An investigation into concerns of preferential treatment for a Kiwi musician who needed an urgent passport renewal to join UK DJ Fred Again's tour has found normal processes were followed.
However, the independent review said there were areas the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) could have managed better.
Fred Again, who had just played several sold-out shows in New Zealand, posted a plea to his millions of fans on Instagram for someone to help expedite a passport for Wellington DJ Tessa Hills, whose stage name is MESSIE, so she could tour with him to Australia.
He tagged the official Parliament account, begging: "Please please can anybody help us with this!"
Fred Again later shared a screenshot of a private message from the deputy chief executive of the Department of Internal Affairs Maria Robertson.
Robertson said in the message: "My son got in touch with Tessa after seeing your post, Tessa got in touch with us, she's made her application and we are sorting it with her. We love your music and we are thrilled you are backing one of our own to support your gig."
The messages, which were highly reported at the time, caused Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden to investigate.
The minister sought assurances that all proper processes were followed, and privacy rules weren't breached because details of the passport application were shared publicly. She also wanted to ensure no preferential treatment was given.
The independent assurance review into the urgent passport application was released by the DIA on Friday. It found no evidence of preferential treatment, nor of any DIA leader playing a role in the decision to grant the passport renewal.
"The urgent passport was processed in the normal way, by the normal people, and the urgent fee was paid," DIA chief executive Paul James said.
"That said, we should have handled aspects of this better, specifically privacy implications and the use of social media."
Van Velden said she was "pleased" the applicant in this case was able to receive her passport in time.
"The report does however identify that errors were made by the DCE around the privacy of the applicant. However, the Privacy Commissioner has assured that no feasible harm occurred as a result of this privacy breach," she said.
The report made five recommendations to the DIA, including reviewing its media policies and guidelines, reviewing conflict of interest training, developing guidelines covering how senior managers respond to direct customer contact, reminding staff of social media policies, and reviewing its complaints policies.
James said the DIA accepted these recommendations and will begin to immediately implement them to ensure "this does not happen again".
The DIA noted the processing of same-day urgent applications is not unusual. From October 1, 2023, to March 30, 2024, there were 14,026 urgent same-day passports issued, with 62 being granted on March 26, 2024, including the passport in question.
