order for Customs to be able to identify information accurately.

 

I refer you to the Customs website, which has a significant amount of information about our role at the border, how we use individuals’ information, how we work with other agencies, complaint and correction processes, and technology used at the border – https://www.customs.govt.nz/. Specific links have been provided below which may be of interest.

 

In order for Customs to provide you with a timely response, please provide your clarified request by 7 August 2026.

 

If you have any questions about this email, please email [email protected].

 

Kind regards, 

 

Correspondence, Reviews, and Ministerial Servicing

New Zealand Customs Service | Te Mana Ārai o Aotearoa

 

 

 

UNCLASSIFIED

From: OIA <[email protected]> 
Sent: Thursday, 23 July 2026 9:19
To: F Q <[email protected]>
Cc: OIA <[email protected]>
Subject: [UNCLASSIFIED] Acknowledgement of clarified request – OIA 26-541

 

UNCLASSIFIED

 

Good morning Ms Lynch,

 

Thank you for your email received 22 July 2026, in which you clarified your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).

 

Under section 15(1AA) of the Act, your clarified request is being treated as a new request. You can expect to receive a response to your request on or before 19 August 2026.

 

Kind regards, 

 

Correspondence, Reviews, and Ministerial Servicing

New Zealand Customs Service | Te Mana Ārai o Aotearoa

 

 

UNCLASSIFIED

From: F Q <[email protected]> 
Sent: Wednesday, 22 July 2026 7:15
To: OIA <[email protected]>
Cc: Records <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [UNCLASSIFIED] Request for clarification – OIA 26-541

 

 

 

Subject: Clarification of Official Information Act Request – Customs

Tēnā koutou,

Thank you for your email.

I wish to clarify that my request to the New Zealand Customs Service is limited to information held by Customs within its own statutory functions and responsibilities during the period 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2025. The request was already narrowed by subject matter, agency function and date range following MBIE’s earlier refusal under section 18(f). 

OIA_Immigration_Border_Identity_MOUs_2020_2025.pdf

Accordingly, I seek only records held by Customs relating to:

Memoranda of Understanding, information-sharing agreements, operational protocols, privacy impact assessments, Cabinet or Ministerial approvals, operational manuals and guidance involving Customs and other agencies, insofar as they relate to Customs’ border functions. 

Customs’ use of passenger, passport, visa, NZeTA, Advance Passenger Information (API), Advance Passenger Processing (APP), Passenger Name Record (PNR), biometric or identity-verification systems, including agreements with technology providers or partner agencies. 

Customs’ role in border processing, identity verification, information sharing, referrals to Police or Immigration New Zealand, and the legislative authority governing those activities. 

Records identifying Customs’ audit, review, complaint, correction and accountability mechanisms relating to identity matching, passenger information, border processing and information sharing. 

Records held by Customs concerning border arrivals processed by Customs during the requested period, including any records relating to regional airport arrivals where Customs had a role. 

OIA_Immigration_Border_Identity_MOUs_2020_2025.pdf

I am not requesting:

information that Customs does not hold;

legal advice protected by legal professional privilege;

Customs to create new information or provide opinions.

Where information is held more closely by another agency, I ask that the relevant part be transferred under section 14 of the Official Information Act rather than refused.

If any part of the request would require substantial collation or research, I request that Customs consult with me under sections 13 and 18B of the Official Information Act so that only that part can be refined. I am also willing to receive an index or schedule of documents first, followed by the documents in tranches, as proposed in my original request. 

OIA_Immigration_Border_Identity_MOUs_2020_2025.pdf

Finally, regarding your question about other agencies, the email transmitting this request was sent only to MBIE and the New Zealand Customs Service. However, the request itself anticipated that agencies may transfer relevant parts to other agencies under section 14 where appropriate. 

OIA_Immigration_Border_Identity_MOUs_2020_2025.pdf

Thank you, and I look forward to your response within the timeframes prescribed by the Official Information Act 1982.

Tracy Lynch

 

 

On Jul 21, 2026 at 1:00 PM, <OIA> wrote:

UNCLASSIFIED

 

Good afternoon Ms Lynch,

 

I acknowledge your letter to the New Zealand Customs Service (Customs) received 10 July 2026, in which you make a request for information under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).

 

Your request, in its current form, is complex and may involve substantial collation and research to provide you with a decision and may be refused under Section 18(f) of the Act. Customs is inviting you to refine or clarify the scope of your request. This can be done however you wish, however you may wish to consider the following refinements/clarifications:

 

  • Identifying specific information you are seeking from Customs, as opposed to other agencies, based on Customs’ role at the border;
  • Consider the exclusion of information that is likely to be withheld under the Act, such as legal advice;
  • Refining the scope to a narrower request for the information most of interest.

 

When clarifying or refining your request, you may also wish to consider information on the topics within your request already publicly available on the Customs website and other sources. To assist, the following links may provide some information of interest:

 

 

Customs also notes that your letter states that this has been sent to a number of agencies, however your email was only sent to Customs and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. For the purpose of potential transfers of your request, could you please clarify which agencies this request has been sent to.

 

In order to provide you with a timely response, please provide your clarified or refined request to Customs by 28 July 2026. If you have any questions about this email, please contact Customs by email at [email protected].

 

Kind regards, 

 

Correspondence, Reviews, and Ministerial Servicing

New Zealand Customs Service | Te Mana Ârai o Aotearoa

UNCLASSIFIED

 

UNCLASSIFIED

From: F Q <[email protected]> 
Sent: Friday, 10 July 2026 8:13
To: *OIA <[email protected]>; OIA <[email protected]>
Cc: Records <[email protected]>
Subject: OIA

 

Please find attached my Official Information Act request.

 

 

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The information contained in this email is intended for the addressees and is not necessarily the official view or communication of the New Zealand Customs Service. 

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Please ensure this email and any attachments are controlled and handled according to their classification – PSR Classifications Quick Guides.

Please ensure this email and any attachments are controlled and handled according to their classification – PSR Classifications Quick Guides.

Please ensure this email and any attachments are controlled and handled according to their classification – PSR Classifications Quick Guides.

Please ensure this email and any attachments are controlled and handled according to their classification – PSR Classifications Quick Guides.

Please ensure this email and any attachments are controlled and handled according to their classification – PSR Classifications Quick Guides.