Certification of Covid status
John Jacobson made this Official Information request to Ministry of Health
The request was partially successful.
From: John Jacobson
Dear Ministry of Health,
This is an OIA request for information about work the Ministry may have been doing around the topic of certifying or proving someone's Covid-19 status.
Please provide the following information.
(a) the dates and titles of all advice or memos generated within the Ministry of Health which are either solely about, or incorporate content relating to, the topic of how a person might provide proof or certification of either having been vaccinated against Covid-19, or otherwise having Covid-19 antibodies.
(b) copies of the advice or memos identified as within the scope of (a) above.
(c) copies of communications from the Ministry to each of the following about options for, or work to progress, people being able to provide proof of their Covid-19 vaccination or antibody status, sent between 1 August 2020 and 13 April 2021;
(i) the Minister or Associate Ministers of Health, or officials in their offices;
(ii) the Minister for Covid-19 Response, or officials in his office;
(iii) officials in the Covid-19 Group in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
(iv) officials in the Department of Internal Affairs
(v) officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
(vi) officials in the Ministry of Justice.
(d) any contract the Ministry holds with a software company which includes work to develop a smartphone app to record and display someone's proof or certification of their Covid-19 vaccination status, and a the statement of work required from that company in relation to that work.
(e) the project plan (or other documentation giving an overview of the work) of any work to develop a smartphone app to record and display someone's proof or certification of their Covid-19 vaccination status.
(f) the number of people working for, or contracted to, the Ministry of Health that are working on methods for people to provide proof or certification of their Covid-19 vaccination status, both in absolute numbers and Full-Time Equivalents.
If you need to clarify this request, or feel the need to discuss its scope with me, I can be contacted via the email address you received this request from. If any of this information is already publicly available, and published online please provide a link to the specific information.
For the purposes of s. 12 of the OIA, I am a New Zealand citizen living in New Zealand.
Yours faithfully,
John Jacobson
Ministry of Health
Kia ora
Thank you for your request for official information received on 13 April
2021 for information pertaining to COVID-19.
The Ministry's reference number for your request is: H202104400.
As required under the Official Information Act 1982, the Ministry will
endeavour to respond to your request no later than 12 May 2021, being 20
working days after the day your request was received.
If we are unable to respond to your request within this time frame, we
will notify you of an extension of that time frame.
If you have any queries related to this request, please do not hesitate to
get in touch.
Ngā mihi
OIA Services
Government Services
Office of the Director-General
Ministry of Health
E: [email address]
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From: OIA Requests
Kia ora
Please find attached a letter regarding your request for official
information.
Ngā mihi
OIA Services
Government Services
Office of the Director-General
Ministry of Health
E: [email address]
show quoted sections
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora
Please find attached a letter regarding the partial transfer of your
request.
Ngā mihi
OIA Services
Government Services
Office of the Director-General
Ministry of Health
E: [email address]
show quoted sections
From: OCU
Kia ora John,
On behalf of the Ministry of Transport, I acknowledge your Official
Information Act request of 27 May 2021 seeking:
“Please provide the following information.
(a) the dates and titles of all advice or memos generated within the
Ministry of Health which are either solely about, or incorporate content
relating to, the topic of how a person might provide proof or
certification of either having been vaccinated against Covid-19, or
otherwise having Covid-19 antibodies.
(b) copies of the advice or memos identified as within the scope of (a)
above.
(c) copies of communications from the Ministry to each of the following
about options for, or work to progress, people being able to provide proof
of their Covid-19 vaccination or antibody status, sent between 1 August
2020 and 13 April 2021;
(i) the Minister or Associate Ministers of Health, or officials in their
offices;
(ii) the Minister for Covid-19 Response, or officials in his office;
(iii) officials in the Covid-19 Group in the Department of Prime Minister
and Cabinet
(iv) officials in the Department of Internal Affairs
(v) officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
(vi) officials in the Ministry of Justice.”
We will consider your request and respond appropriately as set out in the
Official Information Act 1982.
The Ministry publishes Official Information Act responses on our website
when there may be wider interest in the information released. This means
the information provided to you might be published after you have received
it.
Ngâ mihi nui,
Emma Humphrey ([1]she/her)
Advisor, Official Correspondence
Corporate Services | Te Kâhui Tangata
Ministry of Transport | Te Manatû Waka
Enabling New Zealanders to flourish | He whakamana i a Aotearoa kia momoho
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References
Visible links
1. https://www.publicservice.govt.nz/our-wo...
From: OCU
Kia ora John,
This email is to notify you that the Ministry is extending the 20 working
days available to it to respond to your request pursuant to section 15A of
the Official Information Act. The reason for the extension is to allow for
proper consultations necessary to compile documents in scope and make a
decision on the request.
You may now expect a response to your request by 13 July 2021.
You have the right under section 28(3) of the Official Information Act to
make a complaint about the extension to the Ombudsman.
Ngâ mihi nui,
Emma
Advisor, Official Correspondence
Corporate Services | Te Kâhui Tangata
Ministry of Transport | Te Manatû Waka
www.transport.govt.nz
Enabling New Zealanders to flourish | He whakamana i a Aotearoa kia momoho
From: OCU <[email address]>
Sent: Friday, 28 May 2021 2:24 PM
To: [FOI #15162 email]
Subject: OIA Request
Kia ora John,
On behalf of the Ministry of Transport, I acknowledge your Official
Information Act request of 27 May 2021 seeking:
“Please provide the following information.
