Gagged Health New Zealand staff have been released from their non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) less than a week after Labour challenged the agency’s “North Korean” orders.

The health agency is also now admitting “improvements” could be made to how NDAs are managed but says those that have now been lifted were done so because they’re “no longer required”.

However, Labour’s health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall is reading more into the timing of the decision to lift the agreements.

“I think this is a direct response to my complaint and the interrogation at select committee,” Verrall told the Herald.

It was previously revealed that 67 staffers had signed NDAs, which concerned Verrall as she believed it blocked scrutiny while Health NZ looked to find $1.4 billion in cuts. She said some NDAs she had viewed asked staff members “not to discuss their ideas”, something the Labour MP called “North Korean”.

But now, in a response to a written parliamentary question, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has confirmed that, as of the end of last week, staff who had signed confidentiality agreements relating to financial pressures had been released from the agreements “as the purpose for which they were used no longer applies”.

“I am advised that the agreement contained provisions typical of confidentiality undertakings, such as holding information in secure ways, not disclosing information without prior written consent and not using information for alternate purposes.”

He said no staff faced any investigations or disciplinary action related to the agreements.

Health NZ chief executive Margie Apa confirmed to the Herald that agreements in place for staff in relation to financial pressures and the Health NZ reset “have now been lifted because they are no longer required”.

Labour's Ayesha Verrall challenged the use of the NDAs. Photo / Mark Mitchell

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Apa, appearing at a health select committee last week, defended the use of the NDAs, saying it was “normal” process as staff worked on budgets.

She said the templates she was aware of didn’t ask staff to constrain their ideas and the agency wanted to encourage free and frank exchanges.

Despite that defence, new Health NZ Commissioner Dr Lester Levy expressed apprehension about their use and said he wouldn’t have requested them.

“I have made my position clear, it is not something I would do,” he later told the Herald.

Following the select committee, Apa said the NDAs would be reviewed.

In a statement to the Herald this week, Apa said Health NZ had reviewed their use and “acknowledges improvements can be made in how such agreements are managed”.

“Such agreements do have a place, such as commercially sensitive procurement programmes and infrastructure projects involving confidential design elements. Some agreements remain in place for such reasons.”

Verrall said she hoped lessons had been learnt “about the inappropriate nature of NDAs in public service organisations”.

The former Health Minister said NDAs were sometimes appropriate, for example when there were issues of patient confidentiality.

“But in this setting, they were absolutely inappropriate. The issues that were being discussed were matters of public interest. There’s already confidentiality requirements on staff, like there is across the public service.”

She said the NDAs could have a “chilling effect on staff” and the ability to have internal debate about the agency’s budget.

Dr Reti said last week that NDAs were “standard commercial practice” across numerous governments.

Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub Press Gallery office.