Approved Alcohol and Other Drug Report Writers Service
Background
The Ministry of Justice is setting up a new Approved Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Report Writer Service (the service). The service will provide a panel of qualified AOD report writers who are approved to provide AOD reports for cases in New Zealand courts in the criminal jurisdiction. The service will ensure that all participants receive the same quality AOD reports and that judges receive consistent information to inform sentencing decisions.
The panel is being established through a request for application (RFA) process. An initial RFA round ran from 5 March 2026 to 7 April 2026. The panel of approved AOD report writers will be published in June 2026.
The last date to submit questions for the first round was 26 March 2026. We will not be responding to first-round questions received after this date. Any further questions can be submitted for a response from 1 July 2026.
The panel remains open for new, appropriately qualified AOD report writers to apply to join at any time. Applications received after 7 April 2026, will be processed from July 2026.
What AOD report writers do
AOD reports are ordered by judges or requested by lawyers to assist with sentencing decisions.
When writing the report, AOD report writers interview an offender to explore their history of alcohol and other drugs usage and their willingness to engage with rehabilitation services. They may also talk to other people who know the offender. For more information on the service, please contact us: AODreports@justice.govt.nz
More information is available here:
- Additional information for AOD report writers.
- Questions submitted to the Ministry and the Ministry's responses. This ensures all potential panel members receive the same information.