Request for consideration — Roadside oral-fluid testing procurement integrity and conflicts

WE REVIEW THE CROWN RECORDS OFFICE — ISAYSO.NET
FORMAL NOTICE AND OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT 1982 REQUEST

Subject: Roadside Oral-Fluid Drug Testing 

— Procurement Integrity, Conflicts of Interest, Financial Interests, Personal Relationships and Decision-Making Authority
Related reference: DOIA-REQ-0038975

Dear Chief Executive / Commissioner,

I write concerning the procurement, approval and implementation of New Zealand’s roadside oral-fluid drug-testing programme, including the Securetec DrugWipe 3 S device supplied by Pathtech Pty Ltd and laboratory arrangements involving PHF Science.

Please treat this as a formal request for official information held by your agency under the Official Information Act 1982. It seeks records to establish whether the programme was developed, evaluated, recommended and approved through an independent, transparent and properly documented process. 

No allegation of corruption, nepotism or misconduct is asserted as established fact.

1. PERSONS INVOLVED
Provide records identifying persons, roles, offices and organisations involved in drafting procurement specifications; evaluating suppliers and products; assessing the DrugWipe 3 S; recommending and approving Pathtech; authorising expenditure; advising Ministers; recommending or approving PHF Science as an evidential laboratory; and approving contract variations, payments or extensions. Distinguish Ministers, ministerial staff, parliamentary administration, public servants, Police personnel, contractors and external advisers.

2. FINANCIAL INTERESTS
Provide records held identifying actual, potential or perceived interests of decision participants in suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, laboratories and subcontractors, including declared shareholdings, beneficial ownership, directorships, trusts, employment, consultancies, gifts, hospitality, travel, commissions, referral fees, incentives or prospective employment. Include Pathtech Pty Ltd, Securetec Detektions-Systeme AG, PHF Science and relevant related entities.

3. PERSONAL AND FAMILY CONNECTIONS
Provide records of identified family, personal, professional or business relationships between decision-makers, advisers, procurement participants and persons connected with suppliers, and records of any concerns, assessments or findings of preferential access, favouritism, nepotism or improper influence. Include assessment and mitigation records.

4. CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
Provide applicable policies; declarations and registers (with lawful redactions where necessary); assessments; mitigation plans; recusals; reassignment decisions; independent review arrangements; dates declarations were sought or reviewed; exceptions; and records of concerns and their resolution.

5. PROCUREMENT AND PAYMENTS
Provide procurement evaluation reports, selection recommendations, approval records, award decisions, contract values, pricing structures, expenditure to date, projected expenditure, variations and ongoing payment arrangements per device, collection kit or evidential sample. If withholding commercial information, identify the statutory basis and consider releasing meaningful aggregates.

6. SCIENTIFIC AND INSTITUTIONAL INDEPENDENCE
Provide records showing how independence was assessed where a scientific adviser or organisation participated in recommending a programme and subsequently obtained an operational or commercial role, including PHF Science’s participation in scientific advice and any independent scrutiny.

7. MINISTERIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE KNOWLEDGE
Provide records showing whether relevant Ministers, ministerial advisers, senior officials or approving officers were informed of conflicts, financial interests or relationships before decisions, including dates, recipients, assessments and outcomes.

8. SEARCHES AND WITHHOLDING
For each category identify the units and classes of records searched, any transfers or agencies more likely to hold records, whether no records were created or found, and the specific OIA grounds for any refusal or withholding. Please do not treat absence of located declarations as proof that no interests existed.

9. ASSURANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Provide independent procurement assurance, audit or integrity review records, including concerns considered and resolutions, subject to lawful withholding.

10. PROCESS
Please acknowledge receipt, make a decision as soon as reasonably practicable and within the period prescribed by section 15 OIA (subject to lawful extension), consider any transfer under section 14, and preserve relevant records in accordance with applicable obligations.

Please provide records electronically and an index of withheld material where practicable.

This request seeks documentary verification to assess whether further scrutiny by appropriate accountability bodies is warranted.

Yours faithfully,
Tracy Lynch

We Review the Crown Records Office
ISAYSO.NET
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