New chland DEFENCE FORCE t. mm Welii'glo Lezla'i: WM "zurmir riz 8-0087 Ombudsman Ref 479493 /4 March 2019 cc ombudsman arliament nz Dear Followrng discussions With the Ombudsman's officer and With reference to the responses of 3 May 2018 and 5 June 2018, New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) communications With partner nations when developing' or partradopting' operationrspecific Rules of Engagement (ROE) applicable to Defence Force personnel in Afghanistan did not require Ministerial approval The NZDF communicated as required With those nations that formed part of Operation Enduring Freedom and the International Security Assistance Force' such as Australia and the United States With respect to your request for adVIce given to Ministers regarding any collaboration With other nations' reiterate that this is not how the ROE forAfghanistan were constructed As explained in the response of3 May 2018' once developed ROE are submitted for Minister of Defence endorsement and Prime Ministerial approval On 21 December 2078' the Government Inquiry into Operation Burnham (the Inquiry) made a nonrpublication order under section 15 of the Inquiries Act in respect of all classified material provided to the Inquiry The effect of this is that information subiect to the order is no longer 'official information' as defined by paragraph (ha) of section 2 of the Official Information Act 1952 (OIA) That states that official information does not include any matter subject (a an order under section 15(1)(a) of the Inquiries Act 2013 As the advice given to Ministers regarding Afghanistan ROE for NZDF personnel is classified material that has been provrded to the Inquiry, it cannot now be provided to you, The Inquiry may vary or cancel its order in relation to certain material followrng its review process Any corresponding cancellation or variation may impact on whether the material concerned will again become official information for the purposes of the CIA The NZDF reconsider and respond to any request relating to such information as required by the CIA Yours sincerely 4% Air Commodore Chief of Staff II FORCE FOR NEW gum ii;