6 November 2023
Our Ref: C55168
By [email address]
Tēnā koe John
Official Information Act: Request for information regarding the members of the
Complaints Assessment Committee (CAC) at the Real Estate Authority
I refer to your request made via
[email address] received by the
Real Estate Authority (REA) on 7 October 2023, in which you request the following:
“May I request the list of current member as of 1st Oct 2023. Same with my previous OIA-
C37069, please mark if the member is a lay member, deputy chair or chair.
Please also provide the current pay rate for each members and how much in total each
members have been paid for the last two years (1st Oct 2023 to 1st Oct 2021)”
Information being released
Current CAC members:
Please find below a table of our current CAC members, including name, whether they are a
Lay Member, Deputy Chair or Chair and when their 5-year term of appointment ends, as of
1 October 2023
Name
Role
Position
Willam Acton
Lawyer
Chair
Denise Evans
Lawyer
Chair
Natalie Small
Lawyer
D Chair
Rachel Palu
Lawyer
Chair
Belinda Moss
Lay Member
D Chair
Amanda Elliot
Lay Member
D Chair
Fale Lesa
Lay Member
Member
Jim Lindsay
Lay Member
D Chair
Paul Biddington Real Estate
Chair
Julian Twiss
Real Estate
Member
Susanne Guhl
Real Estate
Member
Nigel Fletcher
Real Estate
Member
Noel Cooper
Real Estate
D Chair
CAC Members Salary:
REA follows the Cabinet Fees Framework to determine and reassess fees paid to CAC
members. The hourly rate our CAC members are paid is as follows:
Role
per hour ($)
Chair
85.36
Deputy Chair
65.66
Member
52.53
With respect to your request for “how much in total each member has been paid for the last
two years (1st October 2023 to 1st Oct 2021)”, please find attached total amount for each
member for the financial year ended 30 June 2022 (which covers the period 1 July 2021 –
30 June 2022), the financial year ended 2023 (which covers the period 1 July 2022 – 30
June 2023), and for the period 1 July -31 August 2023.
Our finance team advise that invoicing is a month behind as REA does not receive invoices
from the Members until the end of every month, and we are just finalising the figures for
September 2023. I trust this information will be sufficient but if you require further detail
you are able to request it.
Please also note that the names and positions of Members in the tables have been
anonymised/removed pursuant to s 9(2)(a) of the Official Information Act 1982 in order to
protect their privacy.
In relation to the information withheld, I am of the view that the reason outlined above is
not outweighed by other considerations that render it desirable in the, public interest, to
make this information available.
Next steps If you wish to discuss this response with us, please contact us by phone on 04 8458580, or
by email at [REA request email]
You have the right to make a complaint, in respect of this response, to the Ombudsman.
Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz. You may make the complaint online at that web address,
by email at
[email address], or in writing to the following address:
The Ombudsman
PO Box 10 152
WELLINGTON 6143
Nāku iti noa, nā
Josh Doherty
Head of Regulatory Services