Reports and briefings from 1 May 2021 about the paediatric oncology funding exemption to the Pharmaceutical Schedule rules

OIA response

4 November 2021

Dear [name and contact details withheld] 

Request for information

Thank you for your request dated 11 October 2021 under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) for information relating to the Pharmaceutical Schedule funding exception for paediatric oncology treatments (rule 8.1b). You requested: 

Reports and/or briefings from 1 May 2021 about the paediatric oncology exemption to the Pharmaceutical Schedule rules

Please find a copy of the reports and briefings identified for your request attached with this response letter. 

Please note, we approach our assessment of requests for information under the OIA on the basis that once we release the information to you it becomes available to any other party in that exact form (whether by you distributing it to others or by virtue of us receiving the same request from a different third party). 

We have redacted a small amount of information from the documents provided, or withheld documents from release, where we consider this is necessary to:

  • protect the privacy of natural persons (section 9(2)(a)); or
  • maintain the constitutional conventions for the time being which protect the confidentiality of advice tendered by Ministers of the Crown and officials (section 9(2)(f)(iv). 

As required under the OIA, we also considered whether, in the circumstances, the withholding of this information was outweighed by other considerations which render it desirable, in the public interest, to make this information available. In this case we did not consider that the public interest outweighed the reasons for withholding the information. 

We expect that information withheld under section 9(2)(f)(iv) may be able to be released in the future once decisions have been made about the funding exception. 

Please note you have the right, by way of complaint under section 28(3) of the OIA to an Ombudsman, to seek an investigation and review of our decision.

We trust that this information answers your queries. We are making our information more freely available, so we now publish selected OIA responses (excluding personal details) on our website. Please get in touch with us if you have any questions about this. 

Yours sincerely 

Rachel Read
Manager, Policy and Government Services