(a) the dates and titles of all advice or memos generated within the
Ministry of Health which are either solely about, or incorporate content
relating to, the topic of how a person might provide proof or
certification of either having been vaccinated against Covid-19, or
otherwise having Covid-19 antibodies.
(b) copies of the advice or memos identified as within the scope of (a)
above.
(c) copies of communications from the Ministry to each of the following
about options for, or work to progress, people being able to provide proof
of their Covid-19 vaccination or antibody status, sent between 1 August
2020 and 13 April 2021;
(i) the Minister or Associate Ministers of Health, or officials in their
offices;
(ii) the Minister for Covid-19 Response, or officials in his office;
(iii) officials in the Covid-19 Group in the Department of Prime Minister
and Cabinet
(iv) officials in the Department of Internal Affairs
(v) officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
(vi) officials in the Ministry of Justice.”
We will consider your request and respond appropriately as set out in the
Official Information Act 1982.
The Ministry publishes Official Information Act responses on our website
when there may be wider interest in the information released. This means
the information provided to you might be published after you have received
it.
Ngâ mihi nui,
Emma
Advisor, Official Correspondence
Corporate Services | Te Kâhui Tangata
Ministry of Transport | Te Manatû Waka
Enabling New Zealanders to flourish | He whakamana i a Aotearoa kia momoho
show quoted sections
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora John
Please find attached a letter regarding a partial transfer of your request
for official information.
Ngā mihi
OIA Services
Government Services
Office of the Director-General
Ministry of Health
E: [email address]
show quoted sections
From: Alec Morrison
Hi John
On behalf of the Ministry of Transport please find a response to your OIA
request which was transferred to us on 27 April 2021.
Thanks
Alec Morrison
Senior Adviser, Strategic Policy and Innovation
Ministry of Transport – Te Manatû Waka
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From: Information [DPMC]
[UNCLASSIFIED]
Kia ora koe,
Please see the attached letter regarding your recent OIA request.
Ngā mihi,
Ministerial Coordinator
Ministerial and Business Services
Strategy, Governance and Engagement
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
E [1][email address]
[2]cid:image002.png@01D43609.296F69C0
The information contained in this email message is for the attention of
the intended recipient only and is not necessarily the official view or
communication of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. If you
are not the intended recipient you must not disclose, copy or distribute
this message or the information in it. If you have received this message
in error, please destroy the email and notify the sender immediately.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
Virginia Crawford left an annotation ()
This deliberate delay is very suspicious and we must assume the worst.
victor left an annotation ()
Anyone paying attention knows what the script says is planned to come.
Will it happen. Depends on the people.
From: Information [DPMC]
[UNCLASSIFIED]
Kia Ora John
Please find attached a letter, and release document relating to your
Official Information Act request.
Ngā mihi
Matthew
Ministerial Services
Strategy, Governance and Engagement
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
[1]cid:image002.png@01D43609.296F69C0
The information contained in this email message is for the attention of
the intended recipient only and is not necessarily the official view or
communication of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. If you
are not the intended recipient you must not disclose, copy or distribute
this message or the information in it. If you have received this message
in error, please destroy the email and notify the sender immediately.
References
Visible links
From: Information [DPMC]
[UNCLASSIFIED]
Kia ora,
Please see the attached letter regarding your recent OIA request.
Ngā mihi,
Ministerial Coordinator
Ministerial and Business Services
Strategy, Governance and Engagement
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
E [1][email address]
The information contained in this email message is for the attention of
the intended recipient only and is not necessarily the official view or
communication of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. If you
are not the intended recipient you must not disclose, copy or distribute
this message or the information in it. If you have received this message
in error, please destroy the email and notify the sender immediately.
Link: [2]File-List
Link: [3]Edit-Time-Data
Link: [4]themeData
Link: [5]colorSchemeMapping
show quoted sections
The information contained in this email message is for the attention of
the intended recipient only and is not necessarily the official view or
communication of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. If you
are not the intended recipient you must not disclose, copy or distribute
this message or the information in it. If you have received this message
in error, please destroy the email and notify the sender immediately.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. file:///tmp/Signature_files/filelist.xml
3. file:///tmp/Signature_files/editdata.mso
4. file:///tmp/Signature_files/themedata.thmx
5. file:///tmp/Signature_files/colorschememapping.xml
6. file:///tmp/Signature_files/filelist.xml
7. file:///tmp/Signature_files/editdata.mso
8. file:///tmp/Signature_files/themedata.thmx
9. file:///tmp/Signature_files/colorschememapping.xml
Things to do with this request
- Add an annotation (to help the requester or others)
- Download a zip file of all correspondence
John Jacobson left an annotation ()
Note that the email sent by the Ministry of Health on 27 May 2021 attaches a letter dated 27 April 2021. The mistake regarding the date of the letter is likely accidental. The letter says part of the request has been transferred to the Ministry of Transport. This transfer is well outside the window for transferring requests provided in section 14 of the OIA, which says this must take place within 10 working days following receipt of the request.
The good news is that the Ministry is reviewing its previous refusal of the request, "and will provide a revised response in due course".
Link to this