MBIE may have acted ‘contrary to law’ by widely sharing paywalled NBR articles: Ombudsman

Monday, 13 July 2026

The country’s government watchdog says the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) appears to have acted “contrary to law” through its practice of sharing content from a paywalled business publication widely among its staff.

The ombudsman has asked MBIE to apologise to NBR over the alleged breaches of subscription terms and conditions, and engage with it on an “appropriate remedy”.

The decision comes after NBR complained about MBIE sharing hundreds of paywalled articles with staff despite having only a small number of subscriptions.

It’s part of a larger anti-subscription sharing crusade NBR has been waging against multiple government agencies and corporations. Using the Official Information Act, NBR sought information from 11 agencies about their use of NBR subscriptions from 2020 onwards.

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The publication said it found “widespread alleged breaches of NBR’s copyright and subscription terms and conditions”.

Across the 11 departments, at least 230 articles were “inappropriately shared with thousands of staff”, said NBR in a press statement.

“In many instances, the departments could not specify exactly how many people accessed an article, or even the full extent of the number of articles shared.”

MBIE admitted sharing at least 149 articles, IRD at least 43 articles, DIA at least 23 articles, and the SFO at least 15.

“The FMA denied any breach but NBR alleged, based on evidence, that certain staff accounts have been inappropriately shared with non subscribers.”

NBR then took its battle to the Ombudsman and complained about the responses from each government department.

In a decision earlier this month, released publicly on Monday, Chief Ombudsman John Allen determined MBIE’s practice of sharing NBR content was “unreasonable and appears to be contrary to law”.

He recommended the ministry apologise to NBR, provide the publication with a report on the extent of its sharing of its content, undertake periodic monitoring to ensure the practice was not continuing and engage with NBR about an appropriate remedy.

“I have written to the Minister advising of my findings in this matter and my recommendations to address the concerns I have identified as a result of this investigation,” said Allen, who also wrote to the Public Service Commissioner.

Nicola Willis, the minister with responsibility for MBIE, told The Post: “I expect MBIE, like all government agencies, to follow the law.”

MBIE’s Paul Stocks, Deputy Secretary Corporate and Digital Shared Services, said the ministry acknowledged the ombudsman’s opinion.

“Since becoming aware of concerns regarding the sharing of NBR content, MBIE has taken a number of steps to strengthen compliance. These actions include increasing the number of NBR licences available to staff, updating internal guidance and communications, and strengthening the management of NBR subscriptions.”

Stocks said the ministry was continuing work to provide NBR with further information regarding the extent of content sharing that occurred, after which it would consider its response to the ombudsman's recommendations.

Allen said he was “concerned that the sharing of NBR content occurred and at such a frequency at MBIE. In my opinion the type of sharing was clearly not how subscriptions were reasonably intended to be used and appear to breach NBR’s terms and conditions.

“The level of sharing indicates systemic practice that appears to have harmed NBR’s commercial position.”

He said it was “inappropriate” for a government agency to breach conditions at “what appears to be a systemic level”.

Allen continued: “While it is appropriate that MBIE is undertaking substantial work to identify the extent of sharing and has taken steps to prevent sharing in the future, I remain concerned that such practice was occurring over a long period and consider MBIE should take steps to ensure that this practice does not occur in the future.”

NBR said a “confidential, provisional opinion” has also been issued regarding other government agencies IRD, DIA and the FMA.

NBR’s owner, Todd Scott, has engaged legal representation to restart settlement talks with each of those departments, the publication said.

Scott, a former advertising salesman who completed a purchase of NBR in 2020, from long-time publisher Barry Colman via a vendor finance deal that he partly funded by selling his St Heliers home, told the Sunday Star-Times in April that alarm bells first started ringing after Inland Revenue dropped its number of NBR subscriptions from 220 to one in 2024.

“What I found was there were a number of corporates and, disgracefully, a number of government departments, who were literally stealing our content,” he said.

“I didn't think it was fair to build in leakage to an individual annual [or] monthly subscription to NBR.”

In an internal email to NBR staff, and provided to The Post, Scott said the ombudsman’s findings were a “significant result” for his publication.

“This result is important not just because it vindicates our position. It sends a message. Government departments should know better, and now the Chief Ombudsman has said so. I also believe the media coverage that follows will have a much broader impact by reminding businesses that copyright isn’t optional. It applies equally to everyone,” he wrote.

“This is also an important step in protecting the long-term sustainability of NBR. We invest heavily in producing independent journalism. We have every right to expect that work to be respected and paid for.”

The publication’s co-editors, Calida Stuart-Menteath and Hamish McNicol, also welcomed the ombudsman’s finding.

“This opinion vindicates NBR’s action against all those who have been found to be sharing content in breach of copyright and our subscription terms and conditions over the last year, setting a precedent for all media organisations which will enable the long term sustainability of New Zealand’s vital fourth estate,” they said in a statement.

“We look forward to all government departments which have been sharing NBR’s content incorrectly appropriately remedying us for the harm it has caused.”

NBR has now secured settlements from 19 companies, resulting in payments for damages and legal costs of more than $200,000.