Terms and Conditions

This RFI is subject to the terms and conditions set out below. Responding to this RFI will be deemed to be acknowledgment and acceptance of these terms and conditions.

The E-government Unit:

1. Is under no obligation to invite all or any ISPs that submit an application to participate in the workshop, or any part of the consultation phase or the project;

2. Reserves the right to:

• invite other government agencies and any other parties to participate in the workshop, any part of the consultation phase, or the project, even if they have not submitted an application;
• initiate additional workshops or undertake other forms of consultation with participants or other parties;
• at any time and for any reason, remove or cease to involve any participant in the workshop, any part of the consultation phase, or the project;
• terminate the consultation phase or the project for any reason;

3. May decline to involve any ISP in the workshop, any part of the consultation phase, or the project if it submits its application after the deadline specified above; and

4. May change any aspect of the application submission process (including the deadline for submission of applications specified above) or this RFI by notice on the E-government web site. The E-government Unit will also email the change to the ISPs to whom an RFI was sent.

Applicants will be responsible for all their costs in responding to this RFI and all other subsequent costs incurred by them in participating in the workshop, any part of the consultation phase or the project.

All responses to this RFI and any participation in the workshop, any part of the consultation phase, or the project will be subject to the provisions of the Official Information Act 1982. In line with the policy of that Act, such information may be released to the public unless there is good reason, in terms of that Act, to withhold the information. Applicants may also be required to enter into confidentiality agreements with the E-government Unit.

Nothing in this RFI designates an information system for the purposes of the Electronic Transactions Act 2002. Accordingly, applications will only be considered to have been received once your email comes to the attention of Mike Pearson or another E-government Unit project team member.

This RFI shall be construed according to and governed by New Zealand law and the New Zealand courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute concerning this RFI or an applicant's participation in the workshop, any part of the consultation phase, or the project.

Further Information

For information on the E-government programme, please visit the E-government web site (www.e-government.govt.nz).

This RFI is dated 16 April 2004.

Appendix 1 - Outline of SecureMail project

Secure e-mail communication of IN-CONFIDENCE and SENSITIVE classified information between government agencies has been achieved with the implementation of the SEE Mail architecture.

A number of government agencies have indicated that a need exists for the extension of the SEE Mail architecture to enable the secure exchange of unstructured information from government agencies to citizens and businesses. This extension, known as SecureMail, would comprise a platform of policies, protocols, guidelines and standard operating practices that provide clarity about a secure e-mail delivery channel for communication from government agencies to citizens and businesses.

Successful completion of this project will ensure that government services requiring IN-CONFIDENCE and SENSITIVE communications can be delivered over the Internet so that citizens and businesses can interact with government agencies at a time that suits them. It will also reduce the costs of exchanging classified information while being compatible with expectations about how citizens and businesses will interact securely with government using e-mail.

In broad terms the SecureMail project will:

• Design, in detail, the system and processes for all-of-government secure e-mail to citizens and businesses;
• Identify and resolve policy issues, including consideration of business, legal, policy, security implications;
• Finalise SecureMail standards and architecture; and
• Encourage SecureMail implementation and uptake, with focus on 2-3 low-risk initial implementations.