56266 (2025). Camilla Belich to the Minister of Transport

56266 (2025). Camilla Belich to the Minister of Transport: For what reasons, if any, have Non-Disclosure Agreements been used in each of the entities for which the Minister is responsible since 27 November 2023, broken down by category of issue (such as conduct, grievances, employment disputes, whistleblowing, or other)?

Hon Chris Bishop: I am advised by the Ministry of Transport that non-disclosure agreements (NDA) are mainly used with external parties when there is a need to keep information relevant to the Ministry’s work confidential and there is otherwise no standard contractual agreement in place to provide a requirement to maintain confidentiality. I am also advised that NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi does not centrally record NDAs in one place and so is unable to answer this question. NZTA ensures that in its tendering and contracting processes, there are standard provisions protecting confidentiality. In addition, prior to sharing confidential information (including ahead of formal engagement processes), NZTA will also seek to enter targeted NDAs as a protective measure. All staff and contractors are subject to confidentiality obligations as part of NZTA’s codes of conduct, conflict of interest and privacy policies. Further, although non-disclosure requirements sometimes form part of employment related settlement agreements, these matters are typically comprised of a combination of issues and are not categorised in the manner requested. To provide the specific information requested, NZTA would need to manually search and analyse each agreement as well as the documents in the related case file.