49161 (2025). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister responsible for the GCSB

49161 (2025). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister responsible for the GCSB: 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 Judith Collins: I am advised that the GCSB uses external contractors where specialist advice is not available internally. In addition, the GCSB sometimes use cleared contractors to backfill positions during recruitment while security clearances are processed. It is not in the public interest for me to provide the number of contractors used by the GCSB. However, I understand that none of the contractors listed as working for the GCSB within the timeframe of this question were former employees of the agency that lost their roles or resigned from their roles since 1 October 2024.