J Floyd
[FYI request #23101 email]
29 August
Dear J Floyd
OIA 22-23-67: External Recruiter Process and Contract Process
Thank you for your email of 12 June 2023 to New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE),
making a request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act). On 10 July 2023, we
extended the time for response to 7 August 2023. You requested the following information:
Further to my prior requests:
1. When did the new contact management system noted come into place?
Please provide the information both in absolute numbers and dollar amounts:
2. How many contracts has Agency 6 had over the last 5 financial years (i.e. to match the
$466,709.20)?
3. How many of Agency 6's contracts or equivalent (e.g. emails) are in the new system?
4. How many of Agency 6's aren't?
5. How many of Agency 6's engagements does NZTE not have a record of (either a
contract or the email confirming appointment)?
6. Of the engagements NZTE has records of, how many are a signed contract and how
many have another method of appointment?
7. With regard to the exclusion of Agency 6's contracts from the management system, how
often has each rationale been used to exclude contracts:
•
"highly confidential" (presumably for empty roles that are being fil ed that are highly
confidential)? Or
•
"personal information" (somehow included in a contract for the appointment of a role
when the role hasn't been fil ed yet)
8. Who judges the criteria for exclusion - the NZTE legal team or person engaging the
contract?
9. Finally, which team provided the information that lead to the misstatement about
contracting being provided to my previous query?
Answers to your questions are as follows:
There is no new contract management system currently in place at NZTE. Your requests in
questions 1, 3 and 4 are therefore withheld under section 18(g) of the Official Information Act
because the information does not exist.
According to our financial records, there has been a total of 43 transactions between Agency 6
and NZTE over the five financial years from 2017/18 to 2021/22, totalling $466,709.20.
T: +64 4 816 8100
F: +64 4 816 8101
W: nzte.govt.nz
W: newzealand.com/business
Level 15, The Majestic Centre, 100 Wil is Street, Wellington 6011, New Zealand, PO Box 2878, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
However, we are unable to confirm the exact number of contracts (including signed contracts
and emails) that these figures relate to (in some instances a contract may have more than one
transaction attached to it).
It has become clear that the NZTE filing practices for Agency 6 needed some improvement. As
a result, NZTE:
• has worked with Agency 6 to conclude a Master Services Agreement to ensure all
future engagements are on the same form of contract; and
• has appropriately stored the Master Services Agreement on the Signed Contracts
Register
• wil conduct training with hiring managers in the Investment Team to ensure they know
where and how to save contracts with Agency 6.
The decision to exclude supply contracts from the internally viewable Signed Contracts
Register based on confidentiality or privacy is made on a case-by-case basis by contract
owners. NZTE does not hold any records of these decisions and therefore is withholding
information requested in question 7 under section 18(g) of the Official Information Act because
the information does not exist.
We note that you have previously submitted Official Information Act requests on 8 November
2022, 28 January, 1 March, 31 March, 26 April and 3 May 2023 which have covered similar
subject matter to this latest request. The language used and line of questioning of your
requests indicate that you may have a grievance with NZTE and/or the Investment team, or
some concerns about NZTE’s engagement with Agency 6. If that is the case, we would
welcome a more constructive engagement with you on your concerns. We remain available to
meet with you, or to provide an independent third party to meet with you to discuss and resolve
this.
We have made genuine attempts in good faith to provide you with the information that we hold
that is relevant to your requests. If you remain concerned with this, you have the right under
section 28(3) of the Act to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman. Information
on how to make a complaint is available at https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone
0800 802 602.
Yours sincerely
Melissa Trochon
Director – Board & Ministerial
