24/10/2023
Letty Smith
[email address]
Tēnā koe Letty
OIA: 1318254 – Payment ranges and rates for Policy Directors
Thank you for your email of 25 September 2023 to the Ministry of Education (the Ministry)
requesting the following information:
1. I would like a breakdown of the pay ranges and actual pay rates for policy directors
employed within the Ministry of Education, and an indication as to how policy directors
are used within the Ministry of Education, the level they are employed (ie if the CE is a
level 1 and a DCE is a level 2 then what level are policy directors), including any
differences in the role / levels across the organisation.
2. Could the number of policy directions, and pay ranges and pay rates be provided for the
last three financial years.
Your request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).
Policy Directors contribute ongoing leadership and expertise to strategies, work programmes,
and complex system issues, to support the achievement of agreed outcomes. All Policy Directors
share the same role and carry the same responsibilities, while working on different policy areas.
There are no differences in the role/levels for Policy Directors across the Ministry. All Policy
Directors sit in the
Te Pou Kaupapahere |
Policy Business Group and support the Hautū | Deputy
Secretary. Te Pou Kaupapahere is responsible for strategic, funding, and regulatory policy
advice and analysis across the education system.
Wellington National Office, 1 The Terrace, Levels 5 to 14, Wellington 6011
PO Box 1666, Wellington 6140, DX SR51201 Phone: +64 4 463 8000
The levels of positions in the Ministry are ranked as tiers. The Policy Director position sits at tier 4,
as outlined below:
Position
Tier
Chief Executive
1
Hautū (Deputy Secretary)
2
General Manager
3
Policy Directors
4
The below table outlines the number of Policy Directors employed by the Ministry, and the pay
ranges for this role through the last three financial years. I am withholding the actual pay rates of
the individual directors under section 9(2)(a) of the Act, to protect the privacy of natural persons.
Years
Minimum Pay
Mid-Point
Maximum Pay
Positions
2020
$157,444
$196,805
$236,166
6
2021
$157,444
$196,805
$236,166
4
2022
$157,444
$196,805
$236,166
5
2023
$171,276
$214,120
$256,944
5
As required under section 9(1) of the Act, I have considered the public interest in releasing the
withheld information. I do not consider the public interest favouring the release of this information is
sufficient to outweigh the need to withhold it at this time. In my view, disclosing the actual pay rates
of individual employees would be a breach of their privacy.
Please note, we may publish this response on our website after five working days. Your name and
contact details will be removed.
Thank you again for your email. You have the right to ask an Ombudsman to review my decision
on your request, in accordance with section 28 of the Act. You can do this by writing to
[email address] or to Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143.
Nāku noa, nā
Zoe Griffiths
Hautū | Deputy Secretary
Te Pou Rangatōpū | Corporate
OIA: 1318254