49123 (2025). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister of Customs

49123 (2025). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister of Customs: How many contractors, if any, were there in the Minister’s departments, agencies, crown entities and any other bodies that the Minister is responsible for, if any, as of 1 October 2025, and how many of them, if any, were former employees of the department that lost their roles or resigned from their roles since 1 October 2024?

Hon Casey Costello: I refer the Member to the attached appendix which provides the number of contractors engaged by the New Zealand Customs Service as at 30 September 2024, 31 December 2024, 31 March 2025, 30 June 2025, and 30 September 2025, as the available information is collected at the end of each month. In instances where a company has been engaged in a contract, it has been counted as one contractor. I am advised that of the 72 contractors engaged by Customs as at 30 September 2025, none were former Customs employees that had lost their roles or resigned from their roles since 1 October 2024.