Procurement questions and answers

Questions and answers about Approved Forensic Report Writers Service procurement are published on this page to ensure all applicants receive the same information.

Note, some questions have been summarized for a wider audience, and we will not publish personal details. In addition, some questions from the opening procurement round have been archived if they are no longer relevant to the ongoing open panel application process.

Number	Question	Ministry's response
1	As per the tender terms, is it permissible to provide the required services from a remote station ?	Yes. Remote interviews are permitted at the report writer’s discretion, provided the report writer is a registered practitioner in New Zealand.
2	Are you literally only looking for psychologists and psychiatrists with experience in the specific assessment work captured by ss23, 35, 38 CPIMP Act and s88 Sentencing Act? It seems like a difficult way to attract new people to the work, if you basically have to be someone already doing the work.	No. In addition to Applicants with previous experience of writing reports under section 23, 35, and 38 of the Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act 2003 or section 88 of the Sentencing Act 2002, Applicants can demonstrate relevant forensic experience within an international common law criminal jurisdiction. Relevant New Zealand based experience is required and may be gained through pathways such as advanced training in forensic psychiatry or forensic work for the public sector organisations, such as Te Whatu Ora. The requirement is intended to ensure applicants have the appropriate forensic expertise within a criminal jurisdiction to undertake the work.
3	I note that the Website Terms refer to a fixed fee of $3,000 excluding GST per completed forensic report. I am aware that forensic report can mean many different report - S38, S26, NZPBs, appeal etc. Could you please confirm whether this fee also applies to reports requested by the New Zealand Parole Board, and whether there are any differences in the scope or payment arrangements for those reports?	Yes. Reports requested by the New Zealand Parole Board (NZPB) are subject to the same fixed fee and payment conditions set out in the Website Terms, in accordance with the closed syndicated agreement between the Ministry of Justice and the NZPB.

Number

Question

Ministry's response

As per the tender terms, is it permissible to provide the required services from a remote station ?

Yes. Remote interviews are permitted at the report writer’s discretion, provided the report writer is a registered practitioner in New Zealand.

Are you literally only looking for psychologists and psychiatrists with experience in the specific assessment work captured by ss23, 35, 38 CPIMP Act and s88 Sentencing Act? It seems like a difficult way to attract new people to the work, if you basically have to be someone already doing the work.

No. In addition to Applicants with previous experience of writing reports under section 23, 35, and 38 of the Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act 2003 or section 88 of the Sentencing Act 2002, Applicants can demonstrate relevant forensic experience within an international common law criminal jurisdiction.

Relevant New Zealand based experience is required and may be gained through pathways such as advanced training in forensic psychiatry or forensic work for the public sector organisations, such as Te Whatu Ora.

The requirement is intended to ensure applicants have the appropriate forensic expertise within a criminal jurisdiction to undertake the work.

I note that the Website Terms refer to a fixed fee of $3,000 excluding GST per completed forensic report. I am aware that forensic report can mean many different report - S38, S26, NZPBs, appeal etc. Could you please confirm whether this fee also applies to reports requested by the New Zealand Parole Board, and whether there are any differences in the scope or payment arrangements for those reports?

Yes. Reports requested by the New Zealand Parole Board (NZPB) are subject to the same fixed fee and payment conditions set out in the Website Terms, in accordance with the closed syndicated agreement between the Ministry of Justice and the NZPB.

This page was last updated: 22nd September 2026