Last updated:
Saturday, 24 June 2017
Public service
3.3 “Public service” is the term used to describe all public service departments listed in Schedule 1 of the State Sector Act 1988, and any departmental agencies listed in Schedule 1A of that Act. The public service is part of the executive branch of government.
State services
3.4 “State services” is the term used to refer to the broad range of organisations that serve as instruments of the Crown in respect of the Government of New Zealand. The state services consist of:
- the public service;
- other departments in the executive branch of government that are not part of the public service (such as the New Zealand Police, the New Zealand Defence Force, and the Parliamentary Counsel Office);
- four of the five categories of Crown entities:
- statutory entities, which comprise Crown agents, autonomous Crown entities, and independent Crown entities;
- Crown entity companies;
- school boards of trustees;
- Crown entity subsidiaries;
- various organisations listed in Schedule 4 of the Public Finance Act 1989 that do not warrant Crown entity status because of their nature or that of their operations, such as reserves boards, fish and game councils, and a number of trusts and other bodies;
- companies named in Schedule 4A of the Public Finance Act; and
- the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
State sector
3.5 “State sector” is the common term for the organisations included in the annual financial statements of the government. The state sector is broader than the state services. The state sector includes:
- all the state services;
- organisations that are part of the legislative branch of government, such as the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Parliamentary Service;
- the fifth category of Crown entities—tertiary education institutions and their Crown entity subsidiaries;
- offices of Parliament;
- state-owned enterprises, which are listed in Schedule 1 of the State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986; and
- mixed ownership model companies listed in Schedule 5 of the Public Finance Act